Rats and children

[Cait]

I think it is all VERY dependent on the child. Some kids just don't grasp the concept that they can hurt an animal with their actions. Either they weren't raised around them or didn't have someone in their lives who taught them to respect animals.

John's niece is perfect example. She is 4, and she just goes and goes. She has never been taught that pets are to be protected and loved. She manhandles every animal she can get her hands on, and she is NEVER allowed in our house unsupervised just because of how many critters we have. And it's not just the small ones, it's the dogs as well. It doesn't matter what she's told or how she's told, she's a right terror. So she's just not allowed to be near them.

Or, you can just have a kid who has no desire to even do anything with animals, and you're gold. Tanner (6 next month) would just never initiate contact with the rats. He is not an animal person. Don't ask how that happened because I have no clue.

My nephew on the other hand (who is 8) is allowed to handle the rats. He and his sister have been taught HOW to hold, how to pet, and how to put down the rats properly. I've seen grown adults handle rats rougher. He loves them... He is gentle and he is very careful and calm when he has them out. I do have to add it's just one rat at a time, never more. I mean they ARE fast! He's my little protege; he has such a caring and sensitive attitude when it comes to the critters. He has a lot of empathy and I think that is due to having animals around and being allowed to interact with them.

 

[StaceyM]

Beautiful picture Cait! The look on your nephew's face says it all.

I have to agree, everything depends on the child involved.

I trust my 11 and 8 year olds to bring the rats downstairs to play. I know that they will sit quietly on the couch with them while they explore and snuggle My four year old not so much. I carry them down for him and he sits beside me while they run around.

If any of them have friends over, we don't allow them to carry the rats no matter what age they are. We open the cage for them to pet, which means they are sitting already. The rats can then come out and crawl on their laps. I find you can never tell who is going to scream and jump from an accidental scratch. I'd prefer not to find that out when they are carrying them down the stairs :doh:

 

[OlliesGirl]

You have to watch out for teenage girls that have never been around rats before too.
Ohmygosh. I swear.
At least children can still be taught to be gentle.

But I got my first rats when I was pretty young. I wasn't a rough kid though. Most of my baby toys are even in pristine condition. :giggle:
It really depends on how people are raised to treat animals.

 

[SQ]

It does depend on how people, including children and teens are with animals.

But no matter how great children are, they do not have the coordination or judgement to do some things or to be unsupervised around small animals such as rats. This isn't a reflection on the child but rather related to normal physical and cognitive development.

 

[fenshae]

Funny....I follow all of these rules with my boyfriend :laugh4:

 

[Cait]

Trust me, after some of my experiences, no one is allowed to handle my rats unsupervised, not even my wife.

 

[smalltowngirl]

My own kids have been taught since they were around 1 1/2 years old how to respect animals. MY MIL is pissed at me over this topic right now. They came for a visit and brought my man's sister's evil son. This kid is always in trouble and has been since he started walking. (He is 7 now) Of course they are his grandparents and see no wrong and blame everyone else. :gaah: Anyway he has been busted doing various things to our pets during previous visits.(They live 6 hours away) Kicked my house bunny, grabbing my dog's ears and pulling, banging on fish tanks, throwing things on purpose at cages,the list goes on. So we they came in he went straight for the rat cage because he never had seen them yet. I talk to him calmly and show him the boys. I spent a good 30 minutes or so with them and him. My attention was drawn to my daughter for a minute and I look around to see where the boy is at....HE WAS BESIDE MY RAT CAGE! As I am walking toward him he grabs Diego's tail and yanks it through the bars and made my poor baby squeak out in pain! Of course I yelled his name immediately and then calmly told him to get away from the animals period. My MIL asked him what he was doing and he says "Nothing....I didn't do anything" ******** i caught him. I remained calm but watched that kid like a Hawk until he left. They don't like animals so he has been shown it is okay do be mean. They have 2 female dogs they won't fix. They get pregnant every year and they kill the puppies! The poor dogs have an awful life.....it is so sad. :sad3: They are 4 years old and look 15 or 20. They are covered in fleas and ticks, skinny, bad teeth, nasty looking fur, and they smell awful. It is my man's family but the MIL is pissed at me. I could care less. At least she won't be bringing that brat here anymore. Oh he has also broken my screen door, several of Mariah's toys, a picture frame that my Grandma gave me, wrote on my wall, and more but I can't think of it all right now. I adore kids but he is being raised to be a nasty little brat. I have to say not all kids deserve to be around any animals period! This kid is shooting wild birds with a BB GUN already and thinks it is so much fun! :wallbang:

 

[Tarah]

Joey's sister has fooled around with my rats and their cages way to much for me to trust her around the rats. She's put girls in the wrong spot, left cages open, put water bottles either too high or too low.

I need to get little locks or something so she cant open them anymore.

 

[jorats]

Oh my god smalltowngirl... you've got in laws from hell. :redhot:

 

[smalltowngirl]

Oh my god smalltowngirl... you've got in laws from hell. :redhot:

My man's stepmom is a real work of art...trust me. Her knowledge about raising kids is just as bad! His Dad is a pretty good person except for the dog treatment. He says they are just animals. :sad3: Their dogs are left outside to "hunt" their own food. No medical care, dog house, nothing. The dogs are dumber then a box of rocks too. They don't even come if you call them. It is very sad. I won't take my dog there AT ALL. (He stays with my parents ) I haven't even been there for 4 years because the house is nasty and I really don't like it there. I absolutely love the rest of his family and we get along great. (They avoid going there also) His stepmom and sister(sister has 3 very unruly kids) are the two I would love to see someone make them clean their act up.

 

[Ratgirl81]

they do sound really bad, i get so angry when im around people that are mean to animals, walking in town the other day, this little kid tried to kick and stamp on a pigeon, lets just say i let what i thoughts be known!
There's never any need to be cruel to anyone or anything, but those that are like that to animals, well it makes my blood boil. They are lower than low.
Have your inlaws been reported for how they treat their animals? sounds like they should never be able to own a animal again and im sure that they would be taken off them, it sounds like way past neglect to me. I'd have no trouble reporting anyone i knew was treating a animal like that, even it were family, the animals life would matter more.

 

[SQ]

Even with the poor animal protection laws that exist, I think the authorities would remove the dogs from your inlaws.
I hope you will report them for the sake of the two dogs.

 

[smalltowngirl]

I have reported them 3 times. (Shhhh....I don't want them to know it was me) They live in a community that hunts and butchers animals daily. They went there and said since the dogs could crawl into this one junk car for shelter, there was a bucket of water, and table scraps in a pile on the ground. (They dumped the food there right before they pulled in the drive.) Another family member told me plus the MIL called and was ranting about it all. She hung up on me because I wasn't on her side.

Okay this is my situation why I protect my own animals from them and just stay away from there and try to keep peace. My man and I have been living together for 8 years and I am the one who doesn't want to be married. I adore my guy but I had 2 bad marriages and I don't want anything to change about our relationship. We get along 99.9% of the time with only 2 fights/big arguments in the whole 8 years. We fit together and are best friends. His Dad has been my older brother's best friend since they were 7 years old and they are 47 now.(I am 40) His birth Mom I have been friends since I was 13 and I know that whole side of the family very well also. My man is 10 years younger then me by the way. Okay, I was around him(my man) a lot up until he turned 3 and the I didn't see him at all until he was 21. He started working where I had been working for 7 years that summer. We instantly became friends/co-workers for several months....well....one thing lead to another and here we are in 2009. His Dad is like a big brother to me and he has always looked after me when I was a kid. His Mom and I have been close and even worked together for almost 9 years. She worked at the same place he and I did together. It is the stepmom and his little sister who is the pain in the behind. His Dad didn't have dogs until they got together and she won't spend any money on them.

 

[smalltowngirl]

I Pm'd you back SQ! :thumbup:

 

[eagle]

So Holly how old were you when you got your first pet?

 

[Jems71]

Thanks yes I have read this.
And to let you know...my children are not all that young 10yrs-11yrs-18yrs and have been brought up around animals from the day they were born they know the rules and respect them.
I know every one thinks their kids are good and they are not soo much but mine really are especially when it comes to the animals...they respect all living things and know the possibility of accidents (dogs and cats being in the house) if they do not follow the rules bad things can happen...my family thinks I scare them a bit but I would rather error on the cautious side.
I have a real passion for animals and have from a very young age, saving wild animals that have been injured as a child (mom hated seeing seaguls in the bathroom while I untangled them from nets and things...and field mice with injuries, or birds with injuries) all the stays came to my house and got a new home or cleaned up and to the shelter for rehoming.
As a young adult I went to NSAC was 1 of 25 accepted into Animal Health / pre-vet (approx 400-500 applied in 1989)...unfortunately I became ill and did not finish and complete my dream of working with animals. I wanted to go back but found myself to become a mom at a young age, to take my baby to NS with no family suport and all the hard work and long hours of studying... someone would suffer either my child or my schooling.
I have worked with the shelters...and this is my life and I pass this love passion and attitude along to my children, who share in the care of all our pets with me over seeing it all.
So I know loads of people say their kids are good with animals...mine really are and have been from day one...and their little friends that I do not think are good with animals are not welcome to come in and interact with the pets...maybe a bit strict but this is my house and if you do not respect ALL who live in it then stay away. This includes my mother and father and brothers and sisters...yes I have ask my sister and her children to leave because they were not being nice to the dogs and I was not locking the dogs up because they were there...of course dogs are a bit different then small critters...which no one is allowed to have out unless the room is free from other pets and mom or dad (mainly mom) is there.
Oh and there is a small locker type lock on the cage now cause my neices and nephews are visiting this weekend...they are better with the dogs now. But the youngest fella cannot be trusted with the small animals...so ground rules NO ONE goes near the rats or lizard this weekend except me!

My animals are all very well cared for and my children help in this as I think it is very important to know and love animals and learn to be caring and respectful...sometimes its the kids that notice when one of the animals seem a little off and insist they are seen by a vet...sometimes they do this at their friends homes too...which has not made us very popular with those who have pets but don't like to go to vet...I am sure for the not soo good pet owners in the neighborhood its embarrassing when 10-11yr old is lecturing you on how to care for your pets properly...and when one of my children come to me crying askig me to please tell these people how bad what they are doing is...when they are sooo compelled to come home and insist I go rescue a kitten or turtle that is not being cared for...this is how we got our turtle...a friend of one of my children had it and it in a small 10-15gallon aquarium with no heat ot lights or anyway to get out and dry off for shell health...was very very poorly cared for 5inches of water that was soo thick with waste it reaked and you could not even see the turtle that was approx 9-10inches across! so we took him cleaned up and medicated his shell and we were going to rehome him but...we decided to keep him.

But I understand your concern and I do appreciate what your doing as I am sure some people are not quite as concious.
I am the same way...gave my sister in law the lecture about getting a puppy...and how you have to watch your children with them at all times...for everyone safety puppy and kid...and her kids are not babies 11yr and 6yrs...haha!
I am trying to get certified as a Dog bite prevention / Be a Tree presenter for school aged kids...so I think all children should be taught how to be safe and respectful..not just to dogs but this is just one I can do...if the schools allow me.

Hope this eases your worries...sorry to ramble...and the cage is great! thanks!

 

[Jems71]

Ooops that was meant to go into a PM to SQ!
Now you all know me!

 

[eagle]

No Jem you needed to post this and hopefully people will listen. :thumbup:

 

[Jems71]

Thanks Eagle...and SQ!
I really appreciate what you all do for your rats and others! this is great place for people to get support and information. We are still a work in progress here, with figuring out food and such but its a wonderful learning experience.

 

[daisylynn]

I have a 2.5 y/o nephew living with me. He's learning how to be gentle but I won't let him touch my boys..that would freak them out beyond repair. He's had my hamster crawl across his lap but again, I'm right there and it's a very controlled situation. One slightly to rough pat and I pull her away. I don't understand why some people think it's a good idea to let small kids get near small animals without supervised and controlled situations.