当你的孩子想要一只宠物时，你的自然反应可能是给他们一只狗或猫，但这可能不是他们这个年龄段的最佳宠物。幸运的是，根据宠物的寿命和注意力需求，Petfinder的人有一个适合每个年龄段的宠物清单。

即使你喜欢动物，你也不想在蜜月结束后成为孩子宠物的默认看护人，你试图教会他们责任的重要性。以下是宠物搜寻者的建议。

• Under 3 – Focus on introducing Baby to your current pets. It’s not appropriate to bring in a new pet at this point.
• 3 to 5 – Guinea pigs are a good choice, as they like to be held, seldom bite and will whistle when excited or happy. Your child can help fill the water bottle or food dish.
• 5 to 10 – Choose shelf pets like mice, rats or fish. Kids can help clean cages with ***** help, though you should always check to ensure that pets have food and water and cages are secured.
• 10 to 13 – Your child is now ready for the resp***ibility of a dog, cat or rabbit. Your child can help feed the pet, walk the dog, clean the rabbit cage and clean the cat litter, but you should always check to be sure pets have everything they need. Participation in dog training classes is an excellent learning opportunity for children.
• 14 to 17 – Your child may have more activities competing for his time and less time to spend with a pet. Birds or aquariums are a good choice. Remember, you will have the pet once they leave to go to college.

你最了解你的孩子，所以你应该是最终的法官，如果他们准备好了狗或猫的责任。只要记住他们是如何处理其他的责任和他们的时间表，然后你采用。

作为礼物的宠物：一个好主意宠物搜寻者

来自pocketwiley的图片。