Mom, I want a dog. How to please your child and avoid problems

Natalie Sorokopud

Almost every parent sooner or later faces aВ situation when their child asks for aВ pet. We all understand that the greater part ofВ responsibilities rearding caring for the animal will be on the adults. That is why inВ this book we have tried toВ help parents with answers on many questions connected with being aВ parent and aВ pet owner.

Mom, I want a dog

How to please your child and avoid problems

Natalie Sorokopud

Illustrator Viacheslav Smorodin

Cover designer Aleksandr Zhukov

© Natalie Sorokopud, 2018

© Viacheslav Smorodin, illustrations, 2018

© Aleksandr Zhukov, cover design, 2018

ISBNВ 978-5-4490-4201-9

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

If you cannot decide whether you should adopt aВ pet

What emotions do you have when you think about having aВ pet?

For many parents such combination as children and pets is aВ very complicated issue. On one hand positive influence ofВ communication with animals on kids is huge: it is no secret that children who have pets learn toВ be responsible more easily. For example, boys and girls learn toВ clean after aВ cat, feed aВ guinea pig or walk aВ dog, and as aВ result youngsters acquire aВ higher level ofВ responsibility.

In 2011 the UK’s largest dog welfare charity Dogs Trust has conducted a research that showed that communication with dogs stimulate children who have difficulties in development, it decreases possibility of having allergies, asthma and eczema; it lessens depression and improves mental health. In any case a child receives more positive emotions because the excitement that your son or daughter gets while playing with an animal cannot be compared to anything else.

On the other hand any parent in the first place thinks about the problems that might occur in their way, problems that might wait at home every day. I think that all mothers and fathers either way fear that despite of the child’s promises to care about a pet on his own: to feed, walk, clean and train, – in fact most of these becomes a duty of parents, mostly on the mother because fathers more often are strong enough to say “no”. Although sometimes we also meet very patient fathers who are ready to take this responsibility. Thus parents have not only a child to care, but also a pet.

Certainly such risk exists and it is always rather big. However here everything depends on how much you as a parent will let your child manipulate you. At the very beginning the kid wants and will take care about your pet. During first couple of days your kid will zealously walk the dog, proudly clean after the cat, keenly feed them. Often in some time this enthusiasm disappears, the small pet owner doesn’t want to wake up early in the morning to walk the dog or feed the cat. That is why it is vitally important in the very beginning to have a conversation with your child and discuss what would your pet need from its owner, what would happen if your son or daughter do not do it. The majority of such questions are mentioned in the present book. The most important thing is that the kid should understand, not only listen to a lecture about what he or she should do as a responsible pet owner. The best way is to ask leading questions so that your junior enumerated what this particular animal needs, how often, in what value, how much it would cost to his parents and if it is worth it.

You can hold this conversation inВ the form ofВ aВ game. Give your child aВ task toВ find answers toВ the following question (using the internet, books, journals, asking aВ vet or aВ shop assistant inВ aВ pet shop, or aВ volunteer ofВ aВ local animal welfare organization). When your boy or your girl find the answers toВ these questions on their own (possibly with aВ small help from your side), they will have much more motivation toВ take care about their pet inВ future.

Here are the major questions for such task:

– What a dog (cat, hamster… the animal that you are going to have a