Parents all ask themselves, "When should I get my kid a bunny?". So they make up excuses for the cute lil' love of their life. She's great with animals. He's ALWAYS wanted a bunny. This'll teach them about responsibility. So when do you know if your child is ready? Well consider the following things......
1.How responsible is she?
2.How good is she with caring/respecting animals?
3.Is she good with instructions?
1.Kids who want a bunny need to understand one thing:The child (who the bunny belongs to) is the one to clean the cage, feed, and groom the bunny. Unless your child is young enough to need your help, he should be able to feed, groom, clean the cage, and watch bunny. I got SB (short for Snowberry) when I was 9. SB was mine. All mine. Not my mom's or dad's. I was the one to do all the bunny stuff. Unless I was sick the job was mine. Your child should also be responsible BEFORE you ever get her rabbit. A rabbit is a reward for showing responsibility, gentleness towards animals, and a desire for a bunny. Not a something to make the child be hard working, gentle, and motivated.
2.Children like animals. However some may not be as good to them as others. Younger children (in general) tend to be more rough around animals than older ones. If your child is young (6 or younger) it may be good to hold off. This will be a great time to let your child learn more about bunnies! Children will need to learn about holding positions, and what bunny shouldn't eat etc. A young bunny owner (like 7 or 8) doesn't mean anything bad. I got my little Snowberry when I was 9. She has grown up with me into my teen years and remains a big part of me.
3.This kind of goes back to #2. If your child is young she may not understand the importance of why there are rules about certain things and how important they are when it comes to bunny. What if she doesn't listen about food importance and feeds bunny a chocolate chip cookie? Or lets bunny out of the cage and doesn't watch her and bun gets hurt? Or gives bunny a pipe-cleaner to play with which bunny chokes on? She/He must be old enough to understand the absolute importance of instructions and why they must obey them.
In the end it is up to the parent to decide. I would say the child should be 7 or older, responsible, caring, and a good follower of directions. Even if she doesn't meet all the "requirements" she should at least know what you require of her to do on a daily basis. If the bunny is hers then she will carry the bulk of bunny's care.
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| Seriously! Who doesn't want a cute lil' ball o' fluff? |
