What do you think is a good first pet for a child?

Have you thought about going to a shelter or something & seeing what your son likes? My family was nothing BUT animals before my daughter came along & we still have all of them - dogs, cats, lizard & a bird. I still have time to spend with my pets & my daughter - dogs do take some responsability but getting an older dog from a shelter can help lessen the responsability (no puppy training), if it's an outdoor pet then there's even less again (no business or mess in the house) - you do what YOU & your husband think is best. I think children are better adapted with pets from a young age - my daughter LOVES all of our animals & they are all VERY good with her. Plus, with my daughter being only 9 months & an only child for the moment, a pet gives her something to love :)

Defiantly a hamster or fish for a toddler. I would say cat but because you are pregnant you cannot clean out the catbox. I have a 3 yr old and 3 month old and having a puppy is driving me bonkers. I am always trying to keep the dog from licking all over the baby. Its hard to put her on the ground for tummy time because the puppy just wants to be in her face. So I feel like I am raising two toddler and a infant. LOL

I can understand your problem very well! Yes! Keeping a pet is in itself is a big responsibility and maintaining one along with a toddler is definitely an additional burden! I think if your kid is just a toddler , it would be better idea to post pone the idea of keeping a pet for few more years. Though the best pet would be undoubtedly a Dog when acompared to other pets, it requires lot of patience and care from the owner! In the long run the Dog not only will prove a good pet for him, itwill teach a lot of thingsd to your kid.There are many things we can learn fron dogs viz. loyalty, warmth, honesty, faithfulness, patience etc. If you want to postpone to have a Dog , then say after a couple of years you can get your kid a Gold fish bowl with a couple of Gold fish in it . This may make him happy and at the same time there won't be lot of committment toewards your pets. Other alternatives I can suggest is turtles, which are available is small sizes can ber of good pets, but you will have to be careful in choosing the size then! Keeping birds in cage seems to be too cruel to me and thats the reason I won't suggest to keep a caged bird as a pet! Hope you will find my suggestion abit of help to you ! Thanks and all the best!

I would say any age is good to have a pet. I would go for things like hampsters, fish, gerbils, hermit crabs, lizards, mice, bunnys, birds, anything small. They are inexpencive and easy to take care of.

I would say a kitten that is a little older... as in not a tiny kitten. Tiny kittens tend to cry a lot at night and you need to rest with a baby on the way. The downside of getting a cat is that they may scratch your kids, which might teach the older one a lesson in being gentle with animals, but it could be terrible if it scratches the baby. the upside is they can be indoor/outdoor, you don't have to walk them, and you can teach them to litter outside so you don't have to mess with a litter box. Good cats are really easy pets to have... I have two dogs already and will soon be introducing a baby so I'm curious to see how that goes. Both are super sweet, small dogs so I don't worry about them posing any sort of threat. My husband mentioned the other night that he would like to get a cat soon and I said no way. I don't want to deal with introducing a baby and a cat to our dogs at the same time. I think a cat will be more manageable when our child is at least a few years old. Dogs are great pets, but with what I know of your situation it could just mean more hassel... I'm imagining you trying to walk the dog while carrying one baby and chasing the other!

try with a little cat... but i think your child is still too joung, try to wait at least when he will be 3

well..i would go with a hampster,or a fish..lol..or maybe a lizard? something deff small..and would be easy for you to care for..I think a Hampster would be my favorite pick..they are cute and cudley..and most kids have these as first pets :)

I would pick a cat. Cats clean up after themselves. and when you get a kitten it will be very loving and cuddly. They are relativly low maintence. Wheres other animas such as a hampster, or lizarnd need specilized attention all the time, Lizards need to eat crickets, and you dont wand those to get loose in your house. Hampsters need their wood shavings/bedding stuffs changed all the time, and they smell. Fish need their tanks cleaned every month. A dog can be too big and too happy, getting into a babys face, the toddler isnt so bad, i have dogs with a toddler, but to introduce animals i would pick a cat.. To me they are easy to care for and loving pets.