Choosing a Pet and Pets as Presents for Children

Most families start looking for a child’s pet when the asking turns serious: a birthday is coming, a friend has a puppy, or you’re weighing up whether a pet will actually fit your week. The stakes are ordinary but real—sleep, routines, budgets, and the welfare of an animal that can’t “opt out” once it arrives.

The best decisions tend to be quiet ones. Match the animal’s needs to your home and your child’s age, plan the ongoing costs and care, and avoid surprise “present pets” that leave adults scrambling to make it work. Guidance below keeps the focus where it belongs: the everyday life the pet will live with you.^{1, 2}

Start with the non-negotiables

Before you compare breeds or browse adoption profiles, look at the parts of your life that don’t bend easily: time, supervision, space, and money. A good match is one you can keep steady on a tired Tuesday, not just on day one.

• Adult responsibility: children can help, but an adult needs to be ready to do the daily care and make decisions about health and welfare.³
• Time every day: feeding, cleaning, exercise (for many animals), and gentle handling practice. Holidays, sport, and school runs still count.
• Space and set-up: not just floor area—quiet corners, safe barriers, and a place an animal can retreat without being followed.
• Ongoing costs: food, housing, preventative health care, and the occasional sudden vet visit.
• Household health: if anyone has asthma or allergies, speak with your GP and a vet before choosing an animal. “Hypoallergenic” is not a guarantee.

Match the pet to your child’s age and supervision level

In most households, the key variable isn’t the child’s enthusiasm. It’s supervision. Young children move quickly, grab clumsily, and miss the early warning signs an animal is uncomfortable. That’s when bites and scratches happen—often with a familiar dog, in the home, during play, around food, or when an animal is resting.²

Practical matches that often work

• Preschool and early primary: choose pets that adults can manage almost entirely, and keep child–animal time short, calm, and closely supervised.²
• Upper primary: children can take on small, reliable tasks (measured food, topping up water, helping clean) with an adult doing the checks.
• Teens: more capacity for routines, training and handling—still with adults responsible for welfare decisions, costs, and follow-through.

Pros and cons by pet type (the everyday reality)

Dogs

Dogs are social and adaptable, but they are time-intensive and need training, exercise and supervision around children. Any dog can bite, and preventing incidents relies on adult supervision and sensible household rules—especially around meals, sleep, and high-energy play.²

Cats

Cats often suit busy homes because they can cope with more downtime, but they still need daily care, enrichment, and safe spaces. Scratches are common when handling is rushed or a cat is cornered. Teach children to invite contact rather than grab it.

Small mammals (guinea pigs, rabbits, rats, mice, hamsters)

These can be a better step for families not ready for a dog, but they aren’t “low effort”. Housing needs regular cleaning, and handling must be gentle and supported—many small pets are easily injured by accidental drops. Some are nocturnal, which can clash with a child’s expectations of playtime.

Fish

Fish are quiet and space-efficient, but good fishkeeping is water-quality management. Tanks need cycling, testing, and steady maintenance. For the right family, the routine can be calming; for the unprepared, it becomes a slow-motion problem.

Reptiles

Reptiles can be fascinating to observe, yet their care is specialised (heat, UV where required, diet, enclosure design) and they aren’t ideal for frequent handling. Hygiene matters, especially around children, as reptiles can carry germs that make people sick if basic handwashing slips.

Pets as presents: when it goes wrong (and how to do it properly)

A live animal isn’t a tidy gift. It changes routines, budgets, and the shape of the home. That’s why major welfare groups advise against giving pets as surprise presents, especially for children, and recommend confirming sustained interest and capacity to care before any animal arrives.^{3, 4}

If you’re considering a pet as a gift, use these rules

• Do: make it a family decision with the adults who will do the care.³
• Do: meet the animal first and allow time for a cooling-off period (a week is better than a rush).
• Do: budget for set-up costs and ongoing care, including registration and microchipping rules in your state or council area.^{5, 6}
• Don’t: buy on impulse or under holiday pressure.^{3, 4}
• Don’t: assume a child will “learn responsibility” quickly enough to meet an animal’s daily needs.

Better alternatives to giving a live animal

If the goal is excitement now and a thoughtful decision later, keep the surprise in the idea—not in the animal.

• A collar, lead, carrier or enclosure voucher paired with a planned “meet and choose” day
• A contribution to adoption fees, microchipping, desexing, or initial vet checks (with the new owner’s agreement)
• A book about pet care plus a visit to a shelter or rescue to learn what daily care looks like

Preparing your home (before the animal arrives)

Set the house up as if you’re planning for the pet’s worst day: spooked, curious, hungry, or overtired. Most problems are preventable with barriers, routines, and a quiet retreat.

• Create a safe zone: a bed, crate, hide, or enclosure where children don’t follow and hands don’t reach in.
• Remove easy hazards: loose cords, accessible medications and cleaning products, small chewable objects, unsecured bins.
• Plan supervision points: mealtimes, visitors, after-school chaos, and bedtime are common flashpoints.²
• Book early care: arrange a vet check soon after arrival, and ask about vaccinations, parasite control and desexing timing.

Teaching responsibility without putting the animal at risk

Responsibility works best when it’s concrete and consistent, with an adult quietly checking the work. Choose tasks where a small mistake won’t cause harm.

• Good starter jobs: topping up water, measuring food (adult confirms), brushing, filling puzzle feeders, noting behaviours in a simple chart.
• Adult-only jobs: medical care, diet changes, unsupervised walking, bathing, and any handling that risks a bite or drop.
• Teach body-language basics: leave animals alone when they’re eating or sleeping; stop play at the first signs of discomfort (stiffness, lip lift, growl, backing away).²

Quick checklist: is this a good time to get a pet?

• An adult can commit to daily care for the animal’s full lifespan.
• There is a realistic budget for food, housing and vet care.
• The home has a safe retreat space the pet can actually use.
• Children can be closely supervised around the pet, especially in the first months.²
• The pet isn’t being bought as a surprise gift.^{3, 4}

Final thoughts

The right pet doesn’t just suit your child. It suits your household on its ordinary days—when schedules tighten, money is stretched, and everyone is tired. Choose with that week in mind, involve the adults who will carry the load, and you’ll give the animal the steady life it’s quietly asking for.^{3, 2}

References

1. Queensland Government — Choosing a pet and caring for it
2. Better Health Channel (Victoria) — Animals and child safety
3. ASPCA — Position Statement on Pets as Gifts
4. American Veterinary Medical Association (via PR Newswire) — Think twice before gifting a pet as a holiday surprise
5. Toowoomba Regional Council — Dog and cat registration and microchipping requirements
6. WA Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries — Microchipping (cats and dogs)
7. Agriculture Victoria — Permanent ID, microchips and scanners (Domestic Animals Act guidance)
8. RSPCA South Australia — Keeping your pet safe this festive season