NURTURE
Happiness Howl
Is Just A
Family & Life chats with
SPCA Education Manager
Selina Sebastian and
discovers what pets are
suitable for your child and
how animals teach your
child about the world.
Animals are adorable, make wonderful additions to the
family and can teach your children valuable life lessons.
However, with great power (over a life) comes great
responsibility. Selina Sebastian, Education Manager at the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Singapore
(SPCA), reveals more.
Three- to Seven-Year-Olds
Selina: At this age, it’s important that parents
be heavily involved in raising a pet with their
children because most kids have not fully
developed their mental faculties for the heavy
responsibility of owning a pet. It’s also vital
that both parent and child must want a pet
because it’s very natural for a child to lose
interest in the pet over time, which might
result in him or her abandoning the pet, and
we wouldn’t want that!
Photographs @ SPCA
Within this age range, most animals are
suitable starter pets, as long as the parents
are also mentally and emotionally invested
in caring for the animal as well. However, I
wouldn’t recommend:
Learning
About Responsible
Pet Ownership
Ready for you and your children
to take the first step? Before
taking the furry plunge, Selina
recommends that you and your
kids interact regularly with animals
first, whether it’s at a pet shelter
or even the house of a relative who
has a pet.
Learning about animals from
books, the Internet and perhaps
this article also helps prepare
you and your children for the
complexities of owning a pet.
And lastly, Selina highly
recommends adopting a pet rather
than buying a new animal from the
store! “When you adopt, you’re
teaching your child the value of a
life, as you’re saving an animal and
giving him or her a home! There
are so many homeless animals.
Why would you buy one when
there are so animals that need a
place to stay?”
18
Family & Life • Dec 2013/Jan 2014
• Small animals such as hamsters
and guinea pigs
Many people have the
misconception that small pets are
easy to take care of but in reality,
most tiny animals are skittish
creatures and tend to run away
when facing something bigger – all
the more pertinent because young
children tend to be more exuberant
and might accidentally hurt or even
lose the pet if they’re not careful.
Away
• Rabbits
These furry, cute animals are prey animals, which means
everything is a threat to them. Loud noises scare them and
most of them actually don’t like to be carried. They also prefer
being as close to the ground as possible due to their nature
and being hoisted high up in th R