When are children ready for pets?

[Catherine]

This is an important question. Most children want every pet they see, but they are not always ready to have that pet.
When a child is ready, has to do with the child and the age and maturity of that child. It also matters what type of pet is being considered.
I found a good discussion of the issue.

http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=2&at=dt0

The article is good. It gives examples of how families handle the pet situation.
I agree that the parents must ultimately be in charge of the pet's care. It makes sense to give individual jobs to children when they are old enough.

Careful research about pets and how much care they need is important. An understanding of how much responsibility a child can take on is essential.

I was given a tank of tropical fish when I was ten and I took over their complete care and even bought their food with my own money.
I was given a bird when I was seven. I don't remember really wanting the bird and I don't remember ever cleaning and feeding it. There is a big difference between a seven year old and a ten year old. There is a big difference in the type of care needed by a bird when compared to fish. I was ready at ten, I was not ready at seven.