I know I’m going against the advice of doctors, and I admit that I may be wrong, but I honestly think this report is a pile of horse manure. A few germs are good for kids - they need to build up an immune system! They also need exposure to as many varied learning experiences as possible, including experiences with animals. I say, let your kid have hedgehogs, snakes, tarantulas, whatever - just teach them to be responsible and safe instead of stupid, and make them wash their hands.
I had hamsters, tarantulas, frogs, rabbits, crickets, lizards, cats, and dogs as pets from a very young age through to the present, and I turned out pretty spectacularly (if I do say so myself), and I’ve always been as healthy as a horse. Go get your kid a petting zoo- he’ll learn a million times more from real, live animals than he will from Transformers and Dora the Explorer (*inwardly shudders*).
Warning: young children should not keep hedgehogs as pets — or hamsters, baby chicks, lizards and turtles — because of risks for disease.
That’s according to the nation’s leading pediatricians’ group in a new report about dangers from exotic animals.
Besides evidence that they can carry dangerous and sometimes potentially deadly germs, exotic pets may be more prone than cats and dogs to bite, scratch or claw — putting children younger than 5 particularly at risk, the report says.
Young children are vulnerable because of developing immune systems plus they often put their hands in their mouths.
Click here for the full article.
Related articles on the web:
- No Hamsters or Exotic Pets for Youngsters
- Doctors: No hamsters, exotic pets for kids
- Pets for Young Kids: Does Exotic Mean Toxic?
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