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Old 04-26-2016, 07:56 AM   #1
pinkneon
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Default Children and hamsters

I just wondered what age you allow children to hold/play with/ help with hamsters? I'm babysitting right now, and the children are 3 and 1 so they've only seen Sweep when he popped out for some food, but I am not letting them hold him. BUT, my little girl is 5. She currently doesn't live with me, but may well be coming back to live with me once I (eventually!) move, so if she does she will be around Sweep all the time. If she was to play with him, it would obviously be supervized, but is 5 too young? At the moment she has seen Sweep but not held him ...
Also, what age do you allow children to OWN a pet - obviously as a parent/carer you would be likely to be doing most of the looking after. I know everyone will have different opinions, and there is no right or wrong answer, but I am just wondering what everyone thinks
At the weekend we had one of my neices with us. She is 3. She REALLY wanted to see Sweep, but he was asleep. But I am supposed to be looking after her at the weekend here, but am wondering if she is a bit young to hold him, even for a minute?
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Old 04-26-2016, 08:27 AM   #2
Enh98
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Default Re: Children and hamsters

My son is 6. When he was five I allowed him to hold our hamster but only if he was sitting on the bed so if hammy jumped it wasn't a far drop. I also allowed him to sit in the empty bathtub and let hammy crawl on him. I don't know if I'd go much younger than that. If your daughter is five, and is supervised, she might very well be okay holding Sweep! In my experience, young kids lose interest in their "own" pets after a brief period of time. My oldest wanted a beta fish last year so we got the whole setup. After the novelty wore off (after about a week) it was another animal for me to maintain. I was aware of that going in, though.
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Old 04-26-2016, 08:54 AM   #3
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Default Re: Children and hamsters

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Originally Posted by pinkneon View Post
I just wondered what age you allow children to hold/play with/ help with hamsters? I'm babysitting right now, and the children are 3 and 1 so they've only seen Sweep when he popped out for some food, but I am not letting them hold him. BUT, my little girl is 5. She currently doesn't live with me, but may well be coming back to live with me once I (eventually!) move, so if she does she will be around Sweep all the time. If she was to play with him, it would obviously be supervized, but is 5 too young? At the moment she has seen Sweep but not held him ...
Also, what age do you allow children to OWN a pet - obviously as a parent/carer you would be likely to be doing most of the looking after. I know everyone will have different opinions, and there is no right or wrong answer, but I am just wondering what everyone thinks
At the weekend we had one of my neices with us. She is 3. She REALLY wanted to see Sweep, but he was asleep. But I am supposed to be looking after her at the weekend here, but am wondering if she is a bit young to hold him, even for a minute?
Personally I believe it depends on maturity,not age.I know I could never trust the average 5 year old around such tiny creatures,but then they do sometimes act very responsibly and are gentle and if they are good at these things and you spend time with them to make sure they know what to do and what not to do I think it isn't a bad idea to allow handling or even just a bit of care help like putting food in the cage and such. However, I'd never allow a child under 5 to hold an animal since they aren't quite as good at learning to be gentle when they're very young.

As far as ownership goes,the same maturity vs age thing does apply.I think 5 is a bit young though as most children under the age of 10 do lose interest very quickly.Of course,I'm sure you'd be okay with caring for the animal if necessary since you already have a ham

I'd personally say anywhere from 5-10 for helping with tasks,and 10-14 for having their own pet.You can't really expect a 1-5 year old child to be doing the things we always remember to do like washing our hands and always refilling bottles and such,where older children(5-14)can begin slowly helping with tasks and eventually being the caretaker of an animal.
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Old 04-26-2016, 08:58 AM   #4
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Default Re: Children and hamsters

I wasn't allowed my 'own' pet until I was nearly 10 and didn't get a hamster until I was 11. I did lose interest in him from time to time but my parents were pretty good at reminding me of my responsibilities.

I'd allow a child of five or six to hold a hamster if they were being supervised and were holding them over a box or something but a lot would depend on the hamster. For example, Jessie is the friendliest little hamster you'll meet but she's also a real live wire and isn't the easiest hamster to hold, particularly for someone who is young or inexperienced. Because of that I'd be reluctant to let a six year old hold her but I'd be happy to let a six year old hold James as he's a bit calmer.
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Old 04-26-2016, 09:51 AM   #5
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Default Re: Children and hamsters

Children who are mature and show responsibility should be allowed to handle small pets only when an adult is present at all times in case something happens. My advice is to go with your gut feeling and judgements. Trust is important!

Last edited by zak; 04-26-2016 at 09:59 AM.
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Old 04-26-2016, 09:54 AM   #6
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Default Re: Children and hamsters

Little boy got Charlie when he was 6 and couldn't really hold him without careful supervision. He was careful and knew that Charlie could be injured and he had to be gentle, so he had the right attitude but didn't know his own strength sometimes Plus he tended to try and hold onto Charlie out of panic he might run away and squeezed a bit then. He also got in the bath with him during taming and enjoyed that. He is 8 now and better at holding him, but still has his moments where he forgets the hamster is not a toy.

So I'd say - constant supervision with a child up to about 10 years old maybe. Girls may be gentler though!
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Old 04-26-2016, 10:23 AM   #7
pinkneon
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Default Re: Children and hamsters

Thanks all. She has been ok with someone's rabbit, but they are a lot bigger than hamsters! And even then she has to sit on a chair / the floor. I think I might start by letting her help me feed Sweep so he can get used to her too, and then go from there. She's a good girl and usually listens if you tell her to do something gently or whatever, and I know she'd never try touching ANY animal without permission or supervision! Plus I'm pretty sure she can't get in the cage
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Old 04-26-2016, 10:30 AM   #8
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Default Re: Children and hamsters

I was allowed my "own" pet when I was eight, as long as it was a cat (we already had cats so basically it was no extra work for my parents!) -- I would not let my eight year old cousin handle my hamsters even with supervision though, he's rough enough with their family dog and our cats.

I think it does almost entirely depend on the child in question to be honest!

ETA: Actually, I did have a hamster when I was like five or six, I just remembered! Pretty sure my parents did most of the work there too, and he was a bit bitey so I didn't get to handle him much.
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Old 04-26-2016, 10:46 AM   #9
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Default Re: Children and hamsters

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Originally Posted by pinkneon View Post
Thanks all. She has been ok with someone's rabbit, but they are a lot bigger than hamsters! And even then she has to sit on a chair / the floor. I think I might start by letting her help me feed Sweep so he can get used to her too, and then go from there. She's a good girl and usually listens if you tell her to do something gently or whatever, and I know she'd never try touching ANY animal without permission or supervision! Plus I'm pretty sure she can't get in the cage
She sounds like the best kind of kid to have Good luck! I think she'll do really well with supervision since she's good at listening and it will probably be very fun for her to help out with care if she likes animals!
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Old 04-26-2016, 10:59 AM   #10
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Default Re: Children and hamsters

Wait for Sweep to become really tame before letting others hold him. She could let him walk off of you onto her and then back to you. Take small steps. She may jump when he climbs on her due to being tickled by his claws or feet, so have her sit on the floor/sofa/bed. This way if the hamster jumps/runs too fast he won't fall and hurt him self. Always supervise so the interaction and be ready to step in if needed.

Your daughter is old enough to help with feeding, filling the water bottle and cage cleaning.
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