Pet Habitat South Africa

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12 Jul 2014

Children And Rabbits

Posted By : Guest

Filed Under : Rabbits | Pet Care

Got kids? There’s a fair chance that somewhere along the line you’ve had a snuggly soft bunny toy, or perhaps a rabbit costume of sorts. You may have read Peter The Rabbit to your young ones.

Kids are naturally fascinated by the playful hopping of young rabbits, and the silky softness of their long ears. If you have children at home, there are few things you need to consider before adding a bunny to your family.

Everyone Needs Their Space

Your kids want their own rooms, somewhere they can’t be disturbed as they play and relax. Even clingy children need their own space. The same goes for your rabbits. They need a space where they feel secure, it doesn’t need to be an entire room, or even an entire cage, but there must be somewhere that your rabbit, can retreat for some peace.

What You Should Do: Investing in a living space is only half the solution; you also need to spend time teaching your children about the importance of space (and privacy) for their pets. As a bonus, they may just learn to knock before barging into your room.

Loud Noise Is a Killer

Quite literally. Rabbits have been known to die of fright from loud or persistently irritating noises. A little shaking on their cage may not disturb you from the other room, but imagine your home was being rattled to its roots; you’d probably go into shock. The same goes for wildly loud music, and, unfortunately, the joyful shrieks of young children.

What You Should Do: This one’s all about teaching your children to use their indoor voices, and to turn the TV down. Usually, this has a remarkable effect on your nerves, as well. This isn’t a onetime thing though; vigilance is required throughout your rabbit’s life.

Maintenance

Bunnies require attention every day. Domestic rabbits require visits to the vet, and someone to clean their cages and clip their nails. Rabbits also need exercise, which means they can’t just stay in their cages. And, that’s on top of daily feeding, and refreshing their water bowls. It’s a matter of your health and happiness as much as theirs.

What You Should Do: If you’re family isn’t big on routine, then you’ve got to get into one – preferably before bringing bunny home. If you want to teach your kids responsibility, then you’ll need to get them involved, but ultimately the care and feeding of your little bunny lies with you.

Watching Waistlines

Cats eat cat food. Dogs eat dog food. Babies eat baby food. And bunnies…well…bunnies have complex dietary requirements! Vets say that a complete diet for fibrevores should provide for their dental, digestive and emotional health. Burgess Excel is the UK’s No. 1 vet recommended food for fibrevores.

And, It’s important to remember that, over or under feeding your rabbit can lead to malnourished or overweight rabbits.

What You Should Do: When you’re teaching your kids to share, you need to put some boundaries on that rule. On the plus side, kids rarely tend to share the yummy stuff, but they still need to know what bunny can eat, and what he can’t.

Looks Can Be Deceptive

With their inquisitive noses, long soft ears and wonderfully fluffy fur, rabbits look as though they’re begging to be picked up and snuggled. They’re not. They do love socializing with their human family members, and scavenging the house for snacks and playthings; but they don’t want to be picked up. Rabbits are ground hunters, and that’s where they’re comfortable – on the ground. Being lifted tends to stress them out, and can lead to some clawing and biting.

What You Should Do: Bonding with your bunny is best done at ground level. Fortunately, that’s where most kids are most of the time. But, if your child wants to pick up your rabbit to mother it, you’ll need to do some explaining. You’ll probably also need to get a soft toy that your child can squeeze to her heart’s content.

Size Matters

Just like people, every bunny is bound to have a different disposition, but there are a few generalisations that hold true. In general, the larger the breed, the more docile the rabbit. And this makes a difference when it comes to pairing children and bunnies. When it comes to family life, larger rabbits are a better fit with smaller children.

What You Should Do: Don’t head to the pet store and pick the first rabbit that tug on your heart strings. There are hundreds of rabbits in rescue centres that are looking for permanent and loving homes.

Rabbits make terrific family pets, and children who develop relationships with them can easily become responsible, caring, and respectful young adults. As with any addition to your family, some restructuring is always needed. But, hey, teaching your child the value of privacy, and that running though the house drives most people insane is generally high on most parents’ priority lists.