Does anyone else feel uneasy with children handling their guinea pigs?

Claire W

Claire W

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My niece is 13 and my nephew is 3 (sister in laws children). Whenever they come and visit (which hasn’t been for 8 months), they want to handle the guinea pigs. I always have them sit on the settee and hold them on their laps but I always feel uneasy in case they accidentally drop or hurt the guinea pigs

My niece and nephew are coming to stay for a week during the summer holidays and the thought of them being all over my guinea pigs is already bringing me out in cold sweats :(

Does anyone else feel uneasy having children handle their guinea pigs? I feel silly and mean :(
 
I'm the same, handling of any of my guinea pigs is absolutely off limits to anyone except myself, my vet and his team, and occasionally i'll plop one on Mum's lap if I need to go grab something, but she doesn't hold or pick them up due to the calcification of soft tissue in her hands.

I probably come across as mean, but this is their home, not a petting zoo. A lot of them while very comfortable and handleable with me, are still very wary and flighty around others from neglect or whatever in previous homes, I dont trust that someone else will be able to deal with them deciding to make a leap of faith out of their arms.

My eldest niece will help me carry bowls of food up and distribute it and has on occasion helped give medication to pigs who will come up to the bars and take it readily, but handling is an absolute no.
 
Yes Claire I feel for you, I have 2 nephews age 10 and 6... the 10 year old is lovely and very responsible and respectful of the piggies, but 6 year old demon child (he has ADHD and Aspergers so it isnt his fault but... he's obnoxious!) just cannot be trusted, not even for a supervised treat feed to a piggy sitting on an adult's lap. I just plain banned him and told him quite honestly that the piggies dont like him and he's too loud and scary. And poky and squeezy. Awful child. I honestly dont mind offending people to ensure the piggies are safe, its the piggies home and I am just one of their catering and cleaning servants, if people upset the piggies they aren't welcome!
 
My son has ADHD and autism. ADHD shows up on brain scans as lack of activity in frontal lobes, so their brain can't stop impulsive behaviour like ours. I've worked in neuro rehab and all of us are only a frontal lobe head injury away from behaving the same. Children with ADHD have terrible self esteem because people don't understand the disability. It takes a lot to try to build them back up.
 
@Claire W it's your house so your rules.
Set clear boundaries from the start when hey come to visit.

Ask if they want to be involved in the piggies care and interact with them.
Come up with a list of things they can do like;
Prepare fresh food
Top up pellets
Clean water bottles (seriously when my kids were younger they loved using the bottle brush to scrub out water bottles)
Go out on foraging expeditions
Make cardboard toys for them (lots of simple ideas on You Tube)
Draw/paint pictures to hang above their cage

There are lots of ways they can be involved without handling the piggies.
 
Black piggies said:
My son has ADHD and autism. ADHD shows up on brain scans as lack of activity in frontal lobes, so their brain can't stop impulsive behaviour like ours. I've worked in neuro rehab and all of us are only a frontal lobe head injury away from behaving the same. Children with ADHD have terrible self esteem because people don't understand the disability. It takes a lot to try to build them back up.
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But the guinea pigs dont understand that do they, Claire was asking about trusting children with piggies. I wouldnt let a child hurt a piggy just to boost his self esteem... which is fine actually according to his educational psychologist... and his mother who is a specialist educator for kids with neuro disabilities that manifest as behavioural disorders agrees with me, he's not safe around animals... so yes kids with ADHD and autism/aspergers of course deserve support and sympathy but shouldnt be allowed to handle pets if its obviously not safe for the animal... an injured pet in a preventable incident isnt good for anyone's self esteem is it... not the thread for this maybe? Back to Claire!

@Swissgreys has some excellent ideas there Claire, have a watching/helping action plan that can be carried out from the other side of the bars in safety. Also some diversion activities that dont involve piggies to switch focus if boundaries are being pushed- "would you like to make some rice crispy buns" is usually a safe bet to get the kids out of the piggy room!
 
I do let my two granddaughters hold the piggies. But they have to do it on the sofa and I supervise. They are both very good with the them but I would never leave them alone with them. I usually take the opportunity to let them feed grass or forage for 5-10 minutes then we pop them back and I get the girls filling the water bottles and adding some pellets or hay into the cage. They lost their two piggies a while back so they do like to interact with mine
 
It's your house and the piggies home so you get to set the rules. It's not mean to set boundaries. The kids might not like it, but when they're older they can get pets of their own and make the rules they want for their own pets. As others have sugggested, perhaps they can help with simple chores like refilling water bottles?
 
On the very rare occasion my grandchildren visit they don't handle the guinea pigs. My grandaughter loves to sit and watch them and maybe stroke one while I hold it. My grandsons not interested in the piggies at all. None of my boars have ever lived with children and I would be affraid of the child getting a nip. I think it's different where children are regular visitors are well supervised and the animals get used to them.
Don't feel mean Clare, children need boundaries, it will be good for them to be told no! They can help with preparing veg etc. and feeding.
 
PigglePuggle said:
Yes Claire I feel for you, I have 2 nephews age 10 and 6... the 10 year old is lovely and very responsible and respectful of the piggies, but 6 year old demon child (he has ADHD and Aspergers so it isnt his fault but... he's obnoxious!) just cannot be trusted, not even for a supervised treat feed to a piggy sitting on an adult's lap. I just plain banned him and told him quite honestly that the piggies dont like him and he's too loud and scary. And poky and squeezy. Awful child. I honestly dont mind offending people to ensure the piggies are safe, its the piggies home and I am just one of their catering and cleaning servants, if people upset the piggies they aren't welcome!
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I’m the same way - i don’t mind offending people if it means my piggies are safe. It’s their home before anybody else’s x
 
I've said several things over the years, the piggies have had their cuddles, they don't like being out the cage, you can hold them when you're 12 as they're delicate not like cats and dogs, what they'd really love you to do is feed them carrot in their cage etc. That's always been fine.
 
Thank you for the replies everyone. I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels this way.

My niece always takes over feeding duties when she stays and I’ll get my nephew involved with their care too now he’s a little bit older. But like you all say, it’s the guinea pigs house and my rules...
 
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