How has having Guinea Pigs benefitted your children?

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squeakywheeky

We originally bought a guinea pig for my little girl to enjoy (yes we accepted that she wouldn't be able to care for it or clean it out and that would be down to us) he's my guinea anyway as I love him to bits but thats another thread.

I've been talking to a lady who had guinea pigs years ago who really thinks that guinea pigs should not be around children who are under 9 years old as she believes they are not responsible enough to understand the consequences of their actions, their own strength or havn't the knowledge to care for them and ensure they have the correct diet.

I totally agree with her that children under 9 shouldn't be responsible for an animal but in our case our animals are family pets with myself being primary carer and my 2 and a half year old being the entertainment and the cheif cuddler (she thinks ;) he's mine after 7pm!). She cannot understand why I would let my little girl anywhere near the animals and why I would want to give myself added pressure of having to watch her closely whenever she is around gp.

I just wanted to know your opinions on children around gp's. Do you agree, does having animals around little ones give them something extra?
 
well daughter is 6 very responsible and adores them, however though she thinks they are hers they are mine really, i clean them out because i personally feel happier knowing that every nook and cranny is clean and to my standards ! When it was the boys in the hutch she and my son would clean them out and i would do the rest as in disinfect the hutch etc

It really does depend on the child
 
most of you know my daughter by now and she is the msot dedicated piggy lover ever same for all my 5 kids the others are 4 boys all animal friendly so to speak, i think they can only benefit from having animals around, we had animals before we had kids our meyer parrot jimmy is older then the all the kids and loved by us all, when charlie one of our dogs died last july my son took his daughter Kassidy to see him at the crematorium laid out she now talks about him being died as she says and is in heaven she knows dobby died and he was one of her favourites and knows where he is buried so she understands probably more then most 3 year olds about life and death shes also been around when pigs are born so has seen both sides birth and death ' I think kids not brought up with animals have a distorted view on respect for them,and think they are only animals, which contributes to neglect and abuse.
 
Guinea pigs have been around my children since they where born, Charlie is great with them very responsible and has gained much respect for these furry friends, BUT he is not allowed to pick them up, he is only 5 1/2 and has small hands, some guineas wriggle and he has in the past squeezed one (no damage was inflicted) it was then i learnt that although he was good at looking after them he need to have more time to mature in not to panic and squeeze when they wriggle.
So yes i believe children benefit from having guineas around, they learn respect and love and if they are quite and calm they will be rewarded with cheerful confident pigs :)
 
I've had animals as long as i can remember, and my son has had animals around him since he was born. He's now 2. I've just bought Harry in and first thing he said was 'top, top' because he wanted to hold him. I've now lost Harry as my boy wants to hold him all the time. ::) He's also taken a shine to Nutmeg and i'm lucky if i get to hold her too. I love the way he's not scared of them and is (usually) loving towards them. Being 2 i still have to watch him closely but he's very good with them and tries to help when i clean out. I think it's teaching him good leasons from an early age and hopefully he'l grow up to love all animals. He kept saying 'mind snake'(worm) in the garden yeaterday. ;D
 
My daughter has benefitted by not being suckered in by baby animals - she has learnt that the big ones are the friendliest & she is so bonded with one its rediculous. I like the fact she isn't swayed by baby furries & loves her Margalo -in my Avatar -. Margalo has tatty ears ovarian cyst problems & is showing signs of old age. There has only been one exception to the rule with the baby animals - & that is Elizabeth one of the baby rescue pigs born here. There had been a previous litter that she didn't even look at & I was getting a bit worried about the impact on Eve when MArgalo goes to Rainbow Bridge. Elizabeth won't be a replacement - just a comforter.

My daughter loves holding the pigs & is good at it - her worst trait with the piggies is the noise she makes around the house. I am always aware of loud bangs if whe drops stuff & things like recorders regularly get hidden by me! I have Sylvie in the house at the moment who is a complete tart when it comes to giving out kisses. My daughter can have unsupervised time giving Sylvie kisses because Sylv puts her nose through the C&C grids demaning a quick peck! I like this becuase she doesn't have me breathing down her neck saying remember not to squeeze - be careful of their legs etc etc.. I am hoping that it will give my daughter some confidence around animals.
 
We too had animals before we had our girls, our cat Charley will be 15 in April (the girls are 12 and 10). We got our first pair of piggies when Rachael was between 3 and 4 and Meg was a toddler. From day one, both girls knew that the animals were living breathing things and not toys and they have never done anything to hurt or frighten them. We always had supervised cuddles when they were little and neither were allowed to pick the piggies up by themselves. Initially I was the primary carer and like you sweakywheeky they "became" my pigs once the girls had gone to bed! Now the girls are actively involved in piggy care and Meg has gone on to have her own hamster (that's what she thinks, hubby and I get him out to "play" when she's gone to bed!).

The children have learnt so much by having the piggies around, both in good times and bad. I think it helps to prepare them for the more difficult times that they will face in later life if they have already exprienced all the things that come with owning pets - hope that makes sense!
 
I don't have experience yet of my children.

But growing up we always had pets (including guinea pigs) and so have learnt to respect and look after them. With the odd exception of one of my brothers who doesn't seem to have much care or patience when it comes to my pigs 'It's just a guinea pig' is his regular saying ::) and he's 24!

My nephews, however are really good with them. Jamie, who's 7 will gladly pet them and cuddle them. And is ever so gentle. Lee, on the other hand, who's 4, has 'moments'. He will always want to hold one if they are out. I will only let him supervised cos he can be a bit 'heavy handed' when stroking them. He will also hold them, but only sitting down cos his hands aren't enough :)

I think it benefits them, because they learn to love them and have respect.

Those nephews are by my brother mentioned. At home they are different - and I wouldn't trust them. But in my home environment they have more manners and respect, not just to me, but to the animals too :)

I think it all depends on the child/ren and homelife/mentor :)
 
I don't have children, but my guineas have been am amazing benefit to me. I got my first three when I was recovering from a breakdown. I had been out of it for weeks. Suddenly I had these three little furry, wriggly, bundles to care for, and who loved me unconditionally. They changed me life - indeed I believe I might not be here now if it weren't for them.

Thank you Riffy, Scarby and Angel-Doctor x
And thank you Rocky, even though you didn't exist at that time x
 
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