Pets to avoid as a childcare provider

If you are an experienced pet owner and have kept pets for years, then some of the advice in this article will not apply to you. However, if you are a childcare provider and would like to keep a pet at your childcare setting for the first time, then you should be aware of some of the concerns surrounding particular pets and if necessary, avoid them if you’d prefer a simpler life.

The list below is not in anyway comprehensive and some of the pets listed may come as a surprise, but feel free to disagree. The animals listed are also not ranked in any order, but grouped according to the reasons I think they should not be kept in a childcare setting.

Salmonella Risk

Pets should enhance your setting and not cause a health and safety hazard, especially if you are looking after young children. Unfortunately, some pets carry salmonella, which is harmful to very young children because they have a weak immune system. Children under the age of 5 are especially at risk. This is because they are less likely to wash their hands, but more likely to put them in their mouths increasing the risk of infection.

Pets which carry the greatest risk of salmonella infection are:

1. Small furry animals, including: hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, pet rats and mice. Salmonella is carried in the feces of an infected animal which is kept in a cage or confined space. Here, their fur can rub against their excrement, easily transferring the salmonella to their fur. Then, when young children handle these animals, they run the risk of salmonella infection.
2. Reptiles and amphibians: including lizards, snakes, tortoise, terrapins, frogs and toads can also carry salmonella. If aquatic frogs are kept, these are less of a risk as long as the aquarium has a well fitted lid which will prevent young hands getting into the tank.
3. Birds including: baby chickens and pet birds such as budgies also carry salmonella in their feces and in the same way can infect a child through handling. However, if they are kept in a cage at a distance from children, the risks of infection can be greatly reduced.

If you decide to keep one of these pets, young children should only have supervised access and their hands washed immediately, if they’ve had physical contact. Children should also be told never to kiss these pets.

The Fear Factor

As a childcare provider you want your setting to be welcoming and reassuring. Keeping pets that could potentially send prospective parents running to the hills screaming is not advisable or good for business. The following pets have therefore been chosen as they could put people off sending their child to you, adversely affecting your business.

• Snakes – no matter how tiny and harmless your tiny green tree snake maybe, stories of you keeping a 10ft boa constrictor that could swallow a child whole, would begin to circulate in no time all at, doing your business more harm than good. Most people’s fear of these slit-eyed creatures could prevent those with a snake phobia from coming within 10ft of your front door, let alone inside your premises costing you potential revenue. There is also the concern that the snake might get out of its enclosure (probably because a curious child in your care wanted to see what would happen), and as snakes also have the potential to carry salmonella, this could also raise health concerns doing your business image far more harm than good.

 

• Spiders – with many suffering from arachnophobia, keeping a pet tarantula to entertain the children would probably have the same effect as keeping a snake. Although, their may be the odd person who may not be intimidated by the idea of their child attending somewhere with such an unusual pet, the majority would be more concerned about the pet escaping and placing their child in danger.
• Dogs – They maybe affectionate and loving and great with kids, but at a childcare premises is not advisable. Some people are simply afraid of dogs and with all the bad press surrounding dogs attacking adults and young children, it is not a good idea to keep one at your business when caring for other people’s children. No matter how friendly and docile the animal maybe, there is no telling what an animal may do if it is suddenly poked with a pencil. If you already have a well-behaved, well-trained family pet dog, then this should be kept away from children most of the day, only making limited appearances every now and again under strict supervision. Even if prospective parents have dogs of their own at home, this does not mean they would be happy to send their child to a setting containing a pet dog too. This is because most people are not willing to trust someone else’s dog with their child. As dogs are also not toilet trained and can have their fair share of ‘accidents’, prospective parents may not be happy that their child is sharing that premises too. Some children can also be allergic to dogs.
• Rats – Clever, intelligent and great fun they maybe, but as well as potentially carrying salmonella, they are a major turn off to most people. Be it from the throw back to the Pied Piper of Hamelin, or the fact that they are seen as disease ridden vermin, keeping a rat as a pet at a childcare setting, may cause more harm than good to your business.

High Maintenance

Some pets are just too difficult to keep when you are also caring for children, sometimes requiring as much attention as a small child itself.

Rabbits – Despite all their cuteness, rabbits are high maintenance animals. They cannot be locked up in a cage all day and need large areas of green to run around in to stretch their legs.

 

As well as needing a safe place to keep their large hutches; which needs to be cleaned out regularly to prevent the spread of salmonella, rabbits also need at least 4 hours of outside supervision in their runs, ensuring that they get all the daily exercise they need. This may not be practical when you have children to look after too. These little Houdinis also like to try and escape, so need to be watched as closely as some children, otherwise they can bury their way to freedom.

Of all the small pet mammals, rabbits in particular are the hardest to keep and are also the most nervous. Hence, they dislike being picked-up and handled, making them unsuitable pets for young children, who want to cuddle these cute balls of fur often.

 

Dogs

As well as being feared by some people and even seen as dangerous by others (depending on the breed kept), unlike cats which use litter trays and groom themselves, dogs have a tendency to have accidents if they are not taken out for walks. This means they need additional attention daily, which may not be practical if you are busy looking after other people’s children. As accidents are likely, this may also be viewed as unhygienic by prospective parents, who’d prefer to send their child to a ‘cleaner’ setting.