Younger children cannot take care of animals as easy as adults can. They can still have a loveable animal that they can enjoy. Among your basic household pet, the one that doesn’t require extensive or daily care and can be a loveable friend is best to be considered as a house pet for young children. In my opinion I feel that would be a smaller dog like the Samoyed Staffordshire. Not only are they good in size, but they are also more fun and affectionate than most cats, fish, and birds. Medium and larger dogs may also be affectionate towards children, but due to their size they may overwhelm a small child. The Samoyed Staffordshire does require daily care as every other dog, but does not have an odor or much dander and shedding. Therefore they are great for people with allergies and do not require much grooming. They also have to be fed, watered, and walked daily. In maintaining daily care they will maintain an overall good health. This will also result in children being able to have a furry friend for a lot longer. Lastly they love to be played with every day. Children will especially love this. That is why the Staffordshire is gentle, great with kids, and extremely affectionate. Though it’s not just the small dogs are great with the kids. The Boston terrier has more of a medium size build. Although also requiring daily care, the terrier, has to have minimal grooming, but is difficult to house break. That could be difficult for children to manage and would definitely require adult supervision. Then again most kids don’t want to spend too much of their young lives taking care of a dog. The terrier also requires daily watering and feeding. Not so much of the walking though, as terriers only needs minimal exercise. They are very prone to a lot of health issues and happen to be very sensitive to weather. The summer is too hot and the winter is too cold. That means a terrier would strictly be an inside dog. Being around the kids all day would definitely be okay with this particular dog though. Boston terriers are extremely happy go lucky. They are eager to please their owners, which causes them to be easily trained and have overwhelming friendly personalities. Therefore even though the Boston terrier has a more medium build rather than a small build, they would be great lovable friends for a small child. A large breed, the Saint Bernard, is also great around kids. It requires just about the same daily care as the small and more medium dogs, but the size may be way too scary for a small child. That’s right the big one, the Saint Bernard. He too likes to be played with every day. Although the Saint Bernard is such a big dog they are still very loyal and affectionate. They must be well socialized with people and other dogs though, to prevent any fearfulness or aggression. Even though they are very playful a dog that size may be too big to be wrestling with a child. They have a very fast growth rate and weight, which means the child’s growth, will not keep up with the Saint Bernard’s! Proper food and exercise is required so an adult would be best to raise this breed of dog not a child. As far as their grooming, they do need to be groomed daily, but only given a bathe when necessary. That and their eyes require special attention to keep their eyes free from irritants. It’s hard for a young child to maintain their own health and grooming let alone for a dog that’s ten times bigger than they are. You also have household cats. They too require love and attention. In my opinion cats aren’t as fond of smaller children as dogs may be. Too much touching and chasing around of a cat can cause them to become very scared or nervous around little ones. Though the housebreaking of a cat can be easier, cleaning the litter box is really not something you want your young child to do until they become old enough to understand. Plus cat litter has chemicals in it that you do not want a child inhaling while trying to scoop or even refill a cat’s litter box. Feeding and watering wouldn’t be too much on a child. Just pouring some food and water into a bowl isn’t too hard. They may make a mess from time to time trying, but what kid doesn’t. Taking care of a cat is nowhere near as messy as taking care of a bird. Birds are very dirty animals. Though they live in a cage everything around them becomes covered in feathers, poop, and bird food. Once again bird poop is not something that you want a child touching or being around. Birds can also start to stink after while if not properly cared for. They too have to be watered and fed daily, but also require a weekly cage cleaning. Now there are those birds that will sit on your hand and talk to you, and I am sure a small child would love that, but then you take a risk of it biting. I have experienced that and it is not a pleasant feeling. Aside from that it can also be very painful, unlike a bite from a fish. Another common household pet people get for young children, fish. Fish can be fairly easy to take care of for any age. A small child can easily feed them every day, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Their tanks have to be cleaned at least once a week. I know there are some strong children out there, but I’m sure if the tank is larger than just a bowl it would be impossible for them to lift and empty. Another thing about fish is children can’t really play with them. If they stick their hands in the water they could easily cause the fish to go into shock. Fish also don’t live very long. So a child may become sad when their fish dies. Children don’t get the love and affection from fish they can from any other household pet really. As you can see there are numerous household pets that can be fairly easy for a small child to handle, but not one that’s easily cared for and may be a great loveable friend. In my opinion I feel the Samoyed Staffordshire breed of dog is the best suitable and lovable pet for a small child. No too big, not too hard to care for, loves playing with kids daily, and has overall good health. Meaning a young child will have a furry friend that’s easy to care for, for quite a while!