kids to kids

[BucksCtyCowgirl]

r Nigerian Dwarf kids fragile?our dwarfs r supposedly pregnant, and i'm not sure when to introduce the kids to my 4,7,10 year old children.what order should they b introduced,and when?

[animal_kingdom]

Originally Posted by BucksCtyCowgirl

r Nigerian Dwarf kids fragile?our dwarfs r supposedly pregnant, and i'm not sure when to introduce the kids to my 4,7,10 year old children.what order should they b introduced,and when?

I always waited a day for the mother to relax or get aquainted to her kids. Then after that, if the mother was a gentle or kind one, I would have my girls go in the pen and sit and hold the babies so the mother would know it was okay.

[Jen H]

When my niece (5) and nephews (7 and 12) want to visit the goaties and duckies, I remind them of the rules:

1) They must sit down quietly and let the critter come up to them.

2) They must be quiet. No loud screams or hollers.

3) The small children (5 and 7) cannot pick up the critter. They can scritch and rub but they cannot hold (I just don't want the ducklings squished).

4) There must be an adult in the pen with them at all times.

This is what works for my critters and the children. Each child has a handful of animal crackers and they go in and sit down - before long they have goats and sheep nosing them looking for treats and scritches. If the kids just run into the pen and head for the critters, the animals panic and either run or get ready to butt.

An adult is always present just in case any of the critters gets out of hand. Nothing has ever happened, but I do keep in mind that goats and sheep can be really dangerous if they have a mind to.

[Freeholder]

Jen's rules sound pretty good. It's difficult with children who haven't been raised around animals, as they have no idea how they ought to behave, and their behavior can be very alarming if not dangerous to the animals. So be sure to supervise closely anytime young children are around animals, for the sake of both the children and the animals. And, I would also have to say that I've seen older children do things that were really stupid, and either get themselves or the animals hurt. It really depends on how the child was raised, and their maturity level.

Kathleen