My son is 4 in June. He wants a gold fish. I have thought about it and I know he wont be able to look after it 100% by himself of course I will help. I think he might be ok helping to look after it. Is he too young for a fish or even a pet? What do you think? or ?
sorry hun i nearly forgot to mention that gold fish are wondeful, I ahve them and Jess loves them to. while they are easy to look after they tend to dye easily.
hi I don't think he is to young. i am not sure about fish though, what about a kitten or puppy. my 3.5 yr old has her own kitten and loves it. she cuddles up with it all th time.
Fish are easy to maintain compared to other normal domestic animals like dogs and cats. The only problem is that some fish to die every few years or so compared to dogs and cats which have longer lives.
But who knows - maybe having a fish might encourage him to love sea creatures. Maybe you'll set him on course to love the environment and take care of our sea creatures - or perhaps even become a marine biologist. ;)
They won't chew your shoes, you won't wake up in the morning to accidents. You can leave the house at night and not have to worry if your fish will be ok!
And in some cases you only have to feed them every two days so you can go out over night and not have to worry about someone to come feed your pet..
Also being that he may not look after it himself 100% you don't have to take it for a walk and you can put it in a spot that when you pass it easy to feed... :)
are they siamese fighting fish? coz they are a great fish to have, theres no need for a large tank, they dont need a filter and they come in their own little tank (like the size of a jar) .
i think they are one of the easiest fish to look after, but you cant put them in a tank with other fish :)
have you considered stick insects? not only will he have the coolest pet at pre-school, they are trouble free, smell free and teach them the responsibility of looking after a pet. You can get them out and watch them walk over you. they stop you being scared off bugs. Easy to feed, brambles, raspberry bushes. my son loved them. live for about a year. pnp x.
gold fish are soooooooooooooo easy to look after they basicly look after them selfes . I have looked after fish for most of my life (I am 26 and got my first fish at 9) gold fish are the best starting out fish as they are cheap, you dont need expencive things (heater if water is about 20 they should be fine). My son has had fish for about a year now and he loves them we started with gold fish and now we have 5 diferent kinds and most are now tropical (only because he knowes that he cant play with them or feed them cheese and milk and chocolate) it did cost us a bit of money to transfer the tank to tropical but we all love it (I just hate the noise of the filter). As I cant be bothered looking for the net to take them out when I clean the water I use my hands and they are so used to it they dont make a fuss at all. at the begining many fish died because he kept feeding them whatever he was eating but I have not had a dead fish in about 4 m and not a gold fish death since oct.
at the end of the day fish do not need lots of looking after and if he does not help is not a big deal as you only need to feed them 1-2 times a day (5 sec) top up their water every so often. wash the filter once a month and posibly clean the tank (it takes me 30 min just because I want to clean the whole thing and was the rocks as they get a bit of direct sun light)
I agree, so long as a parent is committed to taking on responsibility of a pet there isn't a problem. My daughter has fish, we have a Siamese Fighter, some black widow tetras, some glolite tetras and another type of tetras that I can't remember the name of all in a big tank and they are hers and she feeds them, but can only feed them when I give her the food at the proper feed times and she 'helps' clean out the tank when needed but of course doesn't do it herself. It does teach them how to look after a pet so when they do get one they are responsible for they know how much work goes into it. We also have a Jack Russell Terrier, he's my mum's dog but lives with us since she has had surgery and he is too active for her so she feeds him and brushes his hair (he hates it but tolerates it LOL) and throws the toys for him. Pets are great for kids provided the parents take care of them and allow the child to assist and do certain chores. Hannah fills up the water dish for him too but she spills heaps so I top it up when she's not looking hehe.
Forgot to mention, have you considered a Fighter fish? They are very low maintenance and very beautiful fish. I had trouble keeping gold fish alive due to the fact that they are so easily startled and have to have their water just right or they die. If you walk past the tank and give them a fright, they die. I could not keep them alive at all! And the other thing with fighters, they don't like having their tank cleaned out too often, once a fortnight is all it takes and if you have no other fish in with them they don't need a filter in their tank either. Very easy to care for. I just thought I'd mention my experience with fish :)
Hey there, Miss B has two guinea pigs, Bird,a cat,a fish,and 3 dogs.........I think thats all PMSL.I am committed to helping her look after these members of the family for the term of their natural lives LOL.cause most kids need assistance in that department till they leave home ROFLMFAO. B is 2 1/2 and helps a lot with all of them.So I think go for it. regards Merle
Na he isnt too young he is at the right age. It teaches them a bit of responsability and thats his fish and he has to feed it and has to help mummy clean its tank and that is something you can do together. My oldest is almost 3 and she has 2 turtles and 2fish that she looks after with her dad thats there time together. She will clean the shells of the turtles while her dad is cleaning out the pond. She will them put them back after its been cleaned and say goodnight. She feeds her turtles and fish every day. Good gal she is. We have lots of other pets as well and she help with those as well. Happy picking(fish) and good luck
Any contributed content above is the subjective opinion of that member or external author, and not of Minti.com Pty Ltd. If you are searching for health related advice we strongly suggest you seek professional medical support. View our Terms of Service for more details.
or 
?
