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The Family Pet

Kids love a pet. You don’t have to be Dr. Doolittle to realize animals offer many benefits for kids.

Before you bring a pet home to join your family, however, make sure you've considered the pros and cons of how this new family member will affect your lifestyle.

You'll also want to know the safety essentials for cleaning up after animals.

Ensuring your family's safety after your new furry or feathered addition arrives is easy - if you put these 13 essential animal safety tips into play.

Consider low-maintenance animals for younger kids.

For school age or older children, you can consider a medium-maintenance pet, such as a dog, to get you started.

More Stories

Living With Animals You're Allergic To Animals are well-loved family members. Despite the fact that they sometimes make us cough and sneeze, we still want them around. These tips can help you cope.

Truth or Consequences for Kids Caring For Pets No animal should be allowed to be neglected by a child - and it is the child who should learn this essential lesson. These tips will help you create consequences for the child while keeping the animal safe.

Dogs: The Medium Maintenance Animal When it comes to medium-maintenance animals - the canine companion is hard to beat. Here's what you need to know before deciding to bring one home.

Preventing Zoonotic Diseases All animals have the possibility of transmitting zoonotic (animal-originated) diseases to humans. These human-to-animal safety tips will keep everyone safe.

High Maintenance Animals So you've got a request for a pot-bellied pig, a parrot, a pony? Read these reality tips before you decide this is a good idea.

Less-Toxic Home Flea Removal Simple, less-toxic ways to rid your your home of fleas.

How To Create An Animal Survival Car Kit If your animal will be mobile, make sure you've got everything you need to ensure a howl-free trip ahead.

Allergy Busting Tips for Kids with Animals Easy tips for keeping kids with allergies and animals breathing easy.

13 Essential Animal Safety Tips Kids and animals are a natural combination; these 13 safety tips can help ensure it's a healthy one, too.

Cleaning Up Animal Messes Even the best animal will occasionally have an accident. Piddle on the carpet. Or vomit on the hardwood floor. Here's how to clean these messes fast.

Animal Chores for Kids The animal belongs to everyone, right? So everyone in the home should pitch in on keeping it healthy, exercised, and fed. Here's what kids can do to help.

Create a Kitchen Animal Feeding Center They're part of the family, so why not place animals' food and water dishes discreetly out of the way in the kitchen, where the rest of the family eats? Here's how to create yours.

Best Animals For Kids By Age It's a bit like matchmaking: You want to choose the right animal for the child's age. Here is a simple guide to age-appropriate pairings.

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About the Author

Tara Aronson is a native Californian. Having grown up in San Diego, she studied journalism and Spanish to pursue a career in newspaper writing. Tara, whose three children - Chris, Lyndsay, and Payne - are the light of her life, now lives and writes in Los Angeles. She also regularly appears on television news programs throughout the U.S.