Rabbits and Children
Because rabbits are cute, small animals, many people have the misconception that they make great pets for children. Unfortunately, this is not true.
Why rabbits are not the right pet for a child:
- Rabbits have unique and fragile skeletal structures and can easily suffer unintentional fractures or breaks when handles by a child
- Generally, rabbits do like being picked up and carried.
- As prey animals, rabbits often mask signs of illness and must be monitored closely for health concerns. Children simply are not capable of identifying these signs.
- Children can be loud and energetic, which can frighten a rabbit.
Teaching Your Child to Live with a Rabbit
With supervision and clear direction, children can be taught how to respect, handle and respond to a rabbit. Learning how to treat a rabbit properly, will ensure your child and rabbit have a happy and healthy relationship.
- Teach your child that rabbits are not toys
- Show your child how to pet a rabbit gently with the rabbit sitting on the floor and with soft, calm strokes on the head
- Teach gentle handling such as setting the rabbit in your child’s lap rather than allowing the rabbit to be carried
- Teach your child and rabbit games they can play together like fetch or tag. Many rabbits enjoy games and it’s a safe and fun way for your child to spend time with your rabbit.
- Establish visiting and handling rules for your child, like only visiting the rabbit with mom or dad etc.
A young child should never be left unattended with a rabbit.
Kingston Animal Rescue is working hard to change the way the world (starting with Kingston and area) thinks about animals and to ensure they have the proper knowledge when it comes to their animals. We will continue to add information on these pages to help inform the public about the wrongs that are out there. If there's ever something missing that you'd like to see please don't hesitate to let me know!
