It is a true commitment to take care of an animal like a hamster, a little bird, a dog or a cat, it enriches the education of our children, since it creates a responsibility that makes them understand many things. Differentiating a toy from a living being is the main function, together with it, is understanding, responsibility and affection.
We must help our son to understand that an animal should not be a mere whim that can be desired and abandoned at will, teach him the responsibility and importance of having an animal at home, is essential for his education and future training.
Some parents unfortunately, please the whim of their children and themselves succumb to the responsibilities, they are the first who when they see that the child no longer wants to know anything about his whim, those who are responsible for making him disappear leaving him. This attitude can make our child acquire a behavior that we surely would not want in the future, be irresponsible, be indifferent to a living being, etc. Behaving in a respectful way before an animal is our task, and we must transmit it to our son to value a living being and appreciate the importance of the responsibility that an animal entails.
If your child has asked you for a pet animal, start with this learning through an animal shelter, there you realize how is the situation of an animal that has been abandoned by a mere whim. Even if you don't adopt an animal in one of these places, visit our son conscientiously.
There are many associations spread across our country (Spain), with all kinds of pets to see or adopt, for example, there is in Madrid the National Association of Friends of Animals (ANAA), you can visit the shelter of this association or collaborating with an adoption or simply babysitting for an animal. Fostering the responsibility of having an animal and showing the consequences of irresponsibility is a task in which our child will learn to be responsible and respectful in many facets of his life.
