This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Learning to Be Kind to Animals

What you need to know (and teach your children) about interacting with animals.

Being kind to animals is something that many of us practice on a daily basis.  However, did you know that an entire week is set aside to promote the humane treatment of animals? Be Kind to Animals Week was May 1-7 and focused on educating people about how to best care for our furry friends. 

There are some obvious ways we can care for animals: protect them from extreme weather, take them to the vet when they’re sick, make sure they have adequate food, water, medicine and shelter. Many people assume that as long as they follow these basic guidelines, they’re successfully protecting their pets from basic dangers.  However, one common risk people unknowingly expose their pets to is children. 

It’s no secret—children are inquisitively drawn to the charming nature of animals.  Who can blame them? Animals are furry, funny, endearing and off the charts when it comes to cuteness. However, as responsible pet owners and parents it’s important for us to teach children how to play safely with all the animals they encounter. The reality is that most animals can and will go into a defensive mode if provoked. Similarly, children can naively mishandle animals and inadvertently inflict pain or trauma as a result.

Find out what's happening in Rancho Bernardo-4s Ranchwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The key to creating a safe environment for both children and animals is providing education and supervision. To ensure the constant safety of all children and animals involved, it’s essential that interactions between the two always take place under adult supervision. In addition, children must be taught the proper ways to handle and approach animals. Here are some good ground rules for teaching children about basic animal safety:

  • Respect an animal’s space during meal time. Animals can very easily mistake an innocently curious child as a threat to their meal. 
  • Never approach a stray animal. There’s no telling what kind of temperament it might have, and walking over to investigate isn’t worth the risk it poses to the child or the animal. If you see a stray animal, call your local animal control agency so they can safely pick up the animal.
  • Always be gentle with all animals. Often times, children don’t realize their strength compared to small or young animals. It’s important to emphasize to children how delicate animals are and that they should always be handled with great care and respect. 
  • Never disturb a sleeping animal. Animals that are abruptly awakened sometimes come out of their slumber in full alert mode. They are likely to act out in self-defense before they have enough time to process whether an actual threat exists. 
  • It’s never OK to trap, confine, trick or harm an animal. It’s our responsibility to protect and respect all living creatures. We must never exploit the fact that some animals are defenseless or perhaps aren’t as strong as we are.
  • Always ask pet owners if it’s OK to pet their animals. Adults and children alike make the assumption that because an animal is someone’s pet, it must be friendly. The truth is not all domesticated pets are friendly to strangers.  So it’s important to always ask first before you make contact with the animal.
  • Do not feed animals table scraps. Their digestive systems are not built to break down human food. Introducing food into any environment can alter an animal’s disposition to be more forceful, aggressive or food-oriented.

Ultimately, teaching children how to treat animals humanely will offer them a solid foundation upon which they can develop a healthy and safe relationship with all living creatures. Be Kind to Animals Week encapsulated this idea by encouraging adults and children alike to learn more about safe and proper animal care.

Find out what's happening in Rancho Bernardo-4s Ranchwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For more tips on how you can become an advocate of treating animals kindly during this annual tradition as well as every day, visit the American Humane Association’s website at Americanhumane.org/interaction/programs/be-kind-to-animals-week/.

Find us on Facebook and Twitter @RBPatch.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?