Drawbacks

While rewarding, having animals in an early childhood setting comes with it's own list of hazards.

Many of us have probably had the idyllic orchard dream.  You know, the one in which a smiling group of happy four year olds run freely through the blossom trees with gentle goats, chickens, and ducks.

But the reality is usually far from this.  If this picture exists in real life, it's much more likely to include tail-less chooks, bitten fingers, beleaguered goats, with an incident or two of concussion thrown in for good measure.

Animals can be dangerous.

Children can be too.

Putting the two together does not generally result in naturally occurring harmony!

In order to benefit from interactions with animals, children need to be closely supervised by confident, competent adults.  This limits risk to everyone involved (Bone, 2013).  Freedom and responsibility is gradually extended to a child as they show the maturity to properly care for both themselves and the animal.

Pitfalls abound for the unwary.  These pitfalls can tempt early childhood practitioners to avoid all contact with animals in their centre, whether by deliberate design or accidental omission. 

Safety is probably of the biggest concern.  Primarily, concern is for the safety of our precious children, but the welfare of a centre's pets is also important.  The "onus" is on the adults to be knowledgeable and proactive in teaching children how to behave around animals for everyone's safety and enjoyment (see Recommendations).  As Bone (2013) points out, if an animal does bite a child in day to day interactions, frequently the context is overlooked, often negatively for the animal who may have been teaching the child a lesson in consequences (Bone, 2013).  Children do also need to know that animals can be unpredictable (Bone, 2103), and "early childhood educators and families need to understand the causes of dog bites, (and) learn how to teach the key prevention concepts to young children..." (Bone, 2013, p.7).

One poor experience with animals, especially dogs, can create a huge amount of fear in children.  Adults need to be able to confidently interact with and manage animals before safely leading children into an encounter, and all too often we as adults don't really know enough about how to manage our pets well. 

Lydia enjoys feeding the ducks with her Dad, Luke.  But it's not to nice when a big swan tries to eat her fingers too!  Thankfully Daddy is there to soothe any tears and ward off any further forward attempts by the swan so his daughter can continue to enjoy feeding the ducks, though still a little wary of the swan!

"Bella used to have a dog phobia.  One barked at her over a fence one day and freaked her out.  Since then she'd scream if she saw one walking down the street" (Bella's Mum, Nicole, Personal Communication).  With careful exposure she has finally calmed down enough to enjoy interactions with gentle dogs.  This photo is with a cat and dog who visit rest homes and malls, one of the first dogs Bella was comfortable with.

"Milly is old and has been part of our family for years.  She's arthritic, almost completely deaf and blind, and frequently grumpy.  She's really an affectionate, friendly dog, but prone to snapping, especially when woken suddenly.  Michael's been taught by his grandparents never to touch the dog unless her tail is waging at him.  He knows not to touch her around her tail where it is sore, and not to put his face close to her.  She loves his rubs, but would all too easily snap first and apologise profusely afterwards, which would raise questions over whether she is safe to keep as well as the actual trauma of the event.  Michael is therefore closely supervised with Milly and frequently reminded how to interact.  But it's a lot of work and sometimes quite nerve wracking" (Amy, Michael's Mum, Personal Communication).

And while we often focus on the safety of our children, child cruelty towards animals is a big issue with pets in the early years.  Young children need guidance to be gentle and kind towards animals.  Their developmental levels can often mean they are simply unaware of the pain they  may be inflicting on another.  Cruelty is usually put down to "over-exuberance, inability to assess their own strength, (or) lack of experience" (Alach, 2003, p.27).  But Ascione (1994) cautions teachers that continued abuse by children towards animals can highlight abuse at home (cited in Alach, 2003).

Cost can be a prohibiting factor for some centres or families towards having pets that children can interact with.  Different animals will require different outlay, both in terms of initial costs and on-going maintenance.  Sometimes a centre simply doesn't have any extra budget or needs to cut back, and animals can be the first to go as while providing many benefits, these can at times be hard to quantify.

Animals take time, and lots of it.  This can be really discouraging when you've already got a teaching team stretched to handle children, paperwork, and the myriad of daily tasks involved in operating a centre.  Have you ever noticed how many dogs or cats are "free to a good home?"  Wondered why?  Quite often it is simply that the animal was more work than it's family had anticipated.  The early excitement has worn off, the pee on the carpet or scratches on the walls are problematic, child A is uninterested and child B slightly scared.  The same can happen in a public setting in the early years.  A centre pet may hold great allure in it's early days, but keeping up the time and energy it requires can be daunting six months later.  Training is often required for the animal and it's carers. 

Who takes responsibility?  Families often enjoy adopting the preschool bunny or budgie over the summer holidays but it can just as easily end up the Head Teacher's responsibility and for some, an unwanted one.  How many parents have you heard bemoan the fact that they got their child a pet, only to end up doing all the care of it themselves within a few months as the animal sat neglected as soon as the novelty wore off?  Animals are hard work.  There's no denying it.

Personal values and past experiences may be off-putting for teaching teams or parents looking at having animals.  Firstly, there are those embarrassing biology/reproduction questions that many teachers don't feel comfortable answering (Alach, 2003).  Then, for those who have had poor experiences with animals, or no experience at all, they may simply not feel comfortable or confident in interacting with animals.  Teachers who hate spiders, for instance, can find it very difficult encouraging interest in arachnids in their students.  A parent will usually choose an animal that they personally like as a pet for their child, rather than one they dislike or feel apathy towards.  But this can mean our children are presented with a very narrow view of the animal world, an almost sanitised, watered down one.  And just as a child can have their understanding and self-confidence grow through interacting with an animal, so too can an adult be challenged to reconsider their assumptions, or overcome fear.

This tiny spider is beautiful, but can also be very scary for some teachers and children.

Issues of hygiene need to be considered.  Animals can be really messy and it's not a pleasant experience stepping in poo of any kind!

As parent, Alyson says, "It is hard having a very hairy 3rd child who can't clean up after herself and on some days I just wish I didn't have anything extra on my plate" (personal communication).

In order for animals to be a blessing and not a burden, care needs to be taken to ensure they and their homes are kept clean.  Hands should be washed after holding too of course.  Some serious diseases can occur from poor hygiene around animals.  Toxoplasmosis, for instance, a parasite sometimes found in cat faeces (Bone, 2013).  This all takes time and effort. 

There is some concern about how animals are cared for in early childhood settings, particularly around respect and compassion by teachers who can tend to become a little blasé over pet's demises(Bone, 2103).

Chook poo attracting flies!  A normal part of decomposition but not necessarily something we want close proximity to!

And some children or adults in a centre or home may have genuine allergic responses to certain animals so care may need to be taken to either avoid certain animals altogether, or minimise reactions for the person affected (see here). 

Some children (and adults) can get overly attached to their pets.  This can be really hard if a beloved animal gets sick and dies.  Sometimes it's easier just not to go there.  Teachers need to be aware that how they deal with the death of a centre pet says very specific things to a child.  Respect for our animals is important, even in their deaths (Bone, 2013).  We do not want our children to become cynical or emotionally detached "veterans of animal loss and replacement" (Melson, 2001, cited in Bone, 2013, p.6).

Having pets in an early childhood centre is never going to be the same as having a pet at home.  It is a different setting, with different relational dynamics.  There is a danger that "even the same species kept as household pets, are no longer companions, confidants, and loved ones - in other words, intimates; they have become objects of inquiry" (Melson, 2001, cited in Bone, 2013, p.6).


But even so, children can still benefit from close interaction with animals.