by Joyce Slaton posted in Products

Dogs and cats are at the top of the human-pet love pyramid for a reason -- they like people, they'll willingly live with you, and they're relatively easy to care for. But if you can't or don't want to have a dog or a cat, and have a young child who desperately wants a pet, you may be wondering what other pets might work. Here are some great -- and terrible -- options.
The worst pets for young children

Mice, gerbils, chinchillas, and hamsters
These sort of "pocket pets" are fuzzy and small, so you might think they'll be great for your children, who are also small. But these rodents are generally terrified of humans -- you can train them to appreciate human touch if they're handled gently and frequently as babies, but they're often sold full-grown at pet stores, and parents can't trust that young children won't squeeze them too hard -- or accidentally let them out of their cage, never to be seen again. Small rodents also require a surprising amount of care. They need a special cage, food that's not sold at the grocery store, a water dispenser, something to exercise on, and "bedding" -- i.e. wood chips, that the rodents pee on, and you'll have to change weekly or even more often. Wait, you say you didn't want a small box of peed-on wood chips in your child's bedroom" Finally, many of these rodents are actually nocturnal. When you want to pet them during the day, they'll be asleep; at night, when you're trying to sle...