Value of pets in young children's lives.

We recently moved to a house where no dogs, cats were allowed.  We managed to get permission for some budgies. My daughter,8 gets up every morning to take the two of them out of the cage and train them to sit on her finger, even the 11yr old had one perched on her finger today.  My eight year old always showed an interest in animals from a young age and we now call her the. 'Bird whisperer'.

Here are some of the qualities I feel she is developing as she cares for our birds:
. Perseverance; as she repeats the same strategies each day to train the birds to sit on her finger and one on her shoulder.  She never gives up, even when they inevitably fly to a mirror on a bench in the bar area.   She made it all the way to our room this morning to show us!
. Responsibility; as she is reminded but expected to tick off on a chart of jobs that she has feed the pets.  ( although cleaning out cage seems to be too much for her due to their droppings!
. Caring for a living creature other than herself.
. Learning to look up information on budgies when she is unsure what to do or what the possibilities are for training budgies, eg next she wants to train them to talk!
. Learning about living creatures and their needs.
. Being gently and kind and patient.

So if you have no room for large animals, then consider a small addition to the family, particularly if the child shows an interest in caring for animals.