Introducing Your Pet to Co-op Kids

If you have a pet, take special precautions during babysitting shifts at your house. Your own children are accustomed to your pet, so it's easy to forget that not all children know how to treat animals.

The American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry recommends that young children (ages 4 and under) should be monitored at all times when they're around animals because children of this age have poor impulse control.

When children come to your home, tell them not to touch your pets at first because they don't know each other yet. Have the children sit down and let the pet walk over to them. Give each child a small treat to offer the pet.

If your pets are uncomfortable with the noise and bustle of a babysitting shift (and many are), keep the pets away from the fray until your babysitting shift is over.