>A. They are not suitable for pets if you have very young children.  They
>should always be supervised when playing with children.  Ferrets and
>children are both excitable.  When ferrets get excited they play by jumping,
 
David Ellis wrote a great response to a gentleman who inquired about ferrets
as pets.  I enjoyed reading the post; however, I wished to express my
opinion/experiences regarding the above.  I would rather have said something
like "Ferrets are not suitable to be pets for very young children." In fact,
I really don't think there is any pet that should be owned by a young child
as we all know who *really* will be taking care of the pet and the adult
needs to totally understand that fact.
 
Aside from that, I'd also concede that there are pets that are much easier
for a young child to interact with.  Ferrets are excitable, may nip out of
play...and (even worse) are easy for a young child to accidentally hurt.
(Visualize a young child hopping about on the floor with a ferret...then
imagine that young child losing their footing as happens constantly with
toddlers and preschoolers.) However, I don't think it would be unsuitable
for a parent of a young child (or toddler or baby) to own a ferret.
 
As a mother of a young child (2 yrs) and a mother who plans to have more
children, I think the most important thing is to understand not only a
ferret's temperament and limitations but also those of the child(ren)
involved.  I believe ferrets and children can live happily and joyfully in
the same household.  But I think that to expect to have free-roaming ferrets
in such a household would be not just possibly dangerous for the kids but
most certainly dangerous for the ferrets.  (I don't believe a 2 yr old would
purposely kill a ferret...but there are many things which a 2 yr would do
that would kill the ferret whether it was intended or not.  For example, my
son loves to put things in the toilet and flush...it's a natural thing for a
2 yr old to do but could be disasterous if the "thing" was a ferret.)
 
Anyway, I just feel that there's nothing unsuitable about having a ferret in
a household with young children/babies...as long as the parent is educated
and responsible.  I do think it's important to warn potential owners of the
conflicts that would arise in such a household, and for that reason, I'm
glad that David mentioned that aspect of ferrets.  We just slightly disagree
on how to draw the line I think.
 
A note to BIG: If this is an explosive topic, please don't post.  I don't
wish to cause conflict, and only wanted to share my opinion/experiences...
not promote an arguement.  Thanks.
 
Kim F
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[Moderator's note: I don't notice much conflict here... BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 2169]