You might think that your children know that hitting animals is not acceptable, but do they really know? For adults, we look at it as common sense, children do not. We always want to reinforce safe behaviors for our pets and our children, here is how you can ensure that your children know not to hit animals.

It hurts, don’t do it! 

Explain to your children that pets, just like humans, experience pain in the same way.  Ask them how they would feel if somebody hit them, let them know that pets feel the same way.  Ensure your children understand, that not only does a pet feel the pain, they can respond by inflicting pain.

Monitor Your Children:

Many parents feel that they monitor their kids very well will of the presence of animals.  However, that may not be the case.  Count how many times you turn your back while your children are in the room with their pet dog.

Every time you turn your back, you’re not monitoring your child with the dog.  Unless you can be in the room and pay attention to every move your child makes, keep your dog in a secure area.  This is for the safety of the child and your dog.  Do this until your child understands that dogs have feelings too.

Teach your child which parts of the dog not to touch.

If your dog these iffy about having his tail or ears touched, teacher child that he does not like that.  Many dogs do not like children near their tail, or out of direct eyesight.  They do this for their safety.  Teach your children the zones that your dog does not like being pulled at or even petted.

Following the simple rules will ensure that your child and your dog have a safe experience with one another.

That's right. All you need to do is ask your child to read your dog some stories.

Pick a quiet space
Obviously the dog is not going to be attentive if there is too much going on. Neither is your child. Choose a spot for the reading where there won't be interruptions or loud noises going on.

Make it a routine
Have a specific time of day each day that your dog needs to hear his stories. Let your child know what that time is. A good example would be the time the dog normally takes a nap. That way, everyone will be relaxed.

Keep it fun
Don't worry about whether your child is pronouncing everything correctly or not. Just let her read to the dog and have fun. Save the lessons for lesson and study time. This time is intended to encourage, inspire, and delight your child.

About the Author
Lyn Lomasi's Founder & Community Manager of Write W.A.V.E. Media, which spotlights writers for existing work, as well as encourages expression while earning. Along with her amazing business & life partner, Richard Rowell, Lyn manages a freelance writer team.

She’s your content superhero to the rescue! Lyn's been writing web content for years & rescuing civilians from boring text since the age of three. SEO, custom content, web design, & other content nightmares are her dream come true!

Lyn formerly acted as Community Manager & Advocate at Yahoo! Contributor Network, where she assisted writers with community, editing, technical, & other issues. Her work’s featured all over the web. From parenting, energy usage, pets, homelessness, to reducing waste & more, Lyn’s committed to saving the Earth as a whole.

For the self-made momtrepreneur, sustainability is a way of life and a labor of love. She’s raising her kids and pets in Colorado.

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