Toddler Safety

Safety with Pets

Animals can be excellent friends for your toddler. Your toddler can learn valuable social and emotional skills by interacting with and helping to care for pets.

Safety with Your Pet

• Keep dry pet food out of your toddler’s reach. It is a choking hazard.
• Thoroughly wash your hands and your toddler’s hands after handling pets.
• Never leave your toddler alone with an animal, even if you trust the animal.
• Teach your toddler to recognize the signs of aggression in a pet.
• Model gentle caring for a pet. Remember, your toddler learns from what he or she sees.
• Explain in simple terms how to act with animals:
  • “The dog likes to be patted gently.”
  • “The puppy’s barking or growling is his way of telling you to stop.”
  • “That’s the puppy’s special toy and he wants to chew on it now.”
• If you are thinking about getting a pet, it is best to wait until your child is five or six. At an older age, your toddler will be better able to understand how to be gentle with an animal.
• Keep your pet healthy by taking it to the vet regularly, and keep your pet’s immunizations current. Also, keep your pet away from wild animals.
• Do not keep wild animals, including ferrets, as pets.
• Reptiles are not recommended as pets. Turtles in particular can transmit salmonella bacteria which could make your toddler very sick. Turtles should not be kept as pets.

Safety with Other People’s Pets

Always keep your toddler away from animals you do not know. Teach your toddler not to go near an animal unless there is an adult around and the owner gives permission.

• Don’t be shy about asking someone to put a dog on a leash. A toddler’s safety comes before a dog’s right to roam freely. Many parks have rules that dogs must be on a leash or well controlled.
• Always be with your toddler around animals, even ones you trust.
• When near a new mother cat or dog, do not go very close since they may feel threatened and bite or claw.
• If people bring their dog when they visit, ask them to put the dog on a leash for a while. This gives your toddler a chance to warm up to it, and the dog can become comfortable with everyone. It also gives you a chance to check whether it is safe for the dog to be off leash.

Animal Bites and Scratches

Certain diseases can spread from pets to people through biting, scratching, or direct contact. Cat bites are usually thin and deep, and they may not look very serious. However, they are often more serious than dog bites.

Prevent the spread of disease by training your dog or cat not to bite or scratch. Keep your pet’s nails trimmed short. If your toddler does get a bite or a scratch, thoroughly clean the area with soap and water. If the area does not seem to be healing normally, ask your doctor about the possibility of an infection.

If your toddler is bitten by an animal that is not yours, call your doctor, local public health office, or HealthLink BC at 8‑1‑1 if:

• There was no obvious reason for the animal to bite.
• The animal is not acting normally.
• The animal seems sick.
• The wound looks serious.