Animals in ECEC settings
Last month's news report on the theft of a small baby crocodile from a service in Eaton, NT prompted questions on the place of animals in early childhood education and care environments.
According to the NT News the six-month old freshwater crocodile, known as Barney, was taken from a fish tank outside the Kid Force Child Care Centre.
Speaking to NT News Kid's Force manager Belinda Murray said they bought the crocodile just for something different.
"Most child care centres have chooks and things like that. We like our kids to be able to see and learn, not just hear and learn."
Ms Murray said Barney was an "angry" crocodile who wasn't afraid to bite.
"We had a permit for him and know how to handle him properly," she said.
As Ms Murray says many services have animals available for children and even the unexciting ones are usually popular with children.
There are many benefits for children of having animals available in child care services, including the opportunity for children to develop a caring and responsible attitude, how to handle animals correctly and animal care skills such as cleaning and feeding.
Pets can be built into the daily program and provide a valuable source of inspiration for the development of curriculum. There are however a range of issues which need to be considered before you pop out and buy yourself a baby croc.
Choosing the right pet
If your service has never had a pet before, it is important that you discuss the possibility of keeping a pet with all families at your service.
This ensures parents are able to give feedback about the decision as well as provide you with information about any allergies, fears or phobias their child may have. All of this information must be taken into consideration before you decide on the right animal for your service.
Unless there is an educator at the service willing to take the pet home at night, it may be better to choose a pet that is low maintenance such as goldfish or mice. It is also important for the educators at your service to discuss the ramifications of bringing a pet into the service.
Questions to consider include:
- Who will pay for the care and upkeep of the animal, including feeding, health care and cleaning?
- How will the pet be cared for on weekends and during service closure periods?
- What physical space is available in the service? Is it adequate for the pet you are thinking of?
- Are all educators and families happy with the decision to get a pet?
- What time will be available throughout the day to care for the pet or will educators be asked to give up some personal time for this?
- Are there any children or educators at your service who are allergic to, or have phobias of, animals?
- What changes to your service’s policies and procedures need to be considered? For example, your hand washing policy will need to be updated to include washing hands after having contact with the pet.
- Some animals, such as lizards, turtles, snakes, spiders and tropical fish may not be appropriate for the early childhood education and care setting. Check with a veterinarian if you are unsure whether a particular pet is suitable for children, and check with the local health department for regulations and advice regarding pets in child care. Some states and territories require a license for keeping certain animals.
- Animals that may be more likely to be suitable for child care may include goldfish, hermit crabs, stick insects, mice or rats. All of these animals are relatively low maintenance and can be left safely over a weekend if they are provided with sufficient food and water.
- What are the health and safety risks?
There are a number of issues you need to consider, including:
- Preventing children ingesting or touching faeces (droppings) or dirt that contains animal faeces or fleas
- Potential allergies. Many children are allergic to animals and may have symptoms when they are around them. Care also needs to be taken with children who have food allergies as some pet foods contain common allergens such as nuts and seafood
- Dog and cat bites are the most reported types of injuries caused by pets. The tearing and puncture wounds they produce can cause serious infections
- Parasites that may be transferred by pets, such as ringworm (which is a fungus), worms, fleas and ticks.
It is essential at all times to be conscious of the wellbeing and safety of both children and the animal/s in the service. Young children often don’t understand that they are hurting or frightening an animal, which can result in a normally placid pet reacting aggressively in fear or pain.
Having a pet is not appropriate for every child care service. If your service does not want to get a pet, then there are other interesting ways to introduce animals to children. For example, have an outing to a wildlife park in your town or city or regularly explore the outdoor area of your service or local park to see what creatures can be found, including birds, snails and butterflies. You can also have visitors and programs in your service such as mobile farms, reptile keepers and egg hatching programs.
There are many advantages to be gained from keeping animals in early childhood settings but they require, work, commitment and financial expenditure. Make sure you conduct a thorough cost/benefit analysis to determine whether keeping an animal is a good idea for your service.
Reference
Keeping Pets in Child Care Extract from Putting Children First, the magazine of the National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC) Issue 36 December 2010 (Page 10-11)
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