For an 11-year-old's first pet, great choices are guinea pigs, rats, or bettas (fish) for their interactive but manageable care, while hamsters offer classic small pet responsibility; cats and dogs are also excellent but require more commitment, with options like Bearded Dragons or even dwarf pythons appealing for older, responsible kids seeking reptiles, but always research specific needs like proper housing and social requirements (e.g., guinea pigs need pairs) before choosing.
For children under 13 I would say cats and dogs are the best option. Children of a younger age want to physically interact with animals, but they may lack some of the fine motor skills that allow adults to gently handle pets like birds and rodents.
Pets can be great friends and teachers to children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), or other mental health concerns. Plenty of research exists backing up the helpfulness of having animals in therapy, school, or at home.
Here are some of the easiest pets to care for:
Great Dane. The giant Great Dane is one of the calmest dog breeds. Their gentle, quiet nature makes them good family dogs, but they do need plenty of space to live and play.
How it works: Commit to doing a task for just 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, you can stop—or often, momentum carries you forward. This leverages reduced overwhelm and the brain's reward system.
Sulkama and colleagues (2021; 2023), using a behavioral survey developed for ADHD-like behaviors in dogs, evaluated over 13,700 Finnish dogs from 264 breeds and mixed breeds. Breeds with the highest levels of hyperactivity and impulsivity were working dogs like shepherds, terriers, and retrievers.
The fact that Pilkey himself had ADHD as a child and was often sent out of the class for being disruptive (in fact, sitting outside the class was where he started drawing Captain Underpants) means he particularly gets what kids with short attention spans relate to and therefore includes less traditionally bookish kids ...
Most Popular Pets in America
If you're going to be out of the house a lot, make sure you choose a breed that's comfortable alone. Dog breeds that can be left alone include Labrador Retrievers, Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs, and Corgis (Welsh and Pembroke varieties).
For a 10 year old, a pet with moderate care needs like a guinea pig, bearded dragon, or cat can be a great way to teach responsibility without overwhelming them.
For apartment dwellers, these benefits are especially precious because pets create warmth and life in smaller, quieter spaces.
Best Pets for Kids with Anxiety or ADHD
Ans: Most dogs adjust within the 3-3-3 rule timeline: 3 days to decompress, 3 weeks to learn routines, and 3 months to feel fully secure.
Showing that an animal is hyperactive is not sufficient for it to be accepted as a model of ADHD. Based on behavioral, genetic, and neurobiological data, the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) obtained from Charles River, Germany, (SHR/NCrl) is at present the best-validated animal model of ADHD.
The apparent reduction in life expectancy for adults with diagnosed ADHD relative to the general population was 6.78 years (95% CI: 4.50 to 9.11) for males, and 8.64 years (95% CI: 6.55 to 10.91) for females. Adults with diagnosed ADHD are living shorter lives than they should.
For adults, 7-8 hours is recommended. Try to avoid napping during the day.
Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Beagles, Basset Hounds, and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are known for their gentle, friendly nature and are among the least aggressive breeds. Pugs, Newfoundland, and Greyhounds also have calm, easygoing temperaments.
Cats will eat you, if there is no other ready protein available and only once at the point where their liver would kill them if they didn't eat. Dogs *could* wait far longer. But they will eat you *before* they are threatened with their own death.
What makes a good pet is a good pet steward. This means understanding the type of pet you are getting including all of that pet's needs, not just diet and habitat, but what kind of social interaction it needs to be happy and safe. Many animals need almost round the clock contact to really be a safe and happy "pet".