Taking pet rats to a kindergarten, how to make it less stressful for them.

Question

I am on teaching practice (as I am studying early childhood education) and they are doing a drama next week at the centre about a rat and the teachers invited me to bring my rats along.

I said I would bring them, but wondered how I could make the experience as stress free as possible for them. There are three of them. One in particular is nervous and so I won't be taking her out of the cage. I want to take them all so they are not stressed further by being separated and have the company of one another in a strange place. Have you got any other tips that would help their visit less stressful? The children will be seated quietly when they come out (of the office) so it shouldn't be too rowdy.

Answer 1

I used to give live animal programs at a nature center.

A few good guidelines -

Have a "two finger" rule. The kids can pet the rat with two fingers and only on the rat's back toward the tail. Demonstrate. Hold the rat securely in two hands facing you.

Explain beforehand that if the rat gets scared, he's going back into his house. Make sure all the children are seated before you start making the rounds. If they are noisy or get out of their seats once you've started, don't hesitate to put the rat back in the cage and explain that he was scared - even if the rat is showing no visible signs of fear and is happy as a clam, if the kids don't obey, put the rat back. You can try again later if you wish. I've found that putting the animal away is the only way to get the kids to listen once they've crossed the line.

If you're going to take questions or comments, be prepared for a dozen variants of, "I used to have a hamster!" A better way to get the kids involved is to ask specific questions like, "Where do rats live?" "What do rats eat?" Avoid the temptation to tell them that they live in sewers and eat children.

In my programs, some of the animals I'd put down on the floor to show "how they move." It depends on the animal - turtles always got to take a few steps, but ferrets never left my hands. With a rat, you might be better off putting a "playpen" on the table and letting the rat sniff around a little, but only if the rat seems comfortable. Give him a sunflower seed to demonstrate "how they eat." If you feel like the rat will bolt the minute you let go, let the kids observe the rats in the cage.

But remember - the most important thing is to not be afraid to put the rat back if the children don't listen! It seems harsh, but it gets through to them and save the animal lots of stress.

I have a distinct memory of an art class in elementary school where the teacher told us we were no longer allowed to work on our projects because we weren't behaving well enough. She took them away and we sat in silence for 40 minutes. Sure, there were probably some POed parents, but do you think we ever misbehaved in art class again?  

Answer 2

if your rats are used to being handled.. and handled by strangers.. and noise.. it will be no problem.. so have friends come over and handle them prior

also talk to the kids before hand about the importance of NOT moving suddenly.. not screaming...etc..have the teacher select the best behaved kids to handle the rats ONLY

Answer 3

You clearly know nothing about kids!

'It shouldn't be too rowdy'- I'm telling you from lecturing Beavers where I work, in a pet shop, about loads of animals, that they don't shut up when animals are involved. They'll squeal, scream, whine, say random things like 'I HAVE A CAT'.

It's not the ideal situations for rats at all, but you need to talk to the kids first. Tell them that the rats need them to be very, very quiet, or else they'll have to go away- they'll probably still make noise when the rats come out, but you kind of need to be patornizing to them, which I know people are a little weird about doing to kids these days.

I'd advise you hold them whilst the kids line up quietly and come up and stroke them. Don't pass the rats around or let the kids hold them- if they were to freak out and bite them, or if their hands smelt like food and they bit them, you'd be in a lot of trouble! So get the kids in a neat, quiet line, and let them stroke, one by one, the rats.

But all in all, if you keep your voice soft, they'll probably keep quiet too- kids are great at mimicking, especially at that age, so don't go in going 'YOU HAVE TO BE QUIET'- you keep quiet, they'll keep quiet.

Watch out for signs of stress in the rat- fidgting, breathing hard, red eyes/nose, squeaking unusually, etc. If you see these signs, put them away in a dark space.

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I personally feel you should let them touch the top of their head, and stroke a bit- not handling, not intense, just a little touch. Children learn the best not to be afraid with touch, and you could be doing a good thing to get a whole class not to be scared of something their parents may well dislike. I've convinced people not to be scared of rats at work, but you do need to let them touch a little to show nothing bad is going to happen, or you may as well take a photograph of your rats and not bother stressing them at all by moving them around!

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I didn't really mean literally you don't know nothing about kids- I just meant you need to think of how kids react to an unusual stimil, like an animal. Kids get over excited to do with animals, and they will be noisy- it's not that you don't know anything, because clearly you do- well done and all for near graduating- but you are being naive in thinking they're just going to sit and be even the smallest bit quiet.

Answer 4

dont let the children hold the rats!! For gods sake! I know first hand how children like "squeeeeze" the animals life out of them

Answer 5

well cover the cage as much as possible so they cant see out of it. make it fun and distracting. so they can play. and give them lots of food so they have something to do aother than stress.

Answer 6

Get them used to NOT being CAGED FIRST. Then  let them roam about freely but if you keep an eye on them and smack them/Let them sit on your lap etc then you are ready for the school Drama!

Try Chocolates and dressing them up at home so each Knows their Part!!!

Invite some of the Kids over and get them used to the cute Dressed up Rodents!!

Answer 7

You need to make sure that you are as gentle with the rats as possible and talk low and make sure the kids aren't shouting. Also if they are going to be holding the rat make sure they don't grab the rat off of anyones shirt because that hurts the claws. I used to have mice, also you should put on some music like classical, it is proven it helps calm certain rodents down.

Answer 8

just give then lots of dark places to hide and if they get scared they can go in them it will be less stresfull to them because the kids wont be able to see them