Anyone who has watched their child grow up with a pet knows just how special their bond can be. But should that bond entitle them to nightly slumber parties?

Should I let my pet sleep on the floor of my child's bedroom?

While there’s no doubt that there are many benefits of children growing up with pets – from the reduction in likelihood of developing asthma and allergies, to the development of better social skills – it’s not advisable to let your pet sleep in your child’s bedroom, even if it’s only on the floor. Namely this is for the safety of your child, but also so that you don’t establish behaviours that your child may not want to continue as they get older.

Safety first

Even if your dog is the most placid animal on the planet, it’s never advisable to leave a child alone with them. This may sound extreme, but it can be common for children to unknowingly provoke aggressive behaviour from dogs, even the docile ones. If your dog is startled and awoken from their sleep suddenly, they may lash out and bite your child. Defensive aggression is an instinctive response in animals, and a lot of children don’t understand that they quite literally need to let their sleeping dog lie.

If you have a cat, you most likely already know that they’re not as compliant as dogs. Just because you want them to sleep on your child’s bedroom floor, doesn’t mean they will. It’s far more likely that they’ll take up a cosy position curled up under the doona alongside your child. This presents some risks to your child’s health and quality of sleep. Similar to dogs, cats are also prone to defensive aggression – scratching and biting – if startled awake from sleep or petted too roughly. Furthermore, if you’ve had your cat longer than your child, they may be quite territorial and anxious about the arrival of a new family member and the upheaval of their world. For this reason it’s best that they aren’t in the same room as your sleeping child at all.

Independence

It’s really important to train your pets from an early age to sleep away from the family. Whether or not this is something you continue as they get older, sleeping in their own crate or bed teaches your pet to be independent; which is a good tool in preventing issues like separation anxiety.

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Conversely, as your child grows up and strives for their own independence and personal space, they may find that they don’t want to share their room with their pet anymore. Trying to teach a dog or cat that they aren’t allowed in a place they were formally allowed, is much more challenging than asserting the rules from when you bring them home.