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All the children tend to want their pets to sleep next to them in bed or in the same room, but you need to be careful if you have a child aged 6 years or younger if he wants to sleep alone with a pet.
“A parent should monitor a child to make sure they use good judgment when they feed, hydrate, or walk it. Take that into consideration before a child should sleep with a pet1.
If your child has been practicing some mean behaviors with your pet like pulling its tail, rough play, or neglecting his needs are all indications that the child is not yet mature enough to sleep next to a pet. Dogs and cats may tolerate some childhood mischief but become fearful and will eventually strike out. Wait until the child has a record of maturity with the pet before allowing them to sleep together.
It is always critical to let your babies sleep next to your pet, especially those younger than 3 months, because they are more susceptible to certain kinds of infections due to their undeveloped immune systems2.
Finally, if you keep your pet in check with their vaccinations and flea medication, it should be fine to sleep next to your pet in the same room. However, the CDC does warn that sharing a bed with your pet can be as dangerous as face licking or kissing for transmission of zoonotic diseases, including plague, meningitis, and parasites3.
Dr Issam Abdel Samad
Head of Pediatric department and NICU Ain Wazein Medical Village
