When I was six years old, my parents bought me my first hamster. I named her Becky, after my best friend (naturally), and loved her very much. My parents taught me to take care of her—to feed her and give her fresh water every day, to change her bedding, to carefully put her into her exercise ball. She lived for three years and was the catalyst for my lifelong love of animals.

I had friends, however, whom I wouldn’t let near Becky. One friend in particular, I discovered, tried to put her on a blanket and toss her into the air, calling it “parachuting.” (I later discovered that this “friend” was anything but fodder for childhood nightmares and future therapist discussions for anyone she came across.) These friends were either my age or older, proving that six—or seven or even eight—is not always the best age for hamster care.

So when is the appropriate age to let a child handle a small pet? The answer likely varies with the child. Some children simply mature faster than others—which isn’t necessarily a good thing; after all, you don’t want to rush childhood, right? But children who haven’t yet learned to respect animals—particularly smaller ones—as other forms of life shouldn’t be allowed to care for them—or even hold them without supervision.

They are, however, great teaching tools for children who can grasp how important it is to be gentle. To get to that point, you can start with larger animals—like cats and dogs—and teach how to be gentle. Show how animals like to be pet, and how important it is not to pull their tails or hurt them in any way.

When your child has a basic grasp on handling animals—as well as animal safety, such as hand washing and not putting the animals near their mouths—you could start with a larger pocket pet such as a guinea pig, or some fish. Give them a small role in caring for the pet, such as feeding it (this can be done with dogs and cats as well).

Gradually increase his or her role, allowing more and more handling time. When you are sure your child understands what it takes to care for his or her pet, it might be time to let him or her take over (still with some supervision), and maybe your next pet could come in the form of something smaller, like a hamster.

How old were you—or your children—when you adopted your first pocket pet? What did you use as your baseline for determining if they were ready or not?