How to Convince Your Parents to Get You a Pet

If you want to have a pet but your parents aren’t on board yet, you may have to take a clever approach. The gist here is to convince your parents by doing your own research and proving that you can take care of a new pet easily. Let 5-Minute Crafts guide you through the entire process below.

Research

• Begin by researching the pet or the pet breed you’re interested in. There are a lot of resources available online for dogs, cats, guinea pigs, aquatic pets, and exotic animals.
• If you like a pet in a certain breed, but your family members are allergic to it, you can try to find a hypoallergic dog breed instead.
• Ask your friend who has or had a pet, or ask your parents to consult with an animal trainer about which breed is suitable and how to take care of the pet.​​
• You may also want to look up the state laws if you are planning to get an exotic pet. For instance, it’s illegal to keep a Bengal Cat in New York City and in the state of Hawaii.

Make a pet fund.

• If you are a student, you can make a pet fund by adding your own savings or pocket money to it. You can also get a part-time job or save up your birthday money.
• If you don’t get pocket money and would need your parents to manage the budget, it’s high time to win their hearts by being a responsible child, which brings us to the next point.

Be responsible and act mature.

• In order to convince your parents that you can look after your pet, you need to prove to them that you are responsible enough to handle it. Complete your homework, get good grades, do the dishes, and do anything to get on their “good side.”
• When things are not going your way, instead of fretting about the matter and acting impulsively, say, “I agree with your decision.” Responding with maturity always increases your chances of getting things done.

Approach your parents at the right time.

Once you have gathered enough information, it’s time to approach your parents.

• You can also create an organized presentation that will showcase everything you’ve researched about your potential pets. Try to cover as many aspects as you think they’ll have questions about. In other words, include everything that will help to convince your parents.
• Try approaching them on the weekend when they are super relaxed. You can also ask them to gift you a pet on your birthday.
• They’ll still come up with a lot of questions. Our advice is to answer them honestly and show them how you’ll manage everything. Let the presentation you made do its magic. Also, do not forget to mention the benefits of having a pet in the family.
• Don’t fret or whine if they say no on the first try. Give them time to process this information, then try persuading them again once you’ve cooled down.

Address your parents’ concerns

If your parents are concerned about the furniture being clawed up, chewed up shoes, or any kind of destruction in the house, you can come up with a plan to tackle all of these things.

• You can limit the damage by installing baby gates during training time.
• You may also need to make sure that you have some extra space for your pet to play. This can be a basement, a den, or any safe and open space.
• If they are concerned about the costs, assure them that you’ll have a separate pet fund made up of your own pocket money.
• If they are concerned about the time it takes to look after a pet, give them full assurance that you’ll look after the pet at all times. Whether it’s feeding, cleaning up after their mess, or medical care.
• If your family members are allergic to pet fur, you can suggest some hypoallergenic pet breeds.

Make a written-agreement with your parents.

It doesn’t have to be a fancy, backed-up by a lawyer agreement. All it needs to include are the following aspects:

• Show them your savings account to prove to them that you can handle the expenses needed to manage the pet.

• This will also include who will be responsible for the caretaking, the daily walks, cleaning up the pet’s mess, and the training sessions.

• You can choose to attach an updated pet care chart that will include the pet’s daily, monthly, and annual needs, specific diet regimen, vaccinations, medicine, trips to the vet, and a lot more.

• You can also prepare a timetable that will comprise everything from the time they wake up to the time they go to sleep. It will take feeding time, walking time, medicine time, and much more into consideration.

Babysit or adopt a friend’s pet for a few days.

• If your parents are still doubtful after you have shared every aspect of your research about having a pet, go for a test run, meaning babysit or adopt a pet from someone you know. In this way, you can show them a demo of how you’ll handle everything.
• You’ll also understand the pet’s habits, diet regimen, and how they adapt themselves to your environment. This experience will make it easy for you to gauge your adjustments later, when you’ll have a pet of your own.