The house is lonely and there's no activity and your child asks you "Can we get a dog or cat?" I bet you're thinking that your child isn't ready for a dog or a cat, so what would be the ideal first pet? Well this can mean figuratively, It doesn't have to be a creature with fur. There are many possibilities. Allow me to make recommendations that I have used myself.

Plants

What wonderful idea to have a plant as your first pet. It's a living creature, and they are wonderful to watch as they grow! But what would be the perfect plant as a pet? I'll recommend three types of plants

Succulents:

For starters they are low maintenance so if you forget to water it, don't worry it won't hurt the plant. (of course you do need to water later) All they need is a nice pot and love! They are also reasonably affordable in the price range, roughly around 5 to 12 dollars but if you want a deluxe set of succulents (which in a large amount) coast around 20 dollars. There are many cool pots that you pick out for these tiny plants such as a terrarium and besides having them at home they are great to have in an office or in a college dorm room. They are perfect for aesthetic flavor to decorate your personal bubble. And what's really cool is that there's a game about taking care of virtual succulent plants, you can find on Steam or on your phone, it's called Viridi.

Bonsai Tree:

They are pretty much similar with the aesthetic wise to a succulent, they are great models and they would be perfect for an office and a dorm room besides your household. Bonsai Trees are actually proven to maintain mental stress, balance peace and tranquility. Bonsai trees require proper water, care, trimming, and fertilizing to be healthy. Constantly caring for your plant can help develop your patience. Bonsai can help you get over your cold. Plants grown indoors can help fight fatigue, coughs, and sore throats and can clean and help purify the air. Bonsai's also have cool pots always. The price for one is around 30 dollars, they are a still pricey but they are definitely perfect for a pet.

Adzuki Bean Sprout:

I know what you are thinking, "Aren't these beans used for cooking?" Yes they are but they can also be a great pet! These Sprouts can grow very quickly and they are fascinating to watch, but you have to give the sprout a shish kabob tooth pick that way the sprout will have support otherwise the plant will die. The actual beans are around the price of 14 dollars at you local market or you can find them in Lush's Wiccy Magic Muscle Bar which is $12.95 because the bar of soap has the beans inside them.

Virtual Pet

Virtual pets are pretty much the next best thing. They are be very needy and will taste your patience. These are the three Virtual Pets that I recommend giving a try

Tamagotchis:

Ah yes, I remember my first Tamagotchi. My parents actually thought that this was a good idea as a first pet for my brother and I. These little guys were mostly popular in the 1990's. If you remember these little guys from the 1990's then you have an understanding and would agree with me why I recommend, but if you're not then here's a brief history lesson. A Tamagotchi is a keychain-sized virtual pet simulation game. The characters are colorful and simplistically designed creatures based on animals, objects, or people. Upon activating the toy, an egg appears on the screen. After setting the Tamagotchi unit's clock, the egg will wiggle for several minutes, and then hatch into a small pet. In later versions, inputting the player's name and birthday is also required when setting the clock, and at birth, the player can name the pet and learn of its family group and/or gender. The player can care for the pet as much or as little as they choose, and the outcome depends on the player's actions. The first Tamagotchis could only be paused by going to set the clock, effectively stopping the passage of time in the game, but in later models a pause function was included. They need a lot of love and attention otherwise they died. They brought back in stock in the year of 2004 called Tamagotchi Plus, In 2009, there have been over 44 Tamagotchi versions released since their creation in 1996 Internationally, in 2013, Tamagotchi Friends is the latest model, featuring a grayscale screen and a new NFC feature that enables owner to "bump" their Tamagotchi to trade items. An upgrade, called Tamagotchi Friends: Dream Town Digital Friend, was released in 2015. It has additional features, but can only be bought at online stores due to a lack of retailer interest in the product.In early 2013, Bandai released an enhanced version of the original 1996 Tamagotchi as a free iOS and Android app named "Tamagotchi L.i.f.e." A sequel to the game, "Tamagotchi L.i.f.e. Angel" was released on February 26, 2014. Some of the tamagotchi's are expensive but luckily with technology you can always download the apps.

Nintendogs:

I've had these too, and I've had a lot of fun taking care of them. This touchpad game was released in 2005 for the original Nintendo DS and also for the Nintendo DS Lite. Then in the year 2011 they made of squeal to the game called Nintendog + Cats for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was basically taking care for your pet dog with your stylus. You could have up 10 dogs (and cats too in the other) It was a joy taking care of these virtual dogs, even my brother and mom had a blast with this game.

Pokemon:

To this very day, I am proud to say that Pokemon will always be in my life. Even back in the 1990's with the older games only existed I have considered that the Pokemon that I captured were my pets, And Don't get me started on Hey You, Pikachu game on the N64! But now that the newer games (for example Pokemon X, Y, and so on) have been released there's a feature called Pokémon-Amie, it's similar to the Nintendogs gaming system expect with Pokemon. And this feature really warms my heart.

An Actual Pet

If your child is giving you the typical pout and you are still on the fence of getting a dog or a cat, then why not get them a smaller pet? Here are three pets that I recommend

Hermit Crabs:

I have had pet hermit crabs and they are fun to have as a companion. They are interesting and low-maintenance pets. These small crustaceans require a daily diet of fresh food and water, plus a misting of water to keep them moist. Housing is pretty simple, too: A tank with gravel on the bottom will do nicely You and your child will need to be attentive to the hermit crab's behavior, since they do molt regularly and require progressively larger shells to wear as they grow. Hermit crabs are a great way to introduce your child to the world of responsible pet ownership. A good sized tank is a 2.5 gallon fish tank, I have used this tank in the past when I had my hermit carbs and they can be found at pet stores roughly around 24 dollars.

Hamsters or any other type of small rodent:

I personally love having hamsters, they are cute, cuddly and literally a ball of fun. Any type of small rodent are all considered classic pets for children and beginners. Some are large, Some are petite, but mostly are good tempered. Their main requirements in life are food, water, a clean and comfy cage, and a wheel for exercise. Most small rodents can be adequately socialized with at least five minutes of handling per day. Plus, they're cute as buttons. The biggest thing to watch out for with these tiny critters is that they're excellent escape artists. They can easily squeeze through very small holes, run quickly, and (this is especially true with gerbils) gnaw through some types of cages. Therefore, a healthy sense of vigilance is important. The cages are also at a reasonable too like the fish tank.

Betta Fish:

A betta fish is another classic first pet, provided you pick the right one. Because most pet stores keep there bettas in small plastic containers, and barely have enough swimming space, so before choosing one you should keep your eyes open for these red flags: Loss of color, Spots or fungus on body or mouth, Cloudy eyes, Stress Stripes, Inactivity/Listlessness , Elevated scales, Unnaturally frayed fins, Labored respirations, Erratic swimming (floating sinking or jerking), Underweight/Bloated. If you happen to see a betta fish in this consider inform an employer and tell them the fish is unhealthy. If you happen to see a betta with a bubble nest, vibrate colors, and their swimming pattern is in the up region of the container that means they are healthy. Once you pick out the fish of your choice you are good to go. Like the hermit crabs a 2.5 gallon tank or bigger will be perfect for the fish to get exercise (They're fun to watch, too.) They'll also need a aquarium heater, a glass thermometer, A filter and a net. You and your child can have fun decorating the tank with gravel, plants and other accessories. They love to play hide-n-seek and they need to be busy! Also a word to the wise: This is one pet that's best purchased singly, because two bettas in the same habit will fight to the death. But a healthy, well-tended betta can live for two or four years.

I bet you are thinking "Wow I never betta fish needed so much care." Well what did you expect? They are pets and all pets require love. If you need help with more betta fish care I recommend visiting these websites.

• Take-Care-of-a-Betta-Fish
• Healthy-vs-Unhealthy-betta-fish
  
• Tips-For-Building-A-Simple-Betta-Tank
  
• Pet-Supplies-You-Need-To-Care-For-Betta-Fish
  

I hope this helps you choose what type of pet you'd like for you home. Just remember either if they are plants, digital, scales, or small welcome these pets with open arms and full of love.