I guess I'll be the one to disagree with all others. I think hamsters are wonderful pets for children (age 8 & up). They for our family were the perfect first pet. My children learned responsability, compassion, care, and even learned about grief. Do we want our children to learn about grief? If everyone could live forever there would be no point, but thats not reality, so having a hamster where the life expectancy is anywhere on average from 2 to 3 years, was also a great lesson in grief. For children to learn how to deal with grief I feel is a very important life lesson we all need to learn some coping skills with. We've had many hamsters come through our home, a few died way before they should have, but most including the ones we currently have lived there full life expectancy. Of the current 2 we have, one is 2 1/2 and the other is already 3 and so far still living! My son, who owns these two, has an enormous cage for them in his room. Their night noise does not bother him. With the exception of one, none of our hamsters have ever bitten anyone. I help keep the cage clean, and don't mind it. Stuff can get matted in fur of "Teddy Bear" hamsters, but we've never had that issue with the short hair hamsters.
A pet like this is not for every family. If mom or dad end up doing most of the work in taking care of it's basic needs, at least it's only for a couple of years rather than longer wtih a guinea pig, should the same issue happen.
We now have TOO many pets, (two dogs, a fish, a guinea pig, a rabbit and two hamsters), so I've informed my kids there won't be anymore hamsters in the near future once these current two pass away. (daughter just came home with the guinea pig recently, errrghhhh). Each of the kids has experienced hamsters (4 children), and now with the bigger pets, It's time to say enough, for now.
If you do decide to get a hamster, read up on all the care first. Hamsters are solitary animals in most cases. They are together when young yes, but are supposed to be separated by sexes around 6 weeks old. They can become pregnant as early as a few months old, but not a good idea as mothers that are just still babies themselves do tend to eat their newborns. Fathers must be removed from the cage preferably before their young are born. Hamsters are fine on thier own though, they do NOT need a buddy.
My children have fun watching their antics, let them rolll round safely in their ball on the living room floor and love building mazes from their cardboard bricks for the little things, and have fun watching them try to find their way through the maze to a treat at the other end. There are bedding types you can buy now that are made of some kind of paper instead of shavings. Many of these new types are subtly scented and aren't as messy as shavings. Having a water bottle is less messy than a water bowl. There are wheels you can get now that aren't as noisy as the older metal ones.
