Adding a pet to your family can be a valuable part of your child's growing up process, with the pet offering friendship and companionship for your child, a source of exercise, and, if you train your children to interact positively with your pets, a source of responsibility. To ensure both your pet and your child are kept healthy and safe, however, you'll want to teach your children general safety guidelines when interacting with pets.

Teach your child to never approach an animal that's not accompanied by an owner. Teach them that, if they're ever approached by an animal they don't know, to stand still like a tree. Teach them that acting calmly around any kind of animal will keep it at ease and less likely to act out of fear or confusion. Discourage children from screaming, taunting, or running wildly around animals as this may cause them undue stress and lead them to act aggressively.

According to Marie Bellew Wheatley, president and CEO of the American Humane Association, "Any animal may bite -- even family pets. So parents should supervise children when they play with any pet, and they should teach children the best ways to approach and treat animals, to avoid being bitten." Make sure your child knows not to get too close to the pet, or grab the bowl away, while the pet is eating, since there's always the chance of a pet getting possessive/aggressive when it comes to food. Lastly, teach your child not to touch the pet's waste and wash their hands after playing with the pet.

Pet owners and parents with children have the ability to teach children how to safely interact with animals, and it's a good idea for the safety of children and the pets who love them -- or even the ones that don't know them.