There really are no animals that are safe to be left alone with children under 6. Critters of any species are liable to bite or scratch if they are badly hurt,

There really are no animals that are safe to be left alone with children under 6. Critters of any species are liable to bite or scratch if they are badly hurt, scared, or trapped, and kids are clumsy, energetic, unpredictable, and often very rough with animals (usually without any malice, of course). And with small animals (e.g., cats, ferrets, dogs under 10 lbs), an unsupervised 5-year-old is a danger to the animal, too. A kindergartener tripping and falling on a tiny animal like that can break bones! Animals can be great with kids and vice-versa, but it's really important to always maintain supervision with kids and animals.