Walking sticks and snails are perfect small pets. They are very unobtrusive, easy to care for, and are great fun to observe.
My kids (three, five and seven years old) were ready for pets, but we cannot yet have a dog or a cat. Small rodents don't look anything like pets to me. They live long enough for children to attach, and then die. They smell. Some of them bite. I don't really expect my kids would consistently clean cages and I'm not looking forward to it, either. I pondered getting my kids a lizard of some sort, when they found a couple of snails in the backyard and adopted them. A week later somebody gave us four walking sticks (one escaped), and our window-still zoo started. Granted, our small pets are not furry and cuddly, but my kids don't mind handling bugs and worms. All three of them can spend hours watching walking sticks communicate, drawing snails from various angles and attempting training. These small pets already inspired Googling, reading, and writing. My daughter half-believes one of the snails recognizes her.
Our three walking sticks share a clear plastic container used to carry meringues. I cut out a five-inch circle in the middle of the lid and taped a piece of gauze to cover the hole. Walking sticks eat fresh rose, raspberry and ivy leaves. Kids replace leaves every other day and sprinkle few drops of water through gauze every day. Walking sticks shed and eat their shedded skins to recapture chitin. To breed they need a layer of coarse sand or small gravel and some rocks to hide their eggs. Ours didn't breed yet, but we are hopeful.
Our snails live in a two-quart clam-shell from strawberries. The need rocks and leaves to hide under, and fresh water. They eat apple, carrot, dandelion and lettuce leaves. They are more active in the dark. We hope they will bred as well.
See also: children.