well our six year old mikey already has his on bp (buddy) and he is wanting us to get him a girl snake to make baby's when they get older. The breeding gene takes off early. I think introducing kids to all pets especially reptiles is a good thing we've taken the snakes to his school it's amazing how many kids are not afraid of them curious for shure but it seems more adults that are afraid of them. We just make shure that all kids that come in contact with them use hand sanitzer when they are done.