Children and Bunnies 

A bunny should be removed from a side door cage Bum first, so you don’t brake his toes on the wire or injure his back on the door frame.

Most children lack the upper body strength to lift a bunny out from a side door of a cage. So when a bunny sees a hand coming at him, he will associate it with pain. He will try to protect himself by hiding in a corner, growling, lunging and even biting. 

A cage that opens from the top and side. I would recommend urine guards on cages to keep urine off your floors. You can order them from a cage builder. See my information directory for details.

Get a cage that opens from the top and side. Children can remove the bunny from above, without injuring the rabbit's feet and back. 

You can also leave the door open and train the bunny to come out by himself.   If you teach the bunny it is alright to come out when the door is left open, than the bunny must always be allowed to come out when the door is left open or you will confuse him. 
Door open must always mean come out to play. 
You can’t leave it open, go refill dishes and then shove bunny back in the cage as he attempts to come out.
Close the cage door first, then go get the water and food. Or at least let the bunny go for a short romp while you fill dishes.

A cage should be a bunny's “safe place” I leave the cage door open and when my bunny has had enough “love” from my daughter he escapes to his cage. My daughter isn’t allowed to bug him there.

I always have a little cat bed that my daughter sets on her lap and the bunny sits in it.
It’s hard for a bunny to sit on a tiny lap that is constantly wriggling around.
The cat bed provides a comfy spot for both.
It protects the child for scratches, bites and being peed on.
A bunny can get really annoyed at being confined and they will nip. Unfortunately their teeth are like razors and a little nip can draw blood without meaning too.

Fortunately they tend to nip whatever is in front and beneath them so a cat bed is perfect protection.

Above is a Bunny in a cat bed.

Small children should not lift a bunny.

Rabbit’s backs are very fragile and requires support from underneath them when they are being lifted.

Their skeleton only weighs 8 ounces compared to that of a cat’s, which would be 13. If a rabbit struggles and the child drops him, he could break his back or injure his' legs.

A child will naturally want to carry a bunny cradled like a baby, but a child’s face isn’t far enough away to avoid a bunnies back feet. A bunny’s natural reaction to fear is to try and scratch it’s captive with his back feet to escape.

The proper way to carry a bunny is cradled in one arm with the bunnies head tucked in between your arm and body. Bum sits cradled in your hand. Your other hand holds the bunny by the scruff of the neck like a mother cat with a kitten. 

Below is the wrong way to carry a bunny. It's a quick way for a child to get a scratched face.

Below are the right ways to carry a bunny. If the bunny starts to panic and tries to escape then tuck his head under your arm. He'll feel safer and stop struggling.

I bought my Daughter a soft flexible pet carrier to carry the bunnies in.

She uses it to bring our rabbits upstairs. I don't have to worry about a rabbit jumping from her arms while on the stairs or anywhere for that matter.

The carrier opens from both ends. So again the rabbit is removed bum first.

My Daughter takes the carrier outside and the rabbits run around on harness with my daughter and her friends.

I've bought lots of different harness over the past two years.

The best one by far was a figure 8 harness. They're a new model, so you really have to hunt for them. Or buy them on E-Bay. My really small Junior (under 6 months old) bunnies fit the XS 10-12" harness. My 3 to 4 pound rabbits fit the SM 12-16" harness. They cost Approximately $10.00 to $14.00.

I go to the dollar store and buy the retractable cat leashes for $1.00 instead of $7.00 at a pet store. These leashes can be dangerous around young children if unsupervised.

Therefore you can buy a very long cat leash at a pet store. $10.00 to $12.00 or use the Rabbit playpens I mention on my other pages, until the child is older.

My daughter and Rambler running in the park on a harness and cat  leash.