How Old Should A Child Be To Care For A Hamster?

I know in my family some of us had pets at around this age, and generally took reasonable care of them - but in some cases my mother did end up taking up the slack, and we did occasionally have to be reminded! So if your child is generally sensible and reliable, a small pet like that could be a good thing for him/her, BUT privately you may have to do a lot of checking at first. And if your child doesn't take care of the pet, are you able to do so yourself? The problem is, most parents tell their children "If you don't look after your pet, I'll give it away" - but actually you can hardly ever bring yourself to do it! So if you wouldn't be able to do that in the worst-case scenario, it might be as well to wait until your child is a little older.

Okay I have a 3 year old a really smart 3 year old who puts me to shame sometimes!  And she begged for a hamster so we got her 2! They got sick and died within a week of having them and that was the pet store's fault they sold them to us sick (wet tail) she takes care of the two new ones we got (from a different store of course) The only problem we have found is the older they are when you buy them they BITE! And hard! So its up to you if you want to take that risk my daughter at 3 is determined to make them FRIENDLY! So she has asked me to keep them