teaching someone to handle garters

[jwolfe152]

what i need to know is how do i go about teaching my niece(7 yrs old) how to hold a snake so as not to scare it. she is absolutely in love with my snakes and always wants to hold one, but when she does hold one i think she is still kinda scared of it and of hurting it and is jumpy and the snake keeps trying to get up her arm. also im a horrible teacher so i cant explain to her how i hold them or what i do and why, its just natural to me how to hold them.

also a few days ago she was at a picnic and was rock flipping and found a ringneck and i guess she scared the crap out of her mom, thats how much she is into snakes now.

[Foxrun402]

You have to explain to her its fragile like an egg... if you squeeze too hard you'll break it... if it falls it will break. Tell them the snake is just a baby, most kids usually understand a baby needs delicacy and handled with care, always supervise!

[guidofatherof5]

Maybe wait until she's a few years older. Nothing wrong with letting her pet it while you hold it.
The problem really is that the snake might be injured. If the snake decides to twist while it being held too tight an injury could occur.
Young children don't have the muscle controlled needed to hold a snake properly. Don't get me wrong, some do but I always side on caution for the snakes sake.
Just my opinion.