No judgement. A Dog is a big responsibility, especially if it's your first time dealing with one since you've got to be ontop of their hygiene and health lest they fall into mange and decay. Especially when it comes to heartworming and keeping them away from stuff that would bring on Tickfever or the dreaded Parvoviral disease that's just the worst, Rest in peace to my Doggo Reo Brando.
But yeah, and I appologize for replying to this so late because of procrastination and other issues that normal folk don't have
But depending on how many of these rodents you want and the level y'all gonna interact with 'em at, you gotta know how each one gets down.
Hamsters are normally easy to deal with, but you can't neglect them because they become defensive and look to shy away from you (Act scared) if they left alone without a decent amount of socilization. I know kids can like something for a few weeks before they go back to Fortnite and watching reaction videos on the Internet and neglect to do much other than give them basic food and water. That may seem alright, but when they get defensive, they can bite and from what I've heard, the bites are pretty painful so imagine your seed getting bitten by one of these things and then he tosses it out the window?
Also, they are noctournal so waking it up during the day can make it kind of grumpy, unless you gonna turn it into a fatass who has no problem being woken up 'cause he knows he's gonna get overfed.
They also tend to be hostile towards other Hamsters, so if you're looking to get more than one rodent for interaction purposes...it's gonna be a bit of a challege.
This leads us to Gerbils. I'd want to say they are better than Hamsters, but I've dealt with a few pretty chill hamsters and I prefer them to Gerbils, but not everyone is the same and you need options. A cat is an optional burden, but that's neither here nor there. Gerbils, while smaller can be bought in bunches because they socialize with each other pretty well and are quite active. While a Hamster might lay about and sleep during the day, a gerbil is always high energy and can offer you some cutesy entertainment as they play with each other.
If your seed(s) one more than one to see that dynamic, please be mindful and get all of one gender as opposed to a "Mom and Pop" 'cause then they'd breed like mad and the next thing you know, you got a Gerbil farm with no outlet to sell the things. They are cool and can be tamed pretty easy, but with their high energy motors, they might be a bit squirmish in the hands of smaller kids, so you got to be mindful of that.
Then you got Guinea Pigs which are the biggest out of the three, live the longest, but require the most commitment. It has the size of a Hamster with the temperment of a Gerbil, can live in pairs unlike the hamster, but isn't as high energy as the gerbil. Nice tradeoffs, but they require a larger space to live in (Pet stores have sections dedicated to their cages) and require a more refined diet of veggies and other things as oppose to the pellets you can feed the other two. They aren't prone to biting and you can just leave 'em out at times and they'd walk around all chill instead of doing stupid shyt like trying to get into nooks and crannies like a crackhead Gerbil or look to sleep in odd places and be a foot biting machine during the day if woken like Hamsters are prone.
Personally, I prefer the Guinea pig since they can look like Pygmy Bunnies without the disturbing red eyes or that offputting human-like scream they can do if they are frightened or hurt. Plus the bigger the animal, the easier it is to hold since holding smaller animals, especially ones where you can feel the bones, just freak me out.
Hope this was enough to lead you towards making an informed decision even though it's literally the same gist on the Internet, but having dealt with all three personally out of curiosity, I added my personal opinion in the mix. Sorry for the delay once again and I hope you and your kids get along swimmingly with whatever you choose.
you and me both, I tell myself one day I will commit but I feel like by then my heart will be hardened like Pharaoh. World is too enticing
