I had a Hamster when I was a kid. In fact  had several of these furry little pets before my parents felt I was old enough to have my own dog. The one thing I did not get into other than Goldfish in a bowl was keeping fish in an Aquarium. A friend who live  on the next street over loved aquatic animals and he had an Aquarium stocked with many different types of fish plus he kept a separate Aquarium for small Turtles. He went on to become a Biologist due to his love of animals. I think a Hamster is the perfect first pet for any kid who shows an interest in pets. The Hamster is ideal due to low maintenance, small space requirements, little expense involved, and if you child does not become involved with the care and maintenance of the pet you can always find someone who will take these furry little pets. As I think back on the various pets my friends and I owned as children I cannot remember any of the gang owning Parrots or Cockatiels. I guess we were not all that into bird's.  
hamster, aquarium