Animals have babies, and those babies look like their parents. A dog has puppies that look like dogs. A cat has kittens that look like cats. Parents take care of their babies in different ways — some feed them milk, some keep eggs warm, and some carry their babies on their backs.
Match pictures of baby animals to their parents. Look at how puppies look like their mother and father. Talk about how human babies look like their parents too. Watch videos of animal parents caring for their young.
One of the most important things living things do is have babies. Dogs have puppies, cats have kittens, ducks have ducklings, and cows have calves. Every animal makes babies that are the same kind of animal as itself. A robin's egg will always hatch into a robin, never into a hawk or a frog.
Baby animals look like their parents, but not exactly. A puppy might have its mother's brown fur but its father's floppy ears. A kitten might have its father's stripes but its mother's green eyes. Babies get features from both parents, which is why brothers and sisters can look a little different from each other even though they have the same mom and dad.
Most baby animals need their parents to take care of them. Mammal mothers feed their babies milk from their own bodies. Bird parents sit on their eggs to keep them warm and then fly back and forth bringing food to the hungry chicks. Kangaroo mothers carry their tiny babies in a pouch on their belly. Gorilla mothers hold their babies close and carry them everywhere they go.
Some animals are more independent when they are born. Baby sea turtles hatch from eggs buried in sand and make their way to the ocean all by themselves. Baby horses can stand up and walk within an hour of being born. But even they stay near their mothers for protection and milk. Being born is just the beginning — growing up takes time, and most baby animals need their parents' help to make it.