It depends somewhat on what you are looking for, specifically, and also on how your kids are with animals. A bird won't tolerate being dragged around and played with like a dog or cat. They are small and fragile and more importantly, prey species, so sudden quick grabbing motions can be frightening. Some birds can become nippy to kids for this reason. That said, almost any species of bird can be good with kids if they are treated with respect and are well-socialized by a caring breeder. Birds in pet stores who have experienced kids poking at them and teasing them may not do so well with kids, at least initially!

Bourke's parrots are small pinkish parakeets, probably the lowest-maintenance of all parrots being very docile and gentle (and certainly not the brightest of parrots).

Cockatiels are generally considered the best bird for kids. Well raised cockatiels are gentle and social birds. They are not the most cuddly but most like having their heads and necks scratched. They are not very good talkers, but males can learn to whistle tunes.

Budgies (parakeets) are also good birds but being smaller must be handled more carefully. They usually must be tamed and this is best done by an adult. Tame budgies are friendly, playful, intelligent and very social and can become good talkers (if you just have one).

Some of the medium-sized Australian parakeets such as rock pebblers, princess-of-wales parakeets, and king parrots can also make great family pets, but are hard to find (for a pet you want a hand raised bird, not an aviary bird). They are mostly fairly gentle, calm, quiet birds with some talking ability.

Other birds may be a little higher maintenance in terms of care and training.
Conures can make great family pets. Most species of conures can be quite loud birds, however. Conures in the Pyrrhura genus such as greencheeks are much quieter but have nippy tendencies. In general, conures are more cuddly birds and may like to lie on their backs, roughhouse, and play but can nip at times and need to be handled by different people on a daily basis. Most talk a little - it varies with species.
Quaker parrots can make good family birds, too. Like conures they can be more cuddly, playful, sometimes nippy. They can sometimes be cage-territorial but very sweet out of the cage. They tend to be good talkers.
Pionus parrots tend to be more on the medium to large size, usually calm and gentle and fairly quiet. Most talk, a little, and they tend to be lower maintenance for a medium parrot.

There are many other species that can be great pets, depending on the amount of time and money you can spend, and the noise level you can tolerate.
Most birds will be more social to people if you just keep one. However, that does mean you must spend plenty of time with the bird daily as these are all social birds that need attention. You would want to keep the cage in the family room or other place where people are around the most. And you would need to have the bird out for at least 2-3 hours a day. Some species need more and all birds benefit from more. Most birds can be taught to spend much of their out time playing on a gym or stand but they also do need some one-on-one attention. Most smaller parrots need as much attention as a dog, larger parrots need more. They are very intelligent and social animals.





Karen
Chico (conure) and Pippin (budgie)
WI

A pet bird is nothing like having a pet Dog or Cat. If you set your expectations to high you might end up disappointed.

Birds form attachments to their humans through interaction and often will form a strong bond with only one member of the family. I have 5 macaws and two cockatiels. All but one of my Macaws prefer me over my Husband because I am the one here with them all day,however they will all go to my husband when asked and every day we both interact with all the birds and I am constantly training and working on behavoirs with them.

As far as talking is concerned, this should be one of the last critera used to determine the right kind of bird. there are species that are known for being better talkers such as amazons and african greys, but that does not mean they will automatically be good talkers. Some Birds will never say a single word in front of people but you will hear them talking while in another room.

Also with any bird there will be times that they nip and bite and even the smallest of birds can bite hard if they feel threatened.

The more time you spend with your bird and the more confident you are handling the bird will make a big impact in the way they behave. When Birds are upset they generally show it by screaming, biting and running away from you,and if this is not addressed they can start plucking their feathers,become distructive etc. You need to be able to accept and deal with all of these things before you purchase any bird.

Birds are very social and will demand your attention, and when they don't receive it they will act out it is during these times especially that you need to reinforce good behaviors.

All parrots can make great pets in the right situation, but their respect does not come as easily as a dog or cat. You must earn their respect and trust just as you must be able to trust them.

For example you bring your new bird home and everything is great until the first time someone gets bit, now that person is afraid to approach the bird because they do not want to be bit again.So they approach the bird the bird strikes out and you pull away. Birds are very smart and they figure out very quickly that you are afraid and aprehensvie and they will feed on that and use it to there advantage.
Pretty soon they will be trying this with every person in the family to see what kind of reaction they get.

I could spend hours telling you about bird behavior and interaction. The best suggestion I can give is to go to the library or bookstore and pick up some books on parrot behavior and training and read through them to get an idea of what is involved in caring for a bird on a daily basis, then locate a breeder in your area and ask to come and see some of their birds, spend time interacting with them to see if you feel comfortable(also make sure to tell the breeder you have children and get their okay to bring them along before going)

Everything I have told you is just the tip of the iceburg. I have had Parrots for almost 15 years and I am stilling learning everyday with them.
Besides all the behavioral things to consider, there is also diet, entertainment, housing, nail and beak care, wing clipping etc. Birds need things to do, toys to play with, a good size cage to move around in and time out of the cage to interact with all the family members everyday. This is the only way to have the bird form a bond with the whole family.
As far as children are concerned i always advise parents to be cautious. Stay with your child while they interact with the bird, make sure they are using common sense while hold them. No sudden movements or noises because the bird could get frightened and bite, fall or fly away.

My daughter is almost 8 years old and she has been with large birds her whole life and I still will not allow her to handle them yet. She gives them treats, plays with them and pets them while I hold them. They are too big and powerful for her to handle, all it would take was one wrong move and the bird would react and she would be too afraid to go near them. That is why I got the smaller birds because she is ready to learn how to handle birds and care for them and these birds are an acceptable size for her. I work with her and her birds everyday, teaching them and her at the same time.

I do not want to scare you away from birds but I do want you to make this decision with your eyes opened. I have 7 Birds total and all but my first came to me because their owners could not handle them, they can live for a very long time and require a great deal of attention and interaction, and the larger the bird the bigger the commitment is overall. smaller birds(Budgies, cockatiels, parakeets)tend to handle less interaction better, but at the same time take longer to learn commands like stepping up and talking. Largers birds require lots of interaction but tend to learn their skills quicker.

There are good and bad points to every single kind of bird. Do your research, take your time and make sure a bird is the right pet for your whole family.

Thank you so much for the comments. All the information given is very helpful. I have been doing alot of "bird homework" on the internet. So far, I have found that the "forever" home I can provide (including diet, housing, and attention)would best suit an English Budgie, Cockatiel, or a Quaker parrot raised from a baby.
There is going to be a huge bird fair near my home in mid September.
I am going to keep learning as much as I can before then. I will also be asking alot of questions on this forum. :)

Good Luck and I agree I think a baby bird would be the best way to introduce your family to life with birds. Being able to provide an older bird a home is wonderful but it is a lot of work because you need to undo any problems or bad things that have already happened to the bird and it takes longer to build trust.

A small bird will be fun for your whole family and I am sure if you do your research you will be just fine. Introduce the bird to your children slowly and make sure they are sitting down and calm at first. You want to avoid sudden movements and we all know children tend to never stop moving. That is why sitting calmly with hands in lap works because they are less likely to get excited and jump around or run away. Everyone in the house will need to handle the bird as a baby as much as possible in order for it to bond with the whole family even with doing this your bird could still end up favoring on person. As long as the bird learns to be tolerant of the rest of your family at a young age than even if it develops a favorite person everyone should still be able to interact with the bird.

I think going to the bird fair is a great Idea. You will meet many people that can help you determine the best bird for your family
Good luck

I hope you have good luck finding a bird for you. All of those can be good family birds.
Cockatiels and budgies are often thought of as 'beginner birds' but are still friendly, intelligent companions. I have a budgie and he is the sweetest, most loving, and most cheerful little bird imaginable... and a good talker too. But he can be a bit skittish around kids (though he was not handraised and ism't used to kids). Cockatiels are known for their gentleness.

A Quaker would be the most intelligent and a little more work for that reason but still a good bird. I have heard of Quakers that are aggressive but every one I've actually met has been a very sweet bird. I just recently boarded a 4 yr quaker (originally from a very good local breeder) for a week and he was absolutely the calmest, gentlest, most docile bird I have ever seen. He was 4 yrs old and from a very good breeder and ANYONE could do anything with him.

Karen
Chico (conure) and Pippin (budgie)
WI