New kitten scratching Baby

Question
Hello~ My friend recently adopted a new kitten. She has two small children who are now starting to get scratched. She has had the cat for a couple of weeks now and this is just starting to be a problem. She doesn't want to have to get rid of the cat, already being really attached. She asked me how I felt about de-clawing, which I am really against. Is there anything else she can try?

Answer
Jessica,

A kitten WILL scratch children out of defense, until he gets used to them. Make sure the children are taught the correct way to be gentle and calm around the kitten. If the kitten is newly adopted, then everything is new to him, and he will be frightened and defensive. Give him time to adapt. Make sure the kitten is not alone with the children until she is sure that they are trained about how to handle a kitten.

Do not de-claw!! That is a horrible thing to do to a cat or kitten and can create life-long problems for the cat, both mental and physical.

Here is a website that shows with photos how to trim a cat's claws:
(copy and paste, or type, the whole link into the address bar)
http://www.cat-world.com.au/catclaws.htm

Here is information about Soft Claws:
http://www.softclaws.com/faqs.asp

And here are some links that pertain to de-clawing that your friend should read before deciding anything:

http://www.declawing.com/
       and
http://www.hdw-inc.com/declaw.htm

I hope this information is helpful.

Tabbi