I'm so sorry you and your daughter had such a tragic first experience with rabbits
. Binky free, little lop!
Don't beat yourself up over the cage choice either. Normally that type of cage is not only fine, but even recommended for rabbits - adult rabbits. It is the young rabbits that may have issue with it. I believe it was
@Imbrium (if memory serves) who had a similar problem with her young rabbits and solved it by putting a smaller mesh across the bottom portion of the grids.
I didn't actually use that solution, I just kept them in their store-bought cage for like 3 more weeks after my little lionhead gave me a scare by getting her head stuck in a grid. I've definitely heard of people putting hardware cloth or chicken wire around the bottom to keep babies in when dealing with a litter, though. I've been using (and loving) NIC grid cages for seven years now and swear by them as one of the best indoor housing options (either with an attached run, free-roam time or being free-range and using the condo just as a home base)... but rabbits definitely need to be a certain size before they can safely use that style of cage
. Rabbits grow significantly in size between 8 and 12 weeks old; I recommend 12 weeks as a minimum age for NIC grid cages.
Rabbits are pretty fragile and high maintenance... totally worth it and not hard to care for them once you've done your research and had some practice, but at the same time not a great starter pet for kids so I think you're making the right decision to wait a few years. I got my first rabbit when I was 8 or 9 (mind you, I was quite mature and responsible for my age); by then a kid can understand proper handling (like always making sure the back feet are supported) and are more likely to handle something like a nip on the behind (yes, I've had a rabbit do this to me to say "enough brushing!" lol) or having a rabbit "dig" on them (which hurts a bit even though the rabbit means no harm by it) without getting upset or angry about it or resenting the rabbit for just being a rabbit.
Still keep an eye out for potential innocent mistakes even with an older kid, though! I don't think my parents ever found out about me sharing fudgesicles with my rabbit when they weren't in the room, lol. Thankfully, I guess the chocolate and dairy products are diluted enough and I shared small enough amounts that no harm ever came to the rabbit. Looking back on it, I'm a bit surprised that a kid as smart as I was - who knew not to feed chocolate to our dog, etc. - didn't once stop to wonder if it was ok for the rabbit to have that. I never would've given straight chocolate, but I shared that fudgesicle on a regular basis and the rabbit LOVED it (as they do so many sweet/carb-loaded things that are bad for them).
Anyway, if you ever decide to get another rabbit, definitely go with a rescue/shelter rabbit - you'll save at least $200-300 on spay/neuter surgery, you don't have to deal with the "teenage" hormones or the way babies are extra fragile and you can go straight to a NIC cage (btw, there are way better deals out there -
whitmor brand is usually the cheapest on Amazon; 6 cubes = 23 grids... I was shocked to see how much they marked up the price on your listing just because it was marketed for pets, even though it's the same product. Also, skip the connectors that come with it and use zip-ties, way more secure/stable). Whenever you're finally ready, we'll still be here to offer advice, answer questions and ooh/ahh over cute pics you post!