Why Get a Pet for Your Kids

For most parents, getting a pet is a big no-no. Some of these parents worry that pets may bring disease into the family or they may cause accidents. While other parents think that they are only added responsibilities. If your kids are asking you to get a pet, or if you’re considering on getting a pet for your kids, here are some of the reasons why you may want to get one.

Pets Help Kids Learn

For many years, experts accepted the fact that therapy animals like dogs, are able to help kids, who are developmentally challenged, to learn. However, recent studies suggested that all kids can benefit from pets.

In a certain study where children were asked to read in front of another kid, an adult and a dog, experts were able to determine that their stress levels were high when they were reading in front of a peer and an adult. However, this is contrary to when they were reading in front of a dog, where they were more relaxed and happy.

Pets Give Comfort

According to Dr. Gail F. Melson, PhD, a professor emeritus of developmental studies at Purdue University, in Indiana, and the author of “Why the Wild Things Are: Animals in the Lives of Children”, provides a great sense of comfort to humans, especially to children.

In a study conducted by Dr. Melson, she asked 5-year old children, pet owners, what they did when they are sad, angry, afraid, and/or if they have a secret they’d like to share. 40% of these kids said that they turned to their pets. She was also able to find out from the parents of these kids that these children display less anxiety and less withdrawn.

Pets Improve a Child’s Social Skills

Mary Renck Jalongo, PhD, a professor at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the author of “The World of Children and Their Companion Animal”, suggested that a pet provides a kid something to converse with and also a common interest with his peers.

There are still so many advantages to getting a pet for your kids. On our next issue, we will talk about how to raise a responsible kid with the help of pets.