Have you ever stumble upon a situation where children are begging their parents to have a pet?
Well, having a pet around the house does not sound appealing to some parents. It is understandable as owning a pet need a big commitment, hence this idea is often disapproved by the parents.
However, not many know that having pets in the house could actually help in children development. Learn all six benefits of having a pet around in this article.
Psst…beware, it might change your view on pets!
Reason 1: Pets as children’s best friend
Getting a pet could be a life-changing especially to a kid. In the family, a pet is not only a companion but once the foot is set in the house, they are also a family member.
Pets are actually children’s first best friend where they will learn to play together, share some toys and become each other’s confidant (though it will only be a one-way ‘conversation’).
Don’t be alarmed as some children might choose their pet over their siblings in terms of relationship satisfaction.
We are not saying that they don’t love their siblings, but the relationship between them and the pet is way stronger.
This might be based on how pets are usually a loyal companion and show unconditional love rather than the siblings that love to tease and act as a rival in gaining parents’ attention.
Reason 2: Aids in emotional development
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Boost children’s confidence in talking.
As we know, talking to a pet is one-way communication. Pet as non-verbal and non-judgemental as it is, will indirectly encourage the children to talk more.
You will often see children with a pet, will read out loud to their pet and pretend to be an energetic narrator. In return, their pet will be loyally and religiously sits and listens to every word from their master.
This is actually a big help if you have one shy kid in the house.
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Be the children’s confidante.
As human usually can’t keep secret, children often choose to talk about their feelings or anything that has been bugging them to their pet.
Having a member to talk to even on the most embarrassing topic will actually make the kids feel secure and be more empathy towards others.
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Reduce the stress level.
As children are your stress-remedy, pets work the same way for your children. Stroking a pet could actually reduce all the tense and the stroking makes your pets feel good too.
It is also proven that playing with pets could boost your happiness as your body will release endorphin which also known as ‘happy hormones’.
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Learn to love nature.
Children that are raised with a pet in the house will develop less sense of fear towards the animal. They will be more emphatic towards nature as they now understand things that could harm their pet.
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Create a strong bond.
It is never a doubt there is a strong bond between a child and their pets. Their love is pure and sincere, hence, on some occasion, they might seem to be inseparable.
The strong bonding is not a single-way feeling as animals too could show their love. There are many cases reported where children are saved by their beloved pets from harms.
Reason 3: Help in physical development
Having a pet not only require affection but also need to be fit physically. Children with pets are often an active kid as apart from their regular school schedule, they will spend most of their time playing and taking care of their pets.
Playing fetching, for example, is not only beneficial to make their pet stronger but also good to enhance motor skills through throwing and grabbing.
This works the same as when the children are taking the pets out for a walk. Indirectly, the children are actually having a work out session too!
Do you know that grooming the pets could actually help in children’s development too? Grooming a pet requires the children to master their fine motor skills as it will develop muscles on their hands especially while brushing.
Children will be in a total deep focus while grooming and might need to brush some creativity too. Don’t be surprised if your cat suddenly doing the catwalk with some glamorous fur.
Reason 4: Help in a sense of responsibility
Allowing your children to take care of the pet will slowly wake some sense of responsibility in them. They know they play a big role in order for their pets to survive.
The feeding needs to be on time and it should be in the right amount. Time for changing the litter should be correctly followed too as it will affect the hygiene.
When your pets are sick, allow your children to be in full control. Let them do all the research on any possible medium be it through the internet or physical reading.
Allow them to make a phone call and set an appointment with the veterinary. Help them to set the timer for medicine for them to not miss the feed.
Having your children to be responsible for all of these duties in taking care of pets will shape them to be punctual and focus which later will help in the development of independency on children.
Reason 5: Help in improving health
Some parents refuse to have a pet in their house as they might afraid the kids will get some allergies such as asthma and eczema from the fur.
However, an early introduction to pets especially during the first year of life could actually boost immunity on kids and reduce allergy reaction later in life.
Reason 6: Helping children with special needs
Some children with special needs such as autism will find it hard to communicate with others.
Having a pet around is therapeutic for them as it is a one-way communication which they won’t have any physical contact and make them communicate.
You will see they will enjoy it more rather than talking to a human. The disorder in some children would make it hard for them to control themselves.
Overall, pets have a strong link in reducing the stress and have a magic power to create positives vibes around them made the meltdown less frequent.