Are you thinking of adding a furry friends to your family? It can be a wonderful thing. There are some huge benefits of pets for kids. Pets are proven to boost self-esteem and lower stress. They can also teach kids a lot about love.
So what are the benefits of pets for kids?
Whether it’s playing in the garden with a dog or laying on the sofa petting a purring cat, our pets bring us a huge amount of joy. It doesn’t matter if you’re old or young.
If you’ve been thinking of adding a pet to your family here are 3 reasons as to why pets are good for children!
Pets are good for everyone’s health
Experts say that children who grow up with pets are less likely to develop certain (and more common) allergies. This is thanks to early exposure to certain bacteria. (Certain children may be genuinely allergic to animals, so make sure to check that first.)
In fact some studies show that our furry friends might actually boost are immune system and help keep us from getting sick. For example a 2016 study showed that children who grew up with animals were much less likely to be diagnosed with asthma than those who were raised without pets.
When you have an animal in the house, you automatically have more bacteria floating around, although a bit gross, it can help strengthen your immune system.
Pet’s just aren’t good for our physical health but can be good for our mental health. Pet’s can lower stress levels for everyone in the house.
Pets boost self esteem
A furry friend can help boost your children’s self esteem and the research proves it.
Having a pet who loves your children right back, who your child can play with and talk to when no one else is around is a great thing. A pet can be a non-judgmental friend, allowing children to develop skills that can even help them in school. Talking out lout to your furry friend can move a reluctant public speaker into a confident well spoken speaker.
A positive and trusting relationship with a pet can help improve your child’s future relationships with others.
A study in 2017 goes a little further and shows that children with pets tend to have greater self-esteem, less loneliness and enhanced social skills.
Pets teach children values
With a pet in the house, even a young toddler can pick up pointers about responsibility and the importance of caring for others. Your children can lend a hand in the simple tasks such as pouring food into a dish and as they get older can help with walks and other tasks.
Having a pet can also teach your children about the importance of being kind and gentle. By showing your children how an animal should be treated you teach them how to treat people and animals.
Through our pets, children can learn even more values, such as discipline. A pet that needs walked or fed everyday can teach discipline. Depending on the age of your children, ensuring they walk the dog everyday, or get up every morning to feed the cat, can help teach this valuable skill. Even when you don’t want to, sometimes we still have to.
Asking yourself “What can MyPet do for my pet and I?”
We are a Defra compliant microchip database. So if you’re in the UK you can register your pets microchip with us HERE. This will help get your pet home if they ever go missing and it’s a legal requirement for dog owners.
You can check out THIS article to find out how a microchip registration can get your pet home safe.
