Children and pets
No wonder we call the dog man’s best friend. Here are the benefits of pets for the little ones.
Researches developed over the past 25 years have proven that living with pets brings proven benefits to our health. And children are no exception. In general, all pets provide great benefits to their development. Kids love animals and having an animal living with it is a dream coming true.
Every child can benefit from the companionship of an animal, which in addition to give them comfort, it does not evaluate or judge. In a recent study, children were asked to read in front of other people, adults or children, and then in front of animals. The result? stress levels measured in children who spoke to the animals were much smaller, as they were much more relaxed.
The feeling of comfort is another reason identified as important for children development. When they feel sad or scared, children feel safe and cared with their pets. The fact that they have a friend always there, who they do not have to explain everything, make children less anxious.
The duties that owning a pet brings is extremely important in the acquisition of responsibilities to children. The fact that the kids have to provide the basic needs to their friends, such as feeding, water or walking, help them to understand the significance of promoting the well-being of another being, developing the sense of empathy.
When a child is shy, a pet can be a precious weapon. Animals are always a cause of interest to other children and an easy way to interact with each other.
But what about the allergies that pets cause? You would be surprised to know that this is not a real fear, as pets can lower the propensity to allergies and not increase it. A growing number of studies indicate that a child that grow up with animals, whether cats, dogs, or farms animals, have less risk of developing asthma and have a lower tendency to develop several other types of allergies than other children who do not have animals in both internal and external environments.
Children with pets show a high self-esteem, improved social skills and are more physically active, avoiding problems like obesity.
