Raising your children with pets provides a great opportunity for learning, nurturing and building healthy relationship skills that will benefit your children for the rest of their lives.
My dog and my daughter have such a wonderful bond and there are beneficial factors for allowing kids to grow up with a pet:
What Kids Are Saying:
1. Almost 50% of all children with pets interviewed say that living with a pet makes them happier.
2. 30% of children say that being around their pets makes them feel calmer.
3. 20% of children say that their pets make them feel smarter.
4. Over 33% of kids say that owning pets makes them feel more caring and like they have more responsibility
5. 20% of kids say that they feel more confident talking to people because of their pets.
6. 79% of kids said they their pets have had a positive effect on their schoolwork.
How Pets Can Help Your Child Develop:
1. Research has showed that reading to dogs helps children improve their fluency by 30%!
2. Growing up around pets teaches children how to care for another creature and improves responsibility!
*Above info from the Austin Humane Society
Being a dog-owner is a special privilege to my child and brings with it many benefits for her development.
What she gets from having a pet:
- nurturing skills
- empathy and a more caring attitude
- promotes exercise
- responsibilities
- happiness
- Studies from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children have shown that children with pets have higher self-esteem, improved social skills, and are more popular with their peers.
(We were working on painting the room and they jumped in bed and fell asleep together)
Spread the Word! Growing up with a pet is a good thing =)
Check out your local ASPCA to see if you can find your child a best friend to take home.
