November 6, 2023 | Categories: Health, Home, Pet Health
Having a pet teaches wonderful life lessons at a young age and living with a dog in particular is one of the best pets to own for teaching a child responsibility, love, companionship and knowing a friendship unlike any other.
A recent study published in the journal, Nature, found that having a dog in the family helped young children’s social and emotional development more than children whose families didn’t own dogs.
The observational study discovered that young children had higher instances of prosocial behaviors compared with children who didn’t have a dog. Children who interacted with the dog through playing and walking had overall better social and behavioral development by the time they were preschool age.
Our resident veterinarian, Dr. RuthAnn Lobos, DVM, says her five-year-old son Alexander is a big help with taking care of the family’s three dogs. “I’m biased, but I think every child should have the opportunity to have a pet in their lives if they’re not allergic.”
Here are six reasons having a pet in the home benefits children:
As any dog owner knows, having a dog teaches you responsibility for another’s wellbeing very quickly. “Every night my son fills the dog bowls up as part of his daily responsibilities to make sure that the dogs have their breakfast ready for the next morning,” says Dr. RuthAnn. “It’s an opportunity to not only teach responsibility but we also teach quantity. We’ve got three dogs and one is still a puppy while another one is very active and needs more food. He’s learning some math at the same time when measuring out scoops of food.”
Teaching a child how to take care of a dog and show them you love them by hugging, petting and sharing words of encouragement is something that can be applied to others as well. “My son is an only child and I think having the dogs gives him some development opportunities as well as how to relate to, how to behave and how to treat animals,” says Dr. RuthAnn. Since the dogs can’t say what they want or need, Alexander learned how to understand their behavior and cues and how to treat them with kindness and respect them as living beings, she says. “I think it’s foundational to how you then interact with humans that you’ll encounter in your life.”
Those children who don’t have siblings at home to spend time with during the coronavirus quarantine might have been interacting with their pooches more and involving them into playtime sessions. Dr. RuthAnn says she noticed her son bonding more with the dogs during the quarantine and wanting to spend more time with them when he couldn’t socialize with other children. Children from dog-owning households were 30 percent less likely to engage in antisocial behaviors, according to that study published in Nature.
Not only does a child learn how to share with their dog – whether that’s toys, time, attention, or, let’s be honest, food – but those values will likely translate into interactions with other children. The study in Nature concluded that children who grew up in a home with a dog were 34 percent more likely to engage in considerate behaviors, such as helping others or sharing.
You probably heard that dogs are good for children’s immune systems, but after seeing how much dirt they track into your house you might be wondering how that is. A 2012 Finnish study found that babies who grew up in homes with dogs (or cats) were 30 percent less likely to experience coughs, ear infections and rhinitis. Those babies n homes with dogs were nearly 50 percent less likely to develop ear infections. The researchers suspect it’s because all that dirt and who-knows-what dogs track in are helping babies build up immunity.
While you know that adult dog owners tend to get more exercise, taking your child with you is a good opportunity to get work out their bottled up energy and help them manage their weight. While your child might not be inclined to step away from a screen and go on a walk on their own, taking the dog is fun way of bonding with their pooch outside the home.
To learn more about the many ways that pets benefit kids, check out this post from pet lifestyle expert, Sandy Robins.
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