Are you debating whether or not you should get that new
puppy? Or that kitten? Or any pet for that matter? Obviously this decision is
difficult and based on many factors, and pets aren’t for every family. One of
the main questions on every parent’s mind is, “will getting a pet be good for
my kids or will it be a detriment to our family dynamics?” Well we’ve put
together a list to help you answer this question. Though as we said before, pets are not for every family or
child, in the right atmosphere they can be beneficial for children!
1. Responsibility:
Perhaps the best thing a pet can teach your child is responsibility. Pets are dependent on their owners for survival. Having your children help take on the
responsibility to feed, water, and exercise their pets teaches self discipline
and develops children’s sense of nurturing. Furthermore, it teaches your
children about commitment and consequences. Commitment comes with ownership. If you want a pet, you must take
care of it. You are responsible for them for their entire life. If you can’t
handle the commitment, you will lose your pet (either you’ll have to sell it or
it will die). Lastly, all actions have consequences. If you don’t feed your
fish, it will die. If you leave the gate open, the dog can run away. Children
will begin to learn to think before they do. All of these are great skills to
have for life.
2. Learning:
Pets actually help kids learn! Aside from learning responsibility and how
to take care of something, kids can learn a bunch from their pets! With pets,
your children will learn both verbal and non-verbal communication skills.
Through commands they learn how to be assertive with their voice. Through
interacting with their animals, they will learn how to read cues because
clearly animals can’t talk. Furthermore, being with animals can help ease
stress and help sustain focus, this can help when doing homework and in
learning other things! Finally, pets can teach your child about bigger life
ideas such as unconditional love and the circle of life (humans almost always
outlive their pets).
3. Fun,
Entertainment & Physical Activity: Having a playful pet around can entertain your
children for hours. Not only does this give you a break, but it is a much
better alternative than them watching television! Additionally, for pets that
need exercise, caring for pets is a great way to keep your children active.
4. Allergens!
This item on the list was new to me. When doing research for this post we
stumbled upon this website:
http://voices.yahoo.com/10-reasons-kids-pet-8288127.html?cat=25.
They explained that, “Doctors used to think that exposure to pets caused
allergies. New studies have now shown that the opposite is actually true. Web
MD reports that children who live with dogs and cats in the house during their
first year actually have a reduced risk of developing allergies. Not only are
they less likely to react to pet dander, but the protection also seems to
extend to outdoor allergens as well. The theory behind this protection is that
the high exposure to pet dander allows the immune system to de-sensitize to
harmless antigens, leaving it less likely to react inappropriately.”
5. Built-in-friend:
This last benefit is dedicated to all the pets who stuck by their humans
through thick and thin. Not only is this just for your kids but for you as
well. When your kids or yourself feel lonely, stressed, anxious or anything
else, a pet is always there to comfort you and give you love and support. They
don’t say much, but just a nuzzle, hug, or pat can do wonders for your mood
To go along with our “pets are good for you” theme, we spoke
to Dawn Cordeiro of Farm Visits. Her business brings baby farm animals to you
for any occasion and provides a hands on experience with them.
Dawn supports us and says that interactions with animals
“teach kindness and compassion.” “I think overall it teaches them
responsibility, you know? To care for another living being.” She expands to
talking about farm animals and says that they teach children about “where their
food comes from. Children [and people in general] are very distanced from their
food origin. It really comes from a farm, not Stop & Shop.”
We next asked Dawn her expert opinion on what makes a good
pet and she listed three right off the bat: “Dog, kitty, bunny.” Those aren’t a
surprise to hear, but the next thing she says may be! Dawn says that as far as
outdoor pets go,
goats are the way to
go! She explains, “They’re friendly, easy to care for and feed, and they mow
your lawn!”
To learn more about Dawn and Farm Visits,
Everyone
likes something to snack on when they are stuck inside all day, but there are
ways to be smart and healthy about what you choose to eat. If you leave fruit
and vegetables within reach, they will seem like the simple choice of snack for
your family. It’s possible that you could even get your kids excited about
vegetables by teaching them about “the rainbow” that they should be eating
every day, which includes the various choices and colors of fruits and
vegetables available. Some popular vegetables among children include zucchini,
cucumbers, broccoli, red peppers, carrots, and celery. There are also many
healthy dips that they might enjoy, like ranch, black bean, and hummus.
