3 Key Ways Pets Influence Children

A Wee Urban Guest Blog from Melissa Stevens!

Raising a child may be the most fulfilling process a human can experience, but it is truly based on a bittersweet mixture of events and emotions. Of course, the bitter part emerges from all the worries and anxiety that being responsible for another (helpless) human being can cause. The sweet part comprises all the beautiful moments that make up parenthood. If a parent wants to make a child’s upbringing even more interesting and colorful, getting a pet is a fabulous way to do it. Pets affect children’s development in an extraordinarily beneficial way.

altattribute

Boosting Imagination

One of the most important things that should be encouraged while a child is growing is the development of imagination. The evolution of the cognitive part of the child’s brain should be boosted from the earliest age. Sure, reading stories and playing with your child will give incentive to the development of both kinesthetic and mental skills, but if you add a pet to this cognition-boost set, the outcome will be even better. You can introduce different pets to your child and encourage him or her to become interested in them, as well as develop a higher level of empathy. In addition, reading to them about animals will help bolster your child(ren)’s imagination even more. As they get older, they will develop a life-long, animal-friendly attitude.

Stronger Family Bonds

Many families have problems when it comes to spending time together, but a pet can turn the things upside down and give birth to a special bond within your family. Instead of staring at TV every night of the week, you could spend at least a couple of nights playing with the pet and teaching your child how to treat it in the best way. Also, such occasions are a great opportunity to create a sense of togetherness, and teach your child that many things can be done more easily if all the family members participate. It could be mere dog/cat brushing, but you could also be something more involved, like a flea and tick or cleaning up after the pet, to introduce your child(ren) to some less pleasant duties that come with pet owning.

altattribute

Pet-Related Duties For Better Working Habits

A child can be brought up in many ways and every mother develops and applies some special rules of her own. But making a pet become a part of your child’s life usually has one common effect in most of the pet-having families – they become organized in a better way. Smaller pets, like tortoises and budgies are not that demanding, so they could be very attractive first pets for the beginning of your child’s active pet-owning life. For starters, kids will learn to feed them on a regular basis and become aware that animals also need emotional approval from their owners. Perhaps once children learn those skills, they may be ready for a cat or a dog. That way they will be taught that a larger pet causes more responsibility, just as it is the case with real life.

It is clear that a great bond can be established between a pet and a child, but every parent should understand that only with their help will children be able to develop special feelings for pets, and learn how to behave towards pets (and people) in an appropriate way. A pet can be great fun for the entire family, but it also requires a lot of care and attention, just like a child.

Image source Pixabay.com

About author

Melissa Stevens is healthy lifestyle and environmentally friendly living enthusiast and huge animal lover! All relevant information for this article she got from experts from Stefmar. She is interested in practical solutions for simpler and more convenient life, and she likes sharing them with others. Thank you Melissa!

 

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published