What Your Family Dog Teaches Your Kids
“Dogs are not our whole life,” said Roger Caras, “but they make our lives whole.” Family dogs have helped forge the world as we know it for 33,000 years, according to The National Geographic. Most of us no longer require our dogs to hunt saber-toothed tigers or safeguard our livestock from rival tribes, but they can improve your family’s health, overall wellness and even grades in school.
Pets Help Your Kids Learn
Have you ever caught your child reading aloud to the family pet? Or curling up next to them after a particularly tough day at school? Dr. Mary Renck Jalongo, author of “The World of Children and Their Companion Animals,” has long known that therapy dogs help developmentally challenged children learn. It is now known that this phenomenon applies to all children, Jalongo explains. When children experience stress related to their studies, the presence of a peer or an adult can increase the stress and inhibit growth. When they curl up with a dog or a cat, the stress diminished and notable progress was made, as dogs and cats offer non-judgmental companionship.
Flickr photo by Bonner Library
They Provide Support and Teach Nurturing
When a study asked kids advice about how less popular kids can make friends, the overwhelming response was to “get a pet.” Animals give children something to talk about. In another study, Dr. Gail F. Melson asked a group of five year olds what they did when they felt sad, angry, afraid or had a secret to share. The majority said they went to their pet. Dr. Melson also notes that kids who get support from their animal companions are less anxious and withdrawn.
Dr. Melson notes that “nurturing isn’t a quality that suddenly appears in adulthood when we need it.” Her studies reveal that pets may be the best way to teach your child how to nurture and empathize with others. Young children with pets spend an average of 10.3 minutes caregiving, while children with younger siblings only spent 2.4 minutes. The ability to nurture, care and receive support is a fundamental part of becoming a successful adult, and pets can be an integral cornerstone.
Flickr photo by Toybotter
Pets Can Make Your Kids More Active
Walking your dog or playing with your pet means exercise. Sure, you they sell dog doors at PetSafe or PetSmart, but when your dog needs to go and comes running to you with leash-in-mouth, you and your kids have an obligation. Make it fun by going on trips to the dog park and letting your children interact with all different breeds. Just make sure they know to ask before petting any animals they don’t personally know.
Flickr photo by Chefranden
Pets Make Your Kids Healthier
Pets don’t just make us more active, they can also directly improve our immune systems, simply by being in the vicinity. Pets can decrease the potential for allergies, or significantly reduce them, says Dennis Ownby, MD, pediatrician and head of the allergy and immunology department at Medical College of Georgia. In his study, Owens found that babies exposed to two or more dogs or cats as babies were less than half as likely to to develop common allergies. This applies to all allergies — dust, inhalants, outdoor allergies and even food. The same study showed that pets lower the risk of asthma. Owens thinks exposure to the pet’s bacteria changes the way the child’s immune system responds.
Flickr photo by Kellynphillong
Top Left Photo: Flickr photo by Toybotter
