Pets

How Owning A Pet Can Affect Your Child

Having a pet at home is great. Pets are excellent companions and are found in almost every home today. Apart from the friendship and the relationships pets create, you will realize that pets play a significant role in the lives of your loved ones. Pets make a significant impact on your child’s life. As your child grows up, there are vital growth and development stages that need to be nurtured. You need to guide and be there for your child when happy, distressed and when sick.

While you may not always be present to cuddle and play with your child, pets become the perfect source of comfort. Remember, all children are different. Some do well when given so much attention while others require just a little to connect with others. 

Consequently, pets are valuable. Whether you choose to have a dog or a cat at home, you can rest assured that your child will have a good companion. A pet can enhance the life of your child emotionally, physically and mentally. This translates to remarkable growth and development. Today, there has been a lot of emphasis on the role of pets in a child’s wellbeing. Therefore, introducing a pet to your home can impact your child’s life in different ways including. 

  • Promotes Physical Health 

Owning a pet helps your kid to lead an active and physically healthy life. The more you encourage your kid to play or walk around with your pet, they both become physically active. Normal and routine dog walks within the neighbourhood or in a dog park entices the kid to get moving and not idling in the house. To make sure that your child is safe while taking a walk with your pet opt for a good harness. Pupped will help you to learn about harness and will help you to choose the best harness for your pet. You only need to encourage the kid at first but after a short while, the kid gets used to the routine for more effective exercises. 

Furthermore, exercise helps to reduce the risk of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, blood pressure and other related health conditions. 

  • Enhance Immune Response

A dog also enhances the immune response in your child. Children exposed to pets at a tender age say, 6 months are more likely to be free of allergies including asthma. This is because they can become adaptive to allergic reactions caused by fur and other elements that predispose them to respiratory infections. 

  • Comfort your Kid 

Whenever your child is stressed out, a pet can offer the needed comfort. Science has proven that pets of different types help to reduce tension, stress and anxiety in kids and adults alike. In kids, pets divert attention from a stressful moment that can cause pain and traumatic experience in the long run. During pet and children play, endorphin hormone is released, relieving your child of pain, stress and related discomforts. 

  • Helps in Socialization 

As a pet owner, you are helping your child to learn the art of socialization. Some children are shy and do not love to go out to play. Often, such kids may suffer low self-esteem. However, pets can help your kid to learn how to create special relationships, connections and bonds that can be extended to siblings, neighbors and friends at school. 

As your child strolls or goes to play with your pets, chances are high that they will come into contact with other pet owners. Dog walkers can say hi or engage in conversations with your children within the neighborhood or the park. This is usually the start of a good friendship where your kid also learns the significance of interaction. 

  • Character Development 

Owning pets affects your child’s character development. Kids learn from their environment. As you cuddle, play or care for your pets and encourage your child to do so, you are teaching them valuable lessons. Your child will learn the importance of caring for a friend, how to be a good companion, selfless and how to connect with others. With such, the child also develops a greater sense of attachment not only to the pets, siblings but also with their friends. 

  • Helps to Impart a Sense of Responsibility

With a pet at home, you can tell your child to feed it or to groom it. You can also ask your child to ensure the pet plays during the day. Owning a pet is also parenting at a different level. As your wash, feed, groom, provide good shelter and comfort your pets, your child learns how to be responsible in your absence and your presence. 

  • A Pet enhances a Child’s General Well Being

Pets at home help you, child, to have better emotional, physical, mental and social health. From improving social skills as the child plays and naturally cuddle with a pet, to petting to offering peace of mind to the child. You will agree that a child is calmer when playing with a dog or a cat. This is because pets have a way of creating bonds as they come to sit on kids laps, share a piece of snack or sleep together. This prevents anxiety and depression. 

Your child will also appreciate nature and science if you own a pet. 

Therefore, pets affect your child’s life in many positive ways. You only need to ensure your pet is healthy and well trained for safety within your home.

2 thoughts on “How Owning A Pet Can Affect Your Child

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.