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A Healthy Coat (And Child): The Health Benefits Of Your Kid Having A Pet

The thing about having any animal, whether owning a dog, caring for a cat, or running with a pet monkey, they all have one thing in common, they teach everybody life skills. Regardless of how old we are, when we get our first pet, we learn a lot straight away. As a result, this is a fantastic way to get your children clued up in terms of the best lessons that life can offer. But, caring for any animal comes with a lot of pros and cons, but they all result in a positive lesson for your children to learn. So, what are the benefits of your children having a pet, in a psychological and physical sense?



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They Are Healthier.

Getting a pet for your children at such a young age can have wonderful benefits on their physical health. For those that have pet dogs, the natural part of looking after them involves going for walks and playing, in other words, exercise. And the great benefits of getting your children to exercise will help to offset the common medical issues in children, such as diabetes and obesity. Although walking isn't the most supreme version of exercise, every little does actually help. In addition to this, your children will have less of a chance of developing allergies later in life. The younger your children are introduced to dogs and cats, will have fewer respiratory infections as well as other issues like ear infections. 

They Can Mentally Develop.

For children who grow up without a pet, sometimes that desire to learn about animals and the animal kingdom isn't there. There was a study done on second graders where children read aloud to a dog, made improvements in their reading ability in comparison to children who read aloud to an adult. This could be because the dog was a non-judgmental and impartial observer, which therefore reduced the stress in the child.

Also, for those families getting a new or second pet, the child may have learned from their experiences of the previous pet to make the new one feel as comfortable as possible in their new surroundings. Having a pet can help to nurture an interest in animal sciences, but it can also help them with regards to issues like problem-solving. And it could encourage a more methodical approach to helping a cat settle into their new surroundings.

It does depend on the animal, but if your child needs to do some important research into the specific wants and needs of an animal, or the practicality of having a certain pet, such as a Norwegian Forest Cat, who is one of the largest breeds of cats. So if you need to factor in the Norwegian Forest Cat size based on your living space, this could encourage your child to solve this problem.

In addition to this, the companionship of any pets with its owner, especially a child, results in a lot more oxytocin. This is the happy hormone and can help your child to relax. When you are at your most relaxed, you can develop yourself in many ways, not just mentally. 

Your Children Will Be Happier.

As well as oxytocin helping your child's mood levels, children who have pets tend to have higher self-esteem. This is for one very important reason that children who suffer from low self-esteem will be likely to confide in an animal in a more intimate way than they would with an actual human being. And the benefit of having any animal is that they will never judge you for your behavior. So, for any child that has to tell their parents that they did something wrong, or they have a problem, there may be a sense of trepidation involved because of the fact that the child may anticipate certain responses or judgmental comments.

Put simply, an animal doesn't care if mistakes have been made, and the child doesn't fear looking silly or losing face when they are talking to an animal. Additionally, children that have pets learn the skill of empathy. Because the child has learned how to look after their pet, they will develop important empathetic skills that they can apply to other people throughout their life. 

It Can Help Your Children Socially.

If you have a child that is particularly shy, they would benefit from having a pet. One way it can help children is when they are out with a pet, more children are likely to socialize and interact with a child who has a pet. The pet becomes the link between these two people, which can then gradually encourage a child who may be socially awkward, to come out of their shell a bit more. If your child then makes friends based on a shared love of animals, this is a human relationship that will blossom and develop. It can then turn into things like playdates, all because your child was walking the dog! And it doesn't have to be a dog; other pets seem to evoke the same response.

For children who don't have pets, they may be less likely to interact on certain levels. Because of things like social media or computer games now, children can tend to stay away from social activities that little bit more. Human interaction is a very important thing, of course, and having a pet actually helps to nurture this. So, whether your child isn't that forthcoming in being social, or they feel embarrassed for some reason, a pet can open up so many doors for them.

As is the cliché of having a dog, they give you unconditional love, and this is true. This is something that can have many positives for a child who struggles in many different ways. But, it's not just children that can benefit, we can benefit too. That all-important companion in your life may be the one thing that you will never argue with, and all they ask is that you feed them on a regular basis and play with them from time to time. So, whether it's for the benefit of your children or for you as an adult, a pet can have many positive effects on a family as well as a child.

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