13 Reasons to Own A Pet for Children

reasons to own a pet

Decade after decade, people have been confusing whether or not is it good for children to own a pet. There are a lot of positive reasons why children should live and grow up with pets.  Not only do pets teach our kids a lot of life and social skills, they also become the best friends children could ever have.

Reasons To Own A Pet – Top 13 Most Common Reasons:

Reasons to own a pet

There are a lot of benefits that pets can give our children. It is simple for children to decide owning a new pet. However, it is up to parents to make sure that the pets receive necessary care for their entire lives. Growing and playing with pets, children would be able to share their youths comfortably and meaningfully with their own pet-friends. Check out 13 reasons to own a pet and decide whether or not you should give your child a pet.

1. Good For Health:

Good for health

The first out of reasons to own a pet that you should read to decide whether or not your home will welcome a new member – a pet – is that pets give your child many health benefits that you may never thought before. Some researches show that children who own pets tend to get less sickness than normal. In reality, a study conducted in 2024 discovered that children who lived with dogs were healthier during their first year of life in general, with lower chances to get frequent ear infections and respiratory problems than other kids. In brief, there are many myths rising among parents about pets and children’s health, but the truth is what I analyzed: pets help children lower the risk of getting sickness.

2. Build Family Bonds:

Build family bonds

One of the biggest reasons to own a pet, even for parents or kids, is that pets can help a family grow closer and stronger. A pet is often the center of a family’s activities that all members will take part in together. Parents and kids can take a dog for a walk, lie down on the floor and plays together, or share in grooming and feeding their pet. There are some benefits people can even take from simply watching a fish swims in his tank or a cat chases his tail. Spending time doing something together with pets like this will bring about the great potential of slowing down the hectic pace of your whole life.

There are a lot of other ways to build family bonds, so if you want to know more, you should read the Connected Parenting book.

3. Pets Provide Comfort:

Pets provide comfort

In a recent research, children were asked what they want to tell less-popular children for making friends. The most common answer did not focus on sneakers or a wonderful toy. Guess what? It was getting a pet. Whether big as a horse or small as a hamster, a pet can give children a shared interest with other children and something to talk about.

Animals alsoprovide their owners a great sense of comfort. Kids who always reach for support from a pet companion were rated by their parents as less withdrawn and anxious.  In fact, pets can sometimes play the role of comforter because of the special connection that often develops between children and pet. A hurting kid might be more willing to trust a pet initially than a human because this relationship is non-judgmental from the pet’s perspective.

4. Discipline:

Discipline

The discipline your child will get from growing up with a pet is also one of the most persuasive reasons to own a pet you should concern about. When growing up with a pet, your child will be able to learn a great deal about discipline. If he (she) has a pet at home, he (she) learns to train and teach the pet how to listen. It has been scientifically proven that raising a dog will help kids learn much about discipline.

There are a lot of other ways to build the discipline in children, so if you want to know more, you should read the 1-2-3 Magic book.

5. Learn About Commitment:

Growing up with a dog or a cat is a big commitment on the part of a person. Pets are not the stuff that your kids can take care of them when they want and put them on shelves when they get tired of this task.  They have to feed, clean, exercise, play with, and otherwise love their pet every day.  Raising a pet is a great commitment and cannot ever be treated as a contemporary business.  This will teach your child to commit and follow through to the end.

6. Learn About Consequences:

Taking care of a pet will teach kids a lot about consequences.  When a pet is not cared for properly, the consequences are real and will make children anxiety or even scared.  If a hamster or gerbil’s cage does not get cleaned out, it will start to smell very bad. When a cat is ignored, he will seek revenge and do something terrible.  If a dog does not exercise, he will get agitated. If a fish is not fed, he will die.

7. Improve Reading Skill:

Improve reading skill

Many children feel more comfortable and enjoyable reading out loud to their pet rather than to other people.  Maybe the reason for this is that a dog or a cat will never judge – pets do not correct the children or tell them to reread.  The more a kid read, the better he or she will get at it because the bottom line to improve reading skill is practicing it repeatedly.  At younger ages, it will be best for kids to read aloud in order to allow they hear themselves.

When pets are near to help kids read, they can essentially support kids’ fluency improvement.  The oral practices kids experience when reading to their pet will help them read more fluently, resulting in better comprehension of what they are reading.

8. Reduce Stress:

Reduce stress

Pets are great to act as a stress relievers. Playing with dogs or cats can be extremely therapeutic for your whole family. Dogs just need to cuddle with your family pooch to give members a sense of security and safety for children.  People usually turn to their pets to find comfort.  They make good sounding boards because they are great listeners and never abuse with us.  They never try to give advice when it is not wanted.  Pets simply sit around and make kids feel calm and peaceful, helping them get rid of fluster and stress.

There are a lot of other ways to help children reduce stress, so if you want to know more, you should read the 10 Mindful Minutes book.

9. Calm:

Pets tend to help children keep calm. Some kids are more relaxed besides their pets than adults. Children talk to their pets more often than adults, whenever they feel anxiety, angry, sad, or otherwise upset.  Magically, pets will help kids feel peaceful in front of every situation and give them an unconditional love.

10. Play And Exercise:

Play and exercise

Pets need playing and exercising regularly, especially dogs.  Usually, every activity that kids participate in with their pet is physical one.  This allows girls and boys to keep fit. Generally, families spend more time outside together when they raise a pet.  The fresh air and sunshine are good for people, especially kids. Learning about how pets need exercises to stay healthy will help kids apply the same concepts to their own well-being.

11. Less Prone To Asthma And Galleries:

Over the years, many researchers have discovered that children who grew up with pets are less prone to experience asthma and allergies. When exposed to allergens and pet dander before the first age, kids tend to get stronger immune system than normal.  Results published in Experimental and Clinical Allergy showed that little boys who grew up with pets have reduced the risk of getting severe allergies by half.

12. Self – Confident:

Self-confident

Here comes another out of reasons to own a pet for children you should read – the ability to boost your child’s self-esteem and self-confidence.  When a child can successfully raise a pet, he or she will feel better about themselves.  In concrete, their self-esteem will be boosted and they experience a confident air around them.  That is because when a child has a 4-legged (or 2-legged) creature to love and will love him or her back, a friend to play with and talk to when no one else is around. Later on, when your kid starts learning at school, the pet will even help to improve his or her learning skills. Some recent prestigious researches showed that reading out loud to a loyal (and nonjudgmental) companion, such as a cat, can turn a reluctant reader into a confident one.

13. Responsibility:

Children who own a pet will develop a deeper sense of responsibility and care for others early.  Pets need attention and care all the time.  They need their owner to entertain, feed, and exercise them.  Children who independently raise their pet usually learn how to be compassionate and empathetic. Learning to be responsible for another creature also allows kids to take care of themselves better.

It is important for you – parents to help your children take care of the family’s pets, gradually releasing responsibility to them over time.  When they are young, kids can help parents pour water into their pet’s food bowls.

Reasons to own a pet for children

All of the above reasons to own a pet are listed on the famous and prestigious lists. However, you cannot find the fullest list in anywhere else but VKool.com, in my article. I have collected this information for weeks, and now, I am glad to share them with anyone who is confusing whether or not they should give their kids a pet.

If you feel the reasons to own a pet I offer in this article are really useful for you, just feel free to leave all your comments/feedbacks at the end of this post. We appreciate your contribution and will respond all as soon as possible.

If you want to know more about teaching the responsibility in children, you should read the Parenting With Love and Logic book.

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