Things children learn and experience at young age are the very things that further on tend to emerge as very strong impressions and characteristics that intertwine with the way they perceive a given notion.

For instance, many parents decide to raise their children along with some fuzzy, fluffy creatures we call pets because when they remember how fun it was to have a pet, how good, how exciting it felt and they know that it is very beneficial for the emotional and physical and social development of the child.

And, you’re doing another great thing at the same time, you’re giving a shelter and home to a lovely creature that will show you and your family nothing but gratitude and affection. If the pet is adopted from a shelter, even better, you will be truly saving a life. Adopted (not bought) pets have proven to be far more loyal for they do know what it feels like to live without the warmth of a home. Here I want to focus on the three main benefits children get by interacting with, owning and loving a dear animal at young age.

Pets Urge Children To Read More

Children like to pretend that they are in charge and while this characteristic of theirs is very often noticed when children are observed during their playtime with dolls and other toys, they also exhibit the same notion when it comes to their interaction with cats or dogs. If you offer you kid the option to curl under a blanket with a cat while you read a bedtime story, the child will be far more motivated to indulge in reading. It has been proven that children make less mistakes when they practice their reading skills with animals around – they know that animals won’t judge them and won’t embarrass them by asking a question they do not know the answer to yet.

A Pet Can Comfort A Worried Child

Studies have shown that children who have a loving relationship with animals, do not exhibit the same level of stress and worry regarding rejections from more popular children. Therefore, when children feel lonely, parents shouldn’t try to comfort them by buying them expensive toys; instead, get a puppy and see how your kid’s world will light up again and for all the right reasons. Pets keep children away from the computer, they tend to urge them to go outside and play in the sun, even rain. This also triggers positive emotions and makes children forget about the worries and rejections of the past days faster and with renowned confidence.

Pets Strengthen Kid’s Immune System

Dennis Ownby, MD, a renowned pediatrician that is also a head of the allergy and immunology department of the Medical College of Georgia conducted a study which shows that having more than one pet diminishes a child’s risk of developing certain allergies. His research was done by tracking a group of 474 babies from birth to about the age of 7. He discovered that children who regularly interacted with two or more dogs or cats when they were babies were 50% less likely to become susceptible to common allergies in comparison to kids who didn’t have any pets in the home. Other studies have shown that an early exposure to pets may diminish a child’s risk of asthma. These facts show that by having pets in our homes, we are creating a more natural environment that ‘teaches’ child’s immune system not to defend itself from every little speck of dust by an allergy breakout.