Why Dogs Make the Perfect Addition to Your Family
Most children love animals, especially pets. Pets help to teach children compassion and companionship. Along with fun play times and snuggles, dogs teach children a unique set of life lessons that stick with your child forever. If you’ve been wondering whether this is the right time to add a four-legged friend to your family, here are a few reasons why getting a pet may be a very good idea.
- Companionship
A pet provides constant companionship through ups and downs of a kid’s life. Dogs are a great source of comfort for kids. Children (and adults) can turn to their pets when they feel afraid, angry, or sad. A dog’s presence is warm and comforting, and a child can speak all of his or her frustrations and secrets into a listening ear that isn’t subject to judgment or gossip.
- A More Active Lifestyle
Kids with dogs as pets exercise more during a day when compared to their non-dog owning peers. A dog requires daily walks and plenty of play time, and parents often get kids to help out by walking the dog.
- Responsibility
Children learn compassion and empathy by caring for their pets. They make sure that their dog has food and water, and can be concerned for them when the dog is unwell. This truly gives children their first glimpse of accountability and obligation.
- Improved Immunity
Studies have found that babies raised in close proximity to pets get sick less often, which means fewer visits to the pediatrician. Exposure to microbes and germs that pets carry into the home from the outdoors improves babies’ and kids’ immune system. Research also found that children who grew up alongside dogs in the house experience a reduced risk of allergies.
- Happiness and Friendship
Interaction with dogs, and animals in general, have proven to increase the levels of dopamine – the happy hormone which increases the optimistic feelings in humans. Besides, playing and interacting with dogs is bound to brighten anyone’s day.
Growing up with a dog can enrich our lives as well as the lives of our children. Having a dog in the family may be one of the greatest gifts we can give our kids.
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