By being a dog owner you are probably already aware that having a dog companion brings numerous benefits to your life. From offering loyalty, companionship an exercise buddy, and a true friend, they really do enrich your life in so many ways.
Why Owning A Dog Benefits Children
But not only do your furry friends benefit your life but they also bring a lot of benefits to your children.
From teaching your kids about responsibilities, boosting their immune systems, and keeping your children active. Children raised with a four-legged friend do reap the rewards. Here you’ll be able to see and understand the benefits of raising your children with a dog.
Make Children Feel Less Lonely
If you have one child and don’t have any plans to extend your family further and have more children, having a dog is the perfect ‘sibling’ for your child. Children can feel lonely when their parents are at work or they don’t have a play companion to keep them occupied and company. A dog provides your child with companionship and best friend rolled in one. They can play together, enjoy cuddles as well as teaching skills such as sharing their parent’s attention with the dog, learning about personal space and boundaries as well as how to be kind and caring towards another, all skills that are taught when a child has a sibling.
They Learn Responsibility
When you decide to have a dog and you have children it is a perfect opportunity to share the responsibilities with your children. Dependant upon their age there will always be tasks that they will be able to help with or complete themselves. Having a dog does require looking after from daily walks, grooming and feeding but with some guidance you will be able to teach your children all about the responsibility of looking after another living creature and how their needs need to be met. Not only will it help learn these life lessons but it will help you children learn to take initiative and be proactive with the care of their dog, it will keep them grounded carrying out these tasks and prepare them for the future with learning how to care for others.
Keeps The Kids Active And Fit
Dogs need regular exercise in order to be kept healthy. With society changing and more people and children being less active you may be looking for ways to ensure your children remain their best healthiest versions. By having a dog you are providing may ways to get fit from walking them daily, to even running around the park together and playing fetch. To make it even better they will be getting fitter without realizing.
Builds Up Their Immune System
There is evidence to show that children who are raised with dogs are less likely to get as regularly sick throughout their life. This in part will be from the regular exercise and healthy lifestyle associated with riasing a healthy dog but also due to the bacertia and germs that dogs carry. With having your child around thes, your childs immune system adapts and builds up defenses against them which throughout their life will help them fight off other germs and illnesses that may come into contact with as they grow. Studies show that the benefits of being raised with a dog starts from the moment a baby is introduced to the dog and they have a lower chance of having respiratory illnesses such as asthma.
Your Child Learns To Ablout Illness And Bereavement
You would never wish for your pet to get ill or injured or for your child to have to see them in less than perfect health. However, this is natural and it allows your child to learn about how to care for them. Even with the best care in the world they could still fall ill or injury themselve and require medical care with out without surgery. For a lot of us this could be the first time that your child has had direct contact with a being that requires additional care in order to be nursed back to health and it can teach them about how to prioritize anothers needs over their own.
Of course, there will be the time when unfortunately your dog passes away, For most children they don’t necessarily experience loss until they lose their dog. So, again, although you would not wish this pain on anyone, it just allow your child to come to terms with and learn about life and death and to learn how to geive in preparation when other loved ones pass on in the future.
They Teach Unconditional Love
Most children won’t recognize the love they feel for another person until they have a dog to care for. When they are introduced to their dog they form a bond and learn about unconditional love. This lesson is learned quicker than those children without a dog as they have the bond and desire you care for this dog, which the other child does not.
Once this is understood your child will be able to recognize this emotion more easily and apply it to others that they care for and love.
Offers Protection
Having a dog in your home automatically reduces the chances of your home being targetted for break ins, robbery or vandalism. Dogs, with their increased hearing are always on guard and ready to sound the alarm with barking and protect their family. In particular dogs are very protective of children, even prior to birth when the woman is pregnant.
If you or you children get anxious or worried, having a dog and this extra protection can offer great peace of mind. Also, your chances of being robbed or your property vandalised automatically reduce when you own a dog as they aware there is the chance of them being cause due to the dog notifting their owner or concerns they may be attacked.
Builds Their Confidence
When you are a parent, you always want the best for your children, you want them to thrive and be confident. Children who have dogs are more likely to experience more of their local community. When an own has a strong bond and attachment to their dog will spend more time in their local environment and community and this means so will their children. By being around more varied locations, peoples and experiences will help your child become more comfortable when in the unknown which wil carry on into them being more confident within themselves.
Having the responsibility to help with the care of the dog also will build their confidence. Knowing that you are capable of keeping another being healthy and well cared for is a massive confidence booster for all children.
It Can Help Them Become More Socaiable
Some children aren’t necessarily outgoing and naturally confident. Having a dog can boost their social skills. It can help your children make friends, communicate and build on their ability to become more friendly and willing to embrace situations that may have originally made them less confident.
It Can Help Them With Their Communication
Children all develop at their own speed. But when it comes to developmental delays such as speech, having a dog can help encourage your child to start to speak. Kids will want to be able to mimic their parents and also be able to give their dog commands and call their furry friend back but saying their name. Also, it will help with learning about their emotions. Having a child playing with their dog will bring them immense joy, pleasure and laughter. As they grow and develop together they will learn about both verbable cues as well as physical. Once this communication is started it will be the flood gate to your child being able to communicate better, say more words and gain a clear understanding of the commands being given.
Teaches The Ability To Make Decisions
Learning how to think on your feet is a skill that benefits everyone throughout their lives. From being able to make decisions on what to eat to be able to use this to boost their careers in the future, it is a skill that can help you thrive. However, it is necessarily a skill that everyone is born with but one that is learned. By having a dog your child will have to learn to make decisions, from starting off with small decisions such as whether to groom the dog or not, what to feed them to being able to decide if their dog needs assistance. Once they start making decisions for themselves this will carry into many parts of their lives. In childhood it can benefit in school, being part of a sports team and then in later life deciding what educational path they want to take, which job to apply for and who to marry in the future.
By having a dog you are not only providing your child with a friend but benefiting them in so many more ways. Yes they bark and bribble but the pros out weigh this.
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