5 Reasons Why Pets are Good for Kids

80 percent, of homes in America, have pets, and the majority of people who influence this idea are kids. Kids love to socialize with pets, and this can also bring in a lot of benefits as well. Therefore as a parent, get your kids a pet if they ask for one. As long you can take good care of the pets regarding the feeding and grooming, it would be much easier to keep one. Before you get a pet for your kids, it is vital that you take them for checkups to see if they are allergic to that type of pet or not. The pet could be either a cat or a dog.

 Why are pets good for kids?

1. Teaches kids the importance of responsibilities:

Kids love to take care of their pets, and this is an excellent way of teaching them the importance of responsibilities. Hence when bathing the dog, make sure your kids are around to see how it is done and with time you will realize that they are developing an interest in doing it themselves. Also, the act of walking the dog out or feeding them enables your kids to feel good about themselves too. You can start training your kids to do these responsibilities at a tender age. This makes it easy for them to do the chores that you give them as they see it as a part of their duty.

2.  Improves nonverbal communication:

Research shows that kids can communicate more with pets as compared to adults. This is because kids take more time to understand the pets and they quickly develop sympathy for the pets as well. Also, a kid who lives with a pet may it be a dog or cat, has more patient and understanding as compared to the kid who has none. This is because such a kid takes more time to understand a situation before reacting to it.

3. Decreases allergies:

This is according to a research that was carried out on kids aged between 2 and 11 years. The results showed that kids who grow up with pets are likely to have high immune as compared to kids who grow without the animals in the house. The kids with pets tested to have a high number of the antibodies responsible for fighting the allergies such as colds and flu. Also, this showed that kids without pets in the house are likely to get attacked by these symptoms since their immune system is low.

4. Pets help the kids to learn:

If your child has a problem with reading, then a pet can significantly help him or her to upgrade her reading skills. Pets are widely used in the institutions that educate the mentally development challenged kids. How? The kids who are reluctant to read out loud in front of people or school are usually given a pet to practice their reading with. Kids find it more comfortable and secure reading to a dog as compared to reading in front of a teacher or fellow students. This builds up their confidence and also helps them in improving their reading techniques. So buy your kid a pet for this purpose if she or he has a reading issue.

5. Pets offer great company to kids:

If you are always on the move such that you don’t get enough time to spend with your kids, a pet is an excellent alternative for your kids to keep them company and stay with. Kids find it more comfortable and secure staying close to their pet, and they also see them as their companions too. Kids like to talk to their pets, and whenever they are not in a good mood, they find it more comfortable sharing the problems with their pets. If your kid is a loner, you can get him or her to mingle with other kids with the aid of a pet. Dogs cannot stay in one place, and this helps your kid to move around the house or even outside the home in the case where he or she is walking the dog. Plus kids love pets, and this is a way of bringing other kids close to your child for them to get to know each other. Apart from these, playing with the dog in the house keeps the kid active and occupied as well.


If you wish for your kids to grow up healthily and happy as a parent, consider getting them a home pet. Pets help the kids to stay active and energized all the time. Also, allow your kids to choose the pets of their choice since it makes it easy for them to interact with the pets.