raisegoodkids

We have three dogs and my kids love them. My oldest helps feed and water them and he loves walking around the backyard and playing with them. “Come on, Jack.” he’ll say as they go exploring. The baby just likes to watch them in complete wonder and amazement. You can almost read his mind as he watches them run past him, “What in the world is that thing? Why does it lick my face?”

A child with a pet can learn to care for it, treat it kindly, and to be patient with it. These are all tools in learning how to treat people, also. Taking care of a pet can assist in developing positive feelings and can contribute to a child’s self-esteem and self-confidence. Having a positive relationship with a pet can teach a child to also have positive and trusting relationships with others. The pet/child relationship can help in developing non-verbal communication, compassion, and empathy. A child can learn a lot about nature, life-care and responsibility, and lessons dealing with birth, death, and illness. A pet can be a companion, can give a child someone to talk to, and can provide comfort, love, loyalty, and affection. A pet will give a child the chance to grow physically and can provide a lot of activity and fun. Most importantly, having a pet can help your children to grow into mature and responsible adults.

If you don’t have a pet, consider getting one. You will need to asses your home, family, and lifestyle to determine what kind of pet would be best for you. Take a trip to a local animal shelter and allow your child to play with different animals to see which one might make the perfect fit. Sam had been talking about wanting a kitty cat for several months, but he had never really been around a real cat. So, we took him to a local adopt-a-thon and let him see a real cat. We gave him the opportunity to pet the cats and to hold them. By doing this, we discovered that he really did not seem to have much interest in them after all. He still talks about the kitty cats, but we don’t think he’s quite ready to pursue that adventure just yet. Maybe he did not have any interest in the cats at this adopt-a-thon because none of them were orange. We found that while we surfed the internet looking at various cats in shelters he always picked out the orange ones as his favorites. So, maybe we will try again at the shelter and see how he likes an orange kitty cat! Things like that is why I sometimes call him “my little weirdo”!

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