The news that pet food is dangerous to children's health should make my grandmother very happy.
The day we told her we were having a baby was the day she started her campaign to rid us of our cat -- "he will steal the baby's breath!" -- and our dog -- "he will bite the baby!"
Yet, here we are, happily co-existing: a preschooler, a toddler, a dog, and a (23-pound) cat. One big happy family.
Animals get a bad rap. What we have is not some rarity and animals are actually quite good for babies and toddlers, so long as the ground rules (and cleanliness standards) are well established.
Some reasons animals are good for children:
1. Animals teach responsibility: My daughter helps me walk our chihuahua every morning and afternoon. She helps me prepare his food and pays attention to when he needs water. At 3, she can now scoop out the food herself and feed him, something she learned when she was just a baby.
2. Animals helped ease the sibling transition: My daughter was only 18 months when we brought her baby brother home, but she had already been "sister" to our dog and cat for her whole life. Sharing was easy (ish).
3. Animals help with allergies: There is a growing body of research to suggest that children who are raised in homes with pets actually have less allergies than those raised without them (put that in your pipe, Old Wives!).
4. Animals distract: There were many times when Sam was a baby where I would put her in the Exersaucer (the circle of neglect, natch) and she would cry until Rocky strolled in. His mere presence made her laugh and smile enough for me to throw a pot of pasta on or to brush my teeth in peace.
5. Animals are fun: When my kids are at our family lake house, tossing tennis balls with Rocky, I am not freaking out about salmonella or the dog biting the kids or the cat stealing the breath from my baby's lips. I am thinking about how cool it is that my dog and kid have so much darn fun together.
Why do you think animals are good for kids?
Image via Sasha Brown-Worsham
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Comments 19
LOL my grandmother told everyone in the family that same thing! No one listened we all kept our cats!
Thank you for this post. I really think children who don't grow up with animals miss out on a lot of social development. Adults who haven't been around pets much don't understand the body language of them nearly as well as those who have had them constantly.
i was told the same thing about our cat sebastian when i got pregnant. i refused to get rid of him. we had him since he was 6 weeks old, he is our first baby. he scared me when i brought the baby home and he sat on the opposite side of every room we were in just staring for 3 whole days, but than he went on with his life. we did have some problems with scratching and hissing when aiden started walking but thats over now and they keep their distances but its all ok.
When we first told my inlaws that we were expecting our first baby, my MIL's first responses were: 1) Is this true??? and 2) Now you can get rid of your cats! with a tone of complete delight. I assured her that the cats were our family members before the baby, and they would continue to be our family members AFTER the baby. Babies and children learn a LOT from interactions with animals. I grew up around lots of pets, and I wouldn't have it any other way for my kids.
Great post!! We have a cat and I know that my MIL would have loved for us to get rid of our cat. But She was our first baby. There was no way I could get rid of her.
We have two cats who predate our being married, even. They were going nowhere. And we also have a beagle-ish mutt who is the bane of my existence and she wasn't going anywhere. Our dog thinks the kids are hers, she's very protective of them and would stand guard over us while I would nurse them. Both kids have learned how to be gentle and how to care for the animals.
I grew up with animals and so did my kids. I feel that people who don't have pets are missing out on their companionship...even when they are annoying. :)
I feel pets teach compassion for others and a respect for animals.
I think our cat is good for my kid....but I don't think my kid is good for my cat, HAHA. She is not fond of him... But hey, at least she comes around. When I married my ex, she stopped coming around me, and even drove that point home by not having ANYTHING to do with me for an entire 2 YEARS after he no longer lived with us....yes...she's a fickle kitty.