Children and pets share a special close bond, and they change each others’ lives for the better. Children learn about true love, sacrifice, dedication, and responsibility through caring for their furry friends, and pets get love and security in return. As a parent, you might hesitate to get your children pets since they are a lot of responsibility, but they can help you in many things, even in homeschooling your children.
Nurturing and empathy
Once they see how animals love the attention they are giving them, your children will understand the importance of opening up and showing emotions. You can use this to illustrate how you feel the same way about them: you are sad when they are sad, and glad when they are healthy and happy. This way children will learn to treat others the way they want to be treated: just as they are caring for their pets, so should they care for all living beings around them.
Responsibility and protection
They will educate themselves about the dangers that their pet may experience, they will feed them, take them for walks, and make sure they stay safe from fleas, ticks, and diseases. Help your children learn about all these by informing them about different ways of protection: Seresto collars against fleas, beef-flavoured Bravecto chew against ticks and fleas, different powders, and step-by-step procedure what to do if they discover that their pets actually are infected. They should know that pets should always stay safe and warm, and learn about what pets like humidity and light, and which need special food or vitamins.
Pets in academic subjects
You will discover soon enough that one of the easiest ways to spark interest in a subject with kids is to include things that are familiar to them, in this case pets. Teach them about ancient Egypt and how they worshiped cats, make geography more interesting by mentioning where rarest birds and fish live, counts ferrets and hamsters in math, and draw dogs and reptiles in art classes. You will notice how their eyes sparkle and how quick they will memorise information once there’s animals included.
Self-esteem and health
Children who are just learning to read may be very shy about it in front of other people, they may be very self-conscious and afraid of making a mistake. This is where pets come to action: reading aloud to their cat, dog, or a bird will significantly improve their reading skills, and they will not have to be afraid of being mocked or laughed at even if they make a mistake. In addition, playing with their pets in the living room, back yard, or park means they will be having fun and being active at the same time.
The exceptional connection children have with their pets is not something that simply disappears over time. They will remember their childhood friends even after many years, and perhaps even talk to their own children about them. Pets will change your lives for the better, and help you teaching your children important life lessons.