Owning A Dog Is Good For Children’s Emotional Development
Previous studies have demonstrated that kids from dog-owning households are less moody, more physically active, and have fewer behavior and learning problems. But that’s not the end of the list, new findings suggest.
Previous studies have demonstrated that kids from dog-owning households are less moody, more physically active, and have fewer behavior and learning problems. But that’s not the end of the list, new findings suggest.
More than 60 million US families are dog-owners. These faithful and friendly pets help to build family bonds, provide company, comfort, and reduce stress levels.
In a recent study, parents from 1,646 households with children aged 2-5 had completed a questionnaire about their kids’ wellbeing. Almost half of the participants owned a dog. Researchers took into consideration different factors like biological sex, age, sleep quality, and parents’ education level.
For children from dog-owning families, the following associations were found:
- They were 40% less likely to have problems interacting with other children than kids who did not own a dog.
- They were 34% more likely to act more kindly to others.
- Also, they were 23% less likely to have problems with their emotions and social skills
- And 30% less likely to engage in antisocial behaviors.
Moreover, it was found beneficial for kids’ social and emotional development to participate in family dog walks at least once a week and to play with the dog three or more times per week.
Authors suggest the associations they found, “this could be attributed to the attachment between children and their dogs. Stronger attachments between children and their pets may be reflected in the amount of time spent playing and walking together and this may promote social and emotional development.”
Sources:
Young children from dog-owning households have better social and emotional wellbeing