Has your child ever tried to convince you to get them a pet? As parents, especially when limited on time, we might resist because of the additional responsibilities and headaches a pet can cause. However, what may seem like headaches and havoc for most parents can turn out to be a great opportunity for children to learn and grow.

Here are the top 4 benefits of letting your child raise a pet!

1. They teach children responsibility

When children own pets, they take pride in helping to take care of a living animal. Children like to be in charge of simple tasks such as feeding or providing water to their pets and cleaning up after them. This helps children to adopt more responsible behavior and be more comfortable with doing other chores around the house.

2. They teach children self-esteem

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), pets can boost a child’s self-esteem and self-confidence. Pets provide children with unconditional love, so children feel more appreciated and accepted for who they truly are. Pets can act as a great pillar of emotional support which helps improve their self-esteem because children can vent out all their frustrations to their pets.

3. They strengthen family relationships

Pets give your family an easy commonality and make taking care of them a combined effort for everyone. Families with pets usually spend more quality time when they take part in activities based around their pets. Activities can be as simple as grooming or feeding your pet together, taking them for a walk, or playing fetch. Pets can make us laugh and have a good time together.

4. They teach children to be more compassionate

Pets teach children to be more compassionate and empathetic because learning how to care and respect animals help to match that behavior with actual people. For instance, when children learn to be cognizant of their pet’s needs for food, attention, and love, they are also learning empathy.

At Parker-Chase:

At Parker-Chase, we aim at raising our students to be empathetic and kind individuals. We believe that teaching them how to learn and care about animals in our curriculum is an integral part of character education.