Having kids may force your hands into getting a pet even if you are not enthusiastic about getting one. Kids adore and love pets, and with good reason. They get a pet to play with and keep them busy and there are host of other health benefits of owning a pet including improved immunity against common allergies and respiratory diseases like asthma, improved mental wellness and communication skills.

A pet, especially a dog, can inspire you to take up a fitness regime since they need to be walked regularly. Pets also provide companionship and having a pet snuggle next to you has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety after an awful day.

If you are still hesitant about getting your kid a pet, here are more reasons more convincing reasons why a pet is good for your kids and the lessons they could learn from owning a pet.

Responsibility

Keeping a pet is some work. Pets need to be fed, cleaned and groomed regularly to be healthy. A healthy pet smells and looks great and has a lower risk of spreading infections and bugs to the family. The litter box has to be emptied and cleaned daily too.

A pet may be the best way to start teaching your child about responsibility. Teach them and make sure they understand the level of responsibility required to take care of a pet before getting the one.

Tell them it’s their responsibility to ensure the pet is healthy and all the vet appointments are honoured, even if you will have to assist them.

However, you should not misinterpret this to pet care is your child’s sole burden; let other family members chip in.

Happiness

For the most part, pets are happy animals and seldom exhibit aggressive behaviour. Pets are playful and aren’t ashamed to jump, wag their tails and be loud when they are happy and excited.

A pet could teach your child the importance of seeking happiness and fulfilment in their lives and being content with their lives. When put in a loving home, pets are rarely grumpy and even dogs that have been in abusive environments have shown remarkable improvement in their behaviour and levels of happiness.

Self-confidence

The responsibility of caring for a pet in itself can improve the self-esteem of your kid. Additionally, owning a pet improves a child’s social and communication skills and this in turn improves their confidence.

Pets also give unconditional love to you child which alleviates any social anxiety they may have.

Trust and loyalty

Pets are usually devoted to their owners and this is best exhibited by stories of dogs receiving their owners from the hospital, alerting and protecting families from impending harm etc. Your kids could learn the importance of loyalty from their pets who are always by their side in times of sadness and happiness alike.

Your kids could also learn how to build trustful relationships from their trusted pets.