At any age, having a pet around the house can be a positive experience.
For young children, watching the activity of a pet or petting safe pets can provide a sensory experience that is valuable to cognitive development. Snuggling with safe pets can create a strong friendship with the pet that helps the child to feel loved and safe in the presence of the pet.
For older children, having a family pet can lead to a strong friendship with the pet. Caring for that pet can lead to a boost in self-esteem, independence, and responsibility.
According to Kids Health, pets come with valuable mental health benefits for people of any age. Kids Health suggests that spending time with a beloved pet can help improve mental health and caring for a pet can encourage self-esteem, decrease feelings of loneliness and decrease blood pressure for some people.
While the presence of a family pet can bring valuable experiences to children of any age in the family, choosing to take on a family pet is not a decision to take lightly. Pets can be hard work, and some pets require more attention and care than others. There are certain pets that may be harmful for children and others that require special care in order to be safe for children.
Before deciding to get a pet, research the pet by asking friends and family, talking with a veterinarian and looking online to get a good idea of the amount of work required in caring for the pet and the safety of that pet around children. This infographic may help you to decide which pet(s) are right for your children.
I am not a veterinarian or an expert in the safety of certain animals in the presence of children, so this series is not intended to share details about which pets are the safest for kids depending on their age. This is why I recommend that you do your research to find out which pets are safest for your children according to their age, to ensure that you make the right choice for their safety.
Instead, this series is intended to identify the developmental benefits that the presence of certain pets may have on your child by age. Once you’ve done your research and decided to bring a certain pet home, here’s how you can use those pets to your child’s developmental advantage.
This week we will discuss the developmental benefits of fish, dogs and cats, rodents and small animals, and birds on babies. Next week, we will discuss these benefits for toddlers. The following week, we will discuss these benefits for preschoolers.
Babies
Fish
Fish offer a stimulating visual experience for a baby of any age. The best ways to offer a stimulating experience for baby include:
- Purchasing colorful fish
- Purchasing tank accessories of varying colors and textures
- Including bubbles in the tank (that are safe for the fish)
- Talking with baby about what baby can see, for example “a purple fish” or “big bubbles that pop” or “a blue fish hiding in the castle.”
While it isn’t safe for baby to touch the fish (or for adults for that matter), baby can learn how to take care of the fish by watching you care for the fish and by listening to your description of the events. As an added benefit, baby’s language development will be improved by your conversations about the fish and fish tank.
Dogs and Cats
Dogs and cats can be safe for children, although some breeds are deemed safer than others. These furry animals can also carry lice and tics without the appropriate safety methods, so before introducing dogs and cats to children, be sure to talk with a veterinarian about how to keep these furry friends safe for your child.
Dogs and cats offer a wonderful sensory experience for babies, both visual and tactile. Babies can be entertained for long periods of time watching dogs and cats as they play with their toys, wag their tales, and roll over. They can learn what the words soft, fluffy and furry mean by (safely) petting and touching the soft fur.
To make the best of this sensory experience, label for baby what the dog or cat is doing so that baby can connect what she sees with the word for that activity. Here are a few examples:
“Kitty is licking her paws.”
“Puppy is chewing on his bone.”
“Henry loves you! He’s licking your face and giving you kisses!”
Take this opportunity at an early age to teach baby how to be gentle with dogs and cats. Any time baby’s actions are hurtful to the animal, stop the actions immediately. For example, gently grab baby’s hand and say, “No thank you. We must use nice touches.” Then show baby how to use nice touches by petting the dog or cat nicely, using baby’s hands.
You may need to repeat actions like this regularly, but it is imperative that you do so to teach baby how to be gentle with animals in an effort to protect baby from being harmed by an animal who doesn’t appreciate her aggressive hands (especially if baby spends time with other cats and dogs who aren’t familiar with her).
Rodents and Small Animals
As long as they are caged, rodents and other small animals can be valuable pet experiences for babies. These animals are often active in their cages, rustling through the wood chips, running through the wheel, or gathering food from their food bowl to munch on.
Once again, this can be a very valuable sensory experience for baby.
Hold baby near the cage and talk with baby about what she sees:
“Do you see the guinea pig eating a carrot?”
“Look at the hamster running through the wheel!”
“Oh look! The mice are playing tag. They’re chasing each other!”
You can name the animals, describe the color of the animals’ fur, talk about what they are doing or what they are eating, name the rustling sounds that come from the cage and say “Hello” and “Goodbye” to the animals.
When you pick baby up to bring her to the cage, tell her that you are doing this and watch for her response as she comes to recognize what you are saying when you say, “Let’s go say hi to the hamster.”
When it comes time to take care of the caged animals, share with baby what you are doing to take care of the animals so that she starts to learn the process. Identify when you are giving the hamster some new food, changing the guinea pig’s water or putting the rats in the ball so that you can clean their cage.
Birds
Birds provide another valuable sensory experience for babies. While many birds are brightly colored, the most valuable sensory experience that a bird provides to babies is auditory, because many birds make beautiful chirping sounds while others like parrots will actually talk!
Just like with rodents and small animals, babies should not touch birds. However, they should be free to look at and listen to the birds. Watch baby’s eyes light up as she hears a beautiful red bird chirping as the bird looks right at her.
Hold baby as you look at the bird together. Point out the colors of the bird’s feathers. Describe what the bird is doing in her cage and talk about the other things that baby can see in the cage, like a water bowl, food pellets, sticks, leaves, etc.
Then, expose baby to the beautiful sounds of the bird. Talk to the bird to see if the bird will chirp, sing or talk in response. Watch baby’s excitement when the bird responds and tell baby what you see: “Oh, you liked that when the red bird sang to you. You are giggling!”
Don’t be surprised if baby becomes obsessed with the bird, calling out to the bird to see if the bird will respond. Baby’s love cause and effect, so if baby learns that she can get the bird to chirp by making a sound herself, she may attempt this repeatedly throughout the day!
Leave a Reply