I had heard that depending on the pet that you have can help your child while they are in school . It has to do with the effect the animal has on your child. Has anyone heard about that as well . If you have heard something else let me know because I am debating on getting an animal for my kids .

I have heard that as well. I think it has a lot to do with teaching kids the responsibility of caring for an animal and the respect that's needed to treat them well. That carries over to other areas of life, I think. A child who knows they need to feed the cat every morning and does so faithfully is more likely to become that responsible in other areas - including homework and following through in school.

Animals are wonderful for kids of all ages! I can't imagine my childhood without them - my best friends were all animals.

Yes but you do need to make sure that they do not over feed them. It would be a big mess . But you could also use them to help physically as well . I know a lot of people that do that with their pets

Yes, It think it's true.

Our animals have helped my daughter learn a lot, unfortunately she has also had to deal with the loss of a pet, but I do think that has prepared her for the bigger picture of life.

That is true as well
In a way it does help them in a way to deal with the sad but true facts of life .. how did they handle it ...did you get a new pet or are you waiting...

Having their own pet to care for taches a child to be responsible and to love and care for other.

Mamabear..I would agree with you it does teach them to love and it teaches them responsibility in how to care for the pet as a family member ... I hope that makes sense

I agree that pets can really help children. Aside from learning to be responsible and to love and care for others, as mamabear said, pets can help children's emotional growth. They learn how to express their feelings, to show love and to control anger.

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Selene I think that is a great point that you just mentioned . Have you noticed how your animals around your kids ...

I have found that kids who have pets from infancy have a more natural affinity to gwoing up with animals and nature? What are your experiences? I have placed this in another thread because I didn't realize this thread existed!

Animals are amazing! I really think that my dog helps my grandma a lot in her fight with cancer. Animals just give you hope and they show you the true meaning of unconditional love. It's nice. I wouldn't trade my babies for anything! Why have kids when you can have pets??

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-Brittany Brydahl