The University of Cambridge has done a study suggesting that children get more satisfaction from having a relationship with a pet rather than with siblings, and that children also get along better with the animal companions than with siblings as well. The research adds increased evidence that pets can have an important influence on the development of children, which may be a positive impact on emotional well-being and social development.
Anyone who has had a pet is well aware that we turn to them for comfort, disclosure, and for companionship, just like relationships with people, but with pets the love feels more unconditional, and there’s never a fear of judgement. This study was conducted to see how strong these bonds were relative to other close family ties.
Pets are just about as common as siblings in households around the world. Pets are often treated and regarded as part of the family, referred to with loving terms such as fur babies. There are not many studies done in regards to the importance of pet-child relationships. The findings of this study were published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.
This study involved 77 families that had at least one pet of any kind and more than one child. Researchers surveyed the 12 year old children from these families. The children reported a very strong bond and relationship with their pets in comparison to their siblings, with lower levels of conflict and greater satisfaction in families with dogs over any other kind of pet.
Pets may not fully understand or be able to respond verbally, but the findings were that the level of disclosure to pets was no less than to other siblings. Perhaps the fact of not fully understanding or the ability to talk back is a benefit of safety from judgement and the ability to keep a secret.
Previous research has shown that male children had reported having stronger relationships with pets than female children, the findings of this study were the opposite. Both sexes of children were equally satisfied with their pets, but the female children reported having more companionship, conflict, and disclosure with their pets than that of the male children. Possibly indicating that girls might interact with their pets in more nuanced manners.
Evidence continues to grow in support of pets playing a role and having positive benefits on community cohesion and human health, according to Dr. Nancy Gee, Human-Animal Interaction Research Manager at WALTHAM. Social support that is received from pets may well support the psychological well-being of an individual later in life, but there needs to be more research done to learn more about the possible long term impact on children’s development in regard to pets to determine that.
