Interesting Story on Pets and Children

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http://www.bbc.com/news/education-32608771

 

Selected quotes:

 

Children who are facing adversity, such as illness or parents splitting up, are more likely to confide in their pet than brothers or sisters, according to research.

 

Matt Cassels at Cambridge University says far too little attention has been paid to the significant role of pets in young people's emotions.

 

"The data on pet relationships stood out, as it had never occurred to me to consider looking at pet relationships, although I had studied children's other relationships," says Mr Cassels.

He suggests that people have associated pets with children's play and have not approached it in terms of a relationship.

 

The study, he said, showed that it was "valid to talk about child pet relationships in the same way we talk about sibling relationships".

Despite pets being so common in families with children, Mr Cassels says there has been a lack of evaluation for "how important they are to us".

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I know that my Jack Russell Terriers that I had throughout my childhood were vital to my emotional health, and a large part of who I am today as an adult. They were my best friends and my siblings, as I lived in a rural area and my siblings are far older than I am. 

[tomatosandwich]

Cool research!  I know that even as an adult, Divot helps my emotional health.  It's hard to get too down when there's a little wiggly body always ready to give love and go out into the sunshine.  My one daughter is a bit different from most kids her age; she has told me many times that Divot is her best friend.  When asked by people who the baby of the family is, all of my kids respond, "Divot" as if he's their little brother.  Yep, I think the research is important and exciting!