Family pets – a great way for children to develop socially!

[26 March 2010 - 08h55]
[mis à jour le 26 March 2010 à 15h54]

Does your child enjoy playing with the family dog, or cat or rabbit? Perhaps he tells the pet his secrets, watches them eating and drinking? You may not realise it but this very simple relationship is a good way of introducing your child to the world outside…

First of all, animals don’t judge: if their young master tells them what he’s afraid of or what makes him angry or what he would love to have or do, pets just stay there, appearing to understand and seeming to listen. This is reassuring for your child and reinforces his self-esteem, making him less worried about starting the process of social integration.

When very young, children have to learn to make a distance between themselves and their parents. The presence of a dog – or any other animal – will encourage this sense of independence. If a pet is there to provide reassurance, children can manage better without their parents. And before making contact with other children, your child will learn how to manage personal interaction by trying it out first with the family pet. It’s really very simple – the sense of complicity this gives will bring the child out of himself.

Forging relationships with other people is a matter of understanding differences and needs. A child can begin to learn how to do this with an animal: he becomes aware that the family pet has times for eating, drinking, resting, going out, etc. If he does not respect these needs, the animal will reassess the way he sees the child.

Whether you have a dog or a cat, a pet will help a child who tends not to talk very much to express himself more freely. This means that children will learn to communicate better – first with their four-legged, furred or feathered friend … and then with grown-ups.

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