By: Grace Lee

Is it surprising? Many studies show that pets can directly benefit children’s development and learning. For centuries, pets have acted as our supporting and compassionate companions. According to one study on tandfonline.com, when there was a dog in the room, children were shown to make fewer errors on an object categorization task and needed less assistance in memory tasks.

If you’ve owned a dog, you must know how taking it or any other pet out for a walk can quickly turn into a healthy exercise. According to nature.com, a study published last year clearly shows the benefit of physical exercise associated with pets. After controlling for factors such as socio-economic status, the researchers found that kids who often performed dog-related physical activity had better developmental outcomes.

Pets often become like family to their owners. According to pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, “Dog-owning preschoolers were more active, had lower screen time, and slept more.” Additionally, “Dog-facilitated walking and play can support preschooler movement behaviors.”

Children between the ages of six and ten develop strong bonds with animals that are more similar to humans, according to a research report from tandfonline.com. This bond can teach a child valuable life skills such as empathy, care, and responsibility.