By: Jessica Wang
Our furry friends have always brought us happiness, but most people are unaware that pets can do wonders for us mentally, physically, and socially.
Pets can benefit us cognitively in a myriad of ways. A study of 4,000 children ages 5 to 7 showed that children with pets had fewer problems with their peers and were more social in contrast to those that did not. Research has proven that children made fewer mistakes while doing tasks when there was a dog in the room.
Additionally, numerous schools have started to recognize the cognitive benefits pets offer and have started using pets to help students de-stress during finals. According to this artcle, the University of Arizona is one of the many schools that have implemented pet therapy during finals.
Pets can also drastically help with mental health by reducing stress and increasing happiness.
More than 23 million families — which is approximately 20 percent of all households in the US — adopted a dog over the pandemic. The addition of pets to families stems from two main reasons: more time spent at home as a result of COVID, and the fact that pets can help us cope and persevere through hard times. For instance, a study published by PLoS One last December noted that “scientists reported that dog owners had more social support and fewer depressive symptoms.”
Research also shows that pets can improve the physical health of children. Being in the era of technology, parents often complain about children’s over-abundant screentime. Kelly Oakes says in this article, “research [has] found that children aged 2 to 5 with a family dog were more active, spent less time on screens, and slept more on average, than those without a pet.”
A survey conducted by Harvard showed that “pet owners were 60% more likely than non–pet owners to get to know people in their neighborhoods,” proving that pets help their owners foster better social skills.
With over 68 percent of households in America owning some type of pet, pets are bound to change the world by making us better people.