How Pets Can Help Your Children Cope With Tough Emotional Situations

Learn about how pets can help kids get through tough emotional situations.So wags the world that every now and then, and we are forced to go through the situations we’d rather avoid. There are plenty of events and challenges that might get on the path to our happiness, and the cold truth is that they tend to leave us emotionally broken and completely exhausted for a long time afterward. And here is the worst part: sometimes such situations happen not even to us, but to our children. Needless to say, children are way more vulnerable and less mature than adults, and it gives them harder times to overcome tough emotional events.

As a loving parent, you’re likely to want all the best for your children, and it typically includes unclouded happiness for each day of their lives. Unfortunately, permanent and absolute happiness is a hard thing to achieve. Sometimes, a parent's intention to make their child happy results in overprotection, which may lead to unintentional psychological side effects. That’s why a better strategy would be to teach your children to manage their stress instead of trying to avoid it at all cost.

Wonder how exactly you can do this? It turns out that one of the best ways to help your children go through moments in their lives involves four-legged friends. In the following paragraphs, I’ll explain how exactly pets can help children cope with tough emotional situations. Read on to learn.

Pets are a scientifically proven remedy for stress.

While it’s rather obvious that pets can act as a stress-relieving pill, you might be surprised to learn that their psychological benefit is proved by science. There was a study focused on the topic, and it turned out that children growing up with pets are less likely to suffer from anxiety. It might be a result of special vibes our four-legged friends send or unconditional love they tend to express, but one thing remains clear: pets can work as an excellent stress reliever, and the only side effect is that they require care and attention.

Pets can distract your children from obsessive thoughts.

Chances are good that you’ll agree if I say that playing with pets is a lot of fun. No matter how low your mood is, all the worries and fears seem to fade away after you spend at least 15 minutes playing with your beloved pet. There are a couple of reasons why it works this way. For the starters, pets are naturally funny and playful, which means it’s hardly possible to play with them and don’t laugh at the funny look and behaviour. Secondly, playing with pets is interesting and fascinating enough to distract your children from their worries. And as experience and studies confirm, sometimes it might be enough to distance yourself from a problem for at least half an hour to be able to see that the problem is not that huge. Give your children a chance to test this theory and, who knows, maybe their happy faces and loud laughter will be your reward.

They make true friends and great company.

When children are forced to deal with a huge life change such as their parents' divorce, they’re at risk of feeling lonely and guilty for everything that’s happening. At the moment, it’s vital for them to feel loved and comforted. Given that pets, especially dogs, are known for feeling unconditional love to their owners, it will be a good idea to keep their cherished pets nearby them throughout the family transition. If your child doesn't already have a pet, you may also consider adopting a pet after some time has passed. Getting a new pet during the separation or divorce could prove to be more emotionally difficult for your child, as they may not want to leave that pet behind during parenting time transitions. Once your family has grown more accustomed to the transitions, you might then consider adopting a pet. Discuss this with your co-parent as well as any mental health professionals that work with your family, particularly with your children, to determine whether or not it is a good idea to bring a pet into your child's life. 

To wrap things up.

As it’s been said before, we cannot protect our children from all the negative things in this world. But there are ways to alleviate the pain they are forced to confront. Adopting a pet may seem like a small price to pay for your child's happiness, but you have no idea how effective this approach may be overall. 

Written by: Cassie Brewer