Having Pets Can Make a Healthier Child

Contrary to what other people say, having pets is a healthier choice and more beneficial to children.
Concerns like these furry creatures may cause asthma and respiratory problems as well as issues
of safety it is actually, known to prove otherwise. Although having pets is not for everybody, which
includes time, favor and commitment, the decision for pet ownership can help the child in more ways
than one especially if the child is less than one year old.

Dogs and cats, the more common pets at home, do not just provide love, companionship and a sense of
responsibility on children but also give them a healthier effect, something that they can develop earlier
in life. It is learned from a study published in the journal Pediatrics last month that gave the conclusion
that babies who were exposed to dogs or cats during the early years of life, especially the first year,
suffered fewer respiratory infections compared to children of the same age with the absence of pets.

How can this be? Can a pet-owning household be healthier, wealthier and wiser as compared to
those who do not own any pets? Strange it may seem to others, the study’s findings simply show the
relationship between having a dog or cat and a baby at home with fewer respiratory illnesses. This may
not necessarily be applicable to children who are much older and scientists as well as researchers still
have more work to do before finally making it a general rule for everyone.

According to Dr. Danielle Fisher of St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California from CNN News
said, "It's more support in a growing body of evidence that exposure to pets early in life can stimulate
the immune system to do a better job of fighting off infection.”

With nearly 400 participating babies as the subject of the experiment in Finland, it showed kids who had
a dog or cat during their first year of life had about 31 percent fewer respiratory tract infections than
those kids who never had a dog or cat.

The study speculated on microbes that most dogs and cats carry when they play outside. Children may
be exposed to these microbes in the dirt and may somehow stimulate the child’s immune system,
keeping them strong healthy and free from respiratory problems.

Having contact with a pet at home is advantageous. There is nothing to lose and more to gain. Apart
from having a source of joy and an object of favor and fancy, having pets can also boost better
resistance to infectious respiratory diseases of children. This can also lead to more studies that would
help prevent allergies and infection even when the child grows older, a future discovery that could be
life-changing and healthy-boosting.

 Pets Can Make You Healthy - Video