How pets can develop your child’s soft skills

As we embark on the journey of nurturing essential soft skills in children and young adolescents, we often seek inspiration from unexpected sources. One such source that may surprise you is our furry, four-legged friends — our pets! In this blog post, we’ll explore how pets can play a crucial role in developing your child’s soft skills. From empathy to responsibility, our beloved animals offer valuable life lessons that can shape your child’s character.

Connecting Soft Skills to Everyday Life

Let’s dive into the world of soft skills and discover how pets can help children develop them.

1. Empathy: When a child cares for a pet, they learn to understand and share the feelings of another living being. Whether it's comforting a scared kitten or recognizing when their dog is happy, this empathy nurtures their emotional intelligence. This learning extends to interpreting non-verbal cues like tail wags or ear positions, further enhancing their ability to recognize and respond to unspoken feelings in animals and people, a critical aspect of emotional intelligence.

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2. Responsibility: Feeding, grooming, and providing a safe environment for a pet requires commitment and responsibility. Children learn the importance of consistency and accountability in taking care of their furry companions.

3. Communication: Pets don’t speak our language, but they do communicate through body language and behaviour. Children develop their observation and communication skills by decoding their pet’s needs and emotions.

4. Patience: Training a pet takes time and patience. Kids learn that not everything happens instantly, and they must persist and remain patient to achieve their goals.

5. Problem-Solving: Pets can present challenges, from solving a puzzle feeder for a cat to figuring out how to leash train a dog. These situations encourage kids to think creatively and find solutions.

Scientific Reference

Research (Purewal, Christley, Kordas, Joinson, Meints, Gee, Westgarth, 2017) has shown that interactions with pets can have a positive impact on child development. Pet ownership has been linked to improved social, emotional, and cognitive development in children. These findings emphasize the importance of incorporating pets into a child’s life to foster the growth of vital soft skills.

Incorporating pets into your child’s life is a fun and effective way to promote the development of soft skills. As they bond with their furry companions, they’ll also be enhancing their empathy, responsibility, communication, patience, and problem-solving abilities. These skills are not only essential for their current well-being but also for their future success in various aspects of life.

At Morphoses, we are passionate about equipping children with the soft skills they need to thrive. Our online platform offers a wide range of engaging activities and classes designed to develop these crucial skills. We invite you to join our community of learners and tutors to embark on this exciting journey of growth and development. Try out Morphoses today and empower your child with the skills they need for a brighter future.

References:

Purewal R, Christley R, Kordas K, Joinson C, Meints K, Gee N, Westgarth C. Companion Animals and Child/Adolescent Development: A Systematic Review of the Evidence. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017 Feb 27;14(3):234. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14030234. PMID: 28264460; PMCID: PMC5369070.