Children love pets more than siblings, says new study

Children get more satisfaction from relationships with their pets than with their brothers or sisters, according to a newly published University of Cambridge study. Children also appear to get on better with their animal companions than with siblings. The research adds to increasing evidence that household pets may have a major influence on child development. They could have a positive impact on children’s social skills and emotional well-being. Pets are almost as common as siblings in western households. Although, there are relatively few studies on the importance of child-pet relationships. ‘‘Anyone who has loved a childhood pet knows that we turn to them for companionship and disclosure, just like relationships between people,” says Matt Cassells, lead researcher. “We wanted to know how strong these relationships are with pets relative to other close family ties. Ultimately this may enable us to understand how animals contribute to healthy child development” This study, published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, was conducted in collaboration with the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, part of Mars Petcare and the Economic and Social Research Council. It was part of a larger study, led by Prof Claire Hughes at the University of Cambridge Centre for Family Research. Researchers surveyed 12 year old children from 77 families with one or more pets of any type and more than one child at home. Children reported strong relationships with their pets relative to their siblings, with lower levels of conflict and greater satisfaction in owners of dogs than other kinds of pets. ‘‘Even though pets may not fully understand or respond verbally, the level of disclosure to pets was no less than to siblings,” says Matt. “The fact that pets cannot understand or talk back may even be a benefit as it means they are completely non-judgmental. While previous research has often found that boys report stronger relationships with their pets than girls do, we actually found the opposite. "While boys and girls were equally satisfied with their pets, girls reported more disclosure, companionship, and conflict with their pet than did boys, perhaps indicating that girls may interact with their pets in more nuanced ways’’ “Evidence continues to grow showing that pets have positive benefits on human health and community cohesion,” says WALTHAM researcher Nancy Gee, a co-author of the study. “The social support that adolescents receive from pets may well support psychological well-being later in life but there is still more to learn about the long term impact of pets on children’s development”.