Pets Make Kids Feel Special

Pets provide comfort, friendship, unconditional love and blind devotion to family members. Every child deserves to feel special and to be loved for who he is - and pets treat their kids that way. Pets don't criticize or judge their kids, they just love them.

Pets Do Funny Things, Pets Make Us Laugh


Pets add so much fun to our lives. Dog, cat, bird, horse, critter - no matter what the pet they do funny things that make us laugh. They're a source of hugs, kisses, cuddles and giggles. They entertain us. Their actions make us smile. They make us feel better! We celebrate the good things pets bring to our lives. Some of our pets even smile at us!

Pets Help Children Communicate

Even the smallest children will want to communicate more when they have a pet to talk about. They want to talk to us about their pet and tell us what s/he did, where he sleeps, what she eats. They may even try to talk to their pet. As kids get older, they do talk to their pets. Many pets are trained to be therapy dogs (cats, bunnies, even horses!) who LISTEN to kids read to help improve their reading and communication skills! (Tests show reading levels improve when kids read to pets.) We can't forget that talking to our kids about pets in general or especially about the family pet helps kids learn to communicate! Picture by sheknows.com 

Kids Learn Life and Death from Pets


Children are fascinated by baby animals at an early age because of their size, their warm body, their 4 legs, the way they "talk," they can see and feel it breathe and feel the heartbeat. Kids learn pets are "alive" - like they are. Sometimes parents expose their kids to the birth process through animals. 


Kids also sometimes learn their first lesson on death from the loss of a beloved pet. Losing a pet hurts and we go through the same stages of grief when we lose a pet as we do when we lose a good friend or relative. Guilt, denial, anger and depression are natural responses. Talk about it, write about it, maybe put together a photo album about the pet. Tell your kids how you are going to respectively take care of the remains and make sure they understand. Pets give us the opportunity to talk about birth, life & death and hopefully teach our kids about them. 

Protect Your Pets on Halloween

We always worry about black cats on Halloween because our black cat, Cinder Mittens, was so special to our family. If you have a black cat, keep it inside for the week before Halloween too. Many black cats are pet-napped around Halloween by pranksters who may abuse them. Most shelters won't let people adopt black cats in October. It's our job to protect our pets all the time but especially when there are holidays that scare our pets or can be dangerous for our pets. If noisy, loud kids in costumes scare your pet, put him/her in a quiet room away from the front door. Don't let them (dog, cat, bird, critter, reptile, or horse!) eat any of your Halloween candy - put it where they can't reach it. Give them treats made for pets. Keep pets away from candles. Make it a safe and happy Halloween for you and your pets!

Halloween Costumes for Pets

Costumes for Pets are so much fun! But be respectful about putting costumes on your pet. Dogs and cats aren't born to wear clothes. Select a costume that has plenty of room for them to move around. Make sure it won't make them too hot - remember they already have a fur coat! Most important, make sure it won't limit their vision - many pets panic when they can't see in all directions. A costume needs to be safe for your pet. Make sure they won't get their legs tangled in the costume and fall. If they are chewers - make sure there are no small buttons or attachments they can chew off easily or choke on. Make sure it's easy to take on and off in case you need to get it off quickly if your pet panics. 


Try your costume on your pet and see how well he or she tolerate its - most pets don't mind at all if they can see and it doesn't restrict their movements. Limit the time they wear the costume to an hour or so. If you are taking them "trick or treating" with you - don't forget - dogs shouldn't eat chocolate at all and sugar's not so great for them either. Be safe and have fun with your pet!
Dancing dogs - Yorkie Cheerleaders

Exercise - It's Not Just For Kids

Exercise is essential for pets. They need to play and run and burn off energy just like kids! If we don't have a fenced back yard where we can play fetch and run with our dogs, we need to exercise them by walking with them - everyday. Playing with pets, and going along when we walk the dog, helps keep children active and exercising themselves. It stimulates their interest in nature when they see how interested their dog is about sniffing every tree and looking under every leaf. It helps them learn about the environment if we are along to talk about it. Having a pet helps the whole family get more exercise! picture from Ehow.com

Pets Help Children Learn Fairness


Kids are very concerned about what's FAIR. Especially when it comes to siblings. It's hard for parents to convince kids that we need new shoes when our shoes wear out or become too small, not when our brother or sister's shoes wear out. But there are issues that require the same responses from everyone. The house rules apply to everyone. Manners are the same for everyone. Even pets are required to respond to certain manners in the house. Understanding that the rules for pets are different from the rules for them, contributes to understanding that being "fair" is sometimes different for each individual, be it a brother, sister or dog. 

Pets Need Manners Too - Dog Training Is The Key

As children watch us train our pets to have "manners": Not to jump, to sit and wait, to follow on a leash - basic obedience - they learn that good behavior is expected from everyone in the family. Pets need to learn manners just like they do - and when pets behave well the whole family is happy. Bad behavior is the #1 reason pets are taken to shelters. As parent's we may not know how to teach pets good manners, so it's up to us to take a class in dog training, buy a video series to teach us on our own timetable, or hire a dog trainer to teach both the dog and the family how to have good manners.  Picture of dog trainer from AnimalBehaviorCollege.com 

Kids Learn About Their Own Medical Care from Taking Pets to the Vet

Show me a kid who loves going to the doctor! Kids learn very quickly that going to the doctor usually results in a shot. If they also see Rover the dog or Fluffy the cat going to the Vet and getting shots so they won't get sick, it helps them understand what preventative care is. It may also give them courage to be strong and get their shot without anything more than an "ouch" - like Rover does. And, Fluffy's doctor doesn't give her a lollipop - or a cat treat - when she goes to the Vet for a shot. Maybe going to the doctor isn't so bad after all.

Pets Comfort Kids

Pets comfort kids who are sad or lonely. They have the uncanny ability to know when children need comfort or companionship. Whether it's stress or an emotional upheaval in the family, a child can depend on a pet to listen to their troubles and "be there" during a stressful time.  
Picture from nymag.com

Pets Can Give Kids Confidence and Courage

When kids are afraid of something, like being home alone for 10 minutes while you run to the Quick Mart on the corner, a pet can do more than keep them company, it can give them confidence that they will be alright or give them courage to feel safe. If children need to be "latchkey" kids for a little while after school, a pet can help them adjust to a new situation. Maybe a child is afraid to walk to the park alone. Taking the dog for a walk to the park may give him or her the courage to go and see who's there and what they're doing.  Picture by smartbark.com

Kids Share Affection With Their Pet

Although we don't mean it, sometimes parents are not open to affection when our children need it. We're busy. We're on the phone. We're all dressed up to go someplace and don't want our make-up smeared or dirty fingers on our clothing. We have to get dinner ready on time or we'll all be late for the soccer game. If we don't write this check now our payment will be late. Pets are always ready for a hug or a cuddle and they love to be stroked.  

Dogs Protect Our Children


When dogs are members of the family, they instinctively protect the family members. Even if they aren't official "guard" dogs and aren't trained as protectors, they will alert the family to intruders or strangers day or night! They hear better than we do. They see better than we do. They can smell danger - and they bark!

This picture from UtterlyCute.com is priceless - a patient, loving dog protecting a child.

Pets Help Kids Become More Independent


As they gradually take on the roll of caring for a pet - giving it food and water, bathing and grooming it - they start making a transition into a more independent, mature person - a person with the responsibilities you'd like them to assume. They have to Want to care for a pet - and they learn that from watching you and how you take care of the pet. Be a good roll model and kids will become a responsible person.

Pets Help Kids Learn Consequences

The first time the kitty runs away from home or the bird gets out of the cage and flys away - or we forget to feed the guinea pig and he becomes sick, kids start learning the real meaning of consequences. These lessons are emotional ones for kids and emotional lessons, rather than abstract ones, stick with us. Kids learn if they tease the cat, she may scratch them. If they pull the dog's tail, it will hurt and he will yelp. 

Pets Help Kids Develop A Sense of Pride

Kids learn quickly that a dog that is "trained" - one that can follow commands like Down, Sit, & Stay and can walk on a leash without pulling, or fetch a ball is a fun pet to have. They'll spend more time with their dog if its obedience trained. They also know that a dog that can do tricks like "shake" or "High Five!" impresses other children! Having a well mannered pet makes kids proud of their pet!

About This Blog

Welcome to Kidoodlepets Blog for Moms & Dads! We’re all about Connecting Kids and Pets.tm

Kids and pets can have oodles of fun, they can be Kidoodlepets!
Families and kids can learn lots of valuable lessons from caring for a pet.