Childhood is a golden age for the development of the human brain and psyche. So it's not surprising that parents are always careful in educating their children, are protective, and always try their best to educate children with the values they want to pass down.
In general, parents choose to send their children to special educational institutions and control the nutrition of children's food in order to optimize children's intelligence. However, it turns out that there is a third factor that can increase children's emotional intelligence and capabilities, you know, namely by letting them have pets such as cats, dogs, rabbits, turtles, and others.
Curious how raising animals can educate children? Check out the following explanation, come on!
Growing Children's Sympathy and Emotional Intelligence
If observed, almost all children who have pets always treat the animal like a friend or relative. Children have an instinct to pay attention to the movements of their pets and try to meet their needs. This is actually an imaginary form of bond that children make to show affection for their pets.
Reporting from the Punch page, Dr. Rotimi Adesanya as a pediatrician said that a child's attitude to care for his pets will make him accustomed to sympathizing and being more sensitive to the environment and other people. The sensitivity that is nurtured from an early age will make it easier for children to adapt and control their egos. Children will get used to a sense of responsibility, a desire to share, and have better emotional management.
Children Become More Active and Initiative
When a child has a pet, the curiosity that wells up in his mind will encourage initiative behaviors. Children will do many activities with their favorite animals such as talking to them, playing, offering them certain foods, and when the animals respond, new knowledge will emerge for them.
According to Dr Adesanya, children are always in a curious mode and alert to changes in their surroundings. When children experiment, for example giving different foods, asking him to get off the chair, giving him toys and so on, the child will remember the response of his pet and reflect on it. The more often children discover new knowledge, children will be more interested in trying new things. This adventurous mentality is useful for getting children used to critical thinking and taking initiative.
Train Children to Be Courageous and Get Used to Interacting
Childhood is a decisive period in which children are taught to be brave or timid, and both of these depend on the style of educating each parent. When children are introduced to taking care of pets, they are accustomed to taking risks and are accustomed to being careful at the same time. Children will find out for themselves how to approach and tame animals, what triggers danger and what doesn't, where this trains children's analytical skills to observe, take action, and evaluate their decisions.
Professor Lance Workman, a psychologist from the University of South Wales said that pets are a source of comfort as well as an intermediary for studying social interactions. Workman claims that children who raise pets tend to be more adaptable and initiate interactions with other people. This is because children have often practiced communicating with their pets.
In addition to the benefits of raising animals for intelligence both intellectually and emotionally, raising animals is also a stress reliever for children and is believed to be able to maintain a stable temperament. It can be concluded that raising animals is very beneficial for the physical, mental, psychological and cognitive development of children.