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A new study by American pediatricians shows that animals… are good for health. For example, children who live in a house with a dog from birth are less likely to develop asthma.
The researchers used registry data that included information on more than a million children. Through careful analysis, they were able to determine that babies who are raised on farms with animals from birth have a 50% reduced risk of developing asthma at school age.1. These results support the hypothesis that children are more likely to develop allergies if they grow up in a super clean environment where parents try to keep them away from any contact with “unhygienic” objects. The study took into account factors that can increase the risk of developing asthma (for example, if one of the parents suffers from it).
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- Pets: do we love them too much?
In the UK, approximately 46% of households keep pets, mostly dogs or cats.2. There is no undeniable evidence that the presence of cats reduces the risk of allergies, but some research suggests that the presence of animals in the house makes children healthier.
In 2012, the journal Pediatrics published the results of a Finnish study of 397 children.3. Scientists have found that in the first year of life, children from families where there are dogs or cats had fewer colds (viral) and ear infections, they were less likely to have to prescribe a course of antibiotics than children from families where there are no animals. At the same time, the researchers note that in dogs the protective effect is stronger than in cats. The most beneficial situation for children is when animals spend less than six hours a day in the house. Scientists attribute this to the fact that they bring dirt from the street, which stimulates the immune system of babies.
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- I don’t like animals
There is also some evidence that having a pet helps a child feel more popular with their peers and encourages children to develop empathy. Studies done before the advent of social media have shown that family members with pets spend more time together and enjoy it more.
In addition, animals (at least theoretically) help children develop a sense of responsibility, increase physical activity (in the case of dogs), and potentially teach them how to cope with irreparable losses.
However, so far, any scientific evidence for the benefits of pets is not convincing enough for adults who refuse to get a kitten or puppy. Animals need to be cleaned up, they have worms and other parasites … In addition (although there are no studies on this topic), we know from the stories of friends and acquaintances that children who pester their parents with requests to have a pet in the house rarely take care of their pets themselves .
See more at The Guardian.
1 Learn more at archpedi.jamanetwork.com
2 Statistics are given on the portal www.statista.com
3 Website of the journal pediatrics.aapplications.org