Pets are good for kids. Kids learn to care for other creatures and through this understand sharing and caring. It's a great way to understand that we share this world with creatures of all kinds. Many families which cannot have a pet frequently get a virtual pet.
While virtual pet games like Neopets allow you to nurture creatures of our imagination and play with them, sites like Furry Paws allow you to raise your own dog by choosing the breed and the genetics. Both games allow feeding the pets and playing with them. In fact Neopets even allows a pet to have a pet pet!
Advantages of having a pet:
Learning Responsibility
Looking after pets, feeding them regularly and making sure they are happy is a big responsibility. But if a pet joins a child at a young age, the child could start with playing with the pet and slowly over time it could include walking and grooming them. Social interaction is generally the first things that comes into play. Looking after another creature as per a schedule, makes kids become responsible. This should be encouraged. Kids enjoy nurturing.
Learning Capability
Parents have the tendency to baby their kids, with the result that kids grow up not knowing their capability. While caring for a pet, kids and the parents realize the capability of the child(kids under 10 find it difficult to care for a dog on their own). Many a time parents assume that kids cannot discipline pets. Kids can get pets to be well behaved. They just might take more time or effort, but they do get around to it.
Learning to Connect with Nature
When kids grow up around pets they understand that pets and humans have a lot in common. Their involvement with Nature increases. Respect for other creatures great and small increases. As the overlap in our lives with the lives of animals increases, kids also understand how everything in nature is connected. In a way a doorway to Nature is opened up via a pet.
Kids can benefit a lot by having a pet. If there are constraints of space or other medical reasons, a virtual pet is a great alternative. In fact here are 3 sites with great virtual pet games. If you have a wee bit of patience, you just might be able to pet your virtual pet with Virtual Reality in the near future. Until then, enjoy the real thing!
While virtual pet games like Neopets allow you to nurture creatures of our imagination and play with them, sites like Furry Paws allow you to raise your own dog by choosing the breed and the genetics. Both games allow feeding the pets and playing with them. In fact Neopets even allows a pet to have a pet pet!
Advantages of having a pet:
Learning Responsibility
Looking after pets, feeding them regularly and making sure they are happy is a big responsibility. But if a pet joins a child at a young age, the child could start with playing with the pet and slowly over time it could include walking and grooming them. Social interaction is generally the first things that comes into play. Looking after another creature as per a schedule, makes kids become responsible. This should be encouraged. Kids enjoy nurturing.
Learning Capability
Parents have the tendency to baby their kids, with the result that kids grow up not knowing their capability. While caring for a pet, kids and the parents realize the capability of the child(kids under 10 find it difficult to care for a dog on their own). Many a time parents assume that kids cannot discipline pets. Kids can get pets to be well behaved. They just might take more time or effort, but they do get around to it.
Learning to Connect with Nature
When kids grow up around pets they understand that pets and humans have a lot in common. Their involvement with Nature increases. Respect for other creatures great and small increases. As the overlap in our lives with the lives of animals increases, kids also understand how everything in nature is connected. In a way a doorway to Nature is opened up via a pet.
Kids can benefit a lot by having a pet. If there are constraints of space or other medical reasons, a virtual pet is a great alternative. In fact here are 3 sites with great virtual pet games. If you have a wee bit of patience, you just might be able to pet your virtual pet with Virtual Reality in the near future. Until then, enjoy the real thing!
