板橋英文｜10 Reasons Your Children Should Own a Pet 孩子們需要寵物陪伴的十大理由 @ TOEIC,TOEFL,IELTS,全民英檢,SAT,菁英英日語-板橋分校

到底該不該讓孩子跟毛小孩生活在同一個屋簷下？

很多媽媽在懷孕之後，為了自己及寶寶的健康著想，會將寵物送離家庭，聽起來似乎很有道理，但這樣做對陪伴自己多年的寵物，不也有些不公平嗎？

這個問題爭論了多年，小編也沒辦法回答你，但小編從美國 Womanitely 的網站整理出其提出的【孩子需要寵物陪伴的十大理由】給大家！

Responsibility　培養責任心

Children with pets develop a sense of responsibility and care for others early on in life. Pets need care and attention all the time. They depend on their humans to feed, entertain, and exercise them.

Children who are active in raising their pets usually learn how to be empathetic (同理心) and compassionate (同情心). Learning how to be responsible for another creature will allow the youngsters to better take care of themselves as well.

寵物需要被照顧，牠們需要主人餵食、洗澡、散步等。在照顧寵物的過程中，父母可以教導孩子懂得設身處地的理解和養成照顧的責任，將來能更好地照顧自己和家人。家長要注意循序漸進地把責任交放給孩子，如果孩子很小，不妨先試著讓孩子幫寵物倒水或餵牠們吃飯開始。

Self-Confidenc　帶來自信心

Along with responsibility for a pet comes the building of self-confidence. When children are successful at raising their pets, they feel good about themselves.

In turn, their self-esteem (自尊心) increases and they carry a confident air about them. They are, in a sense, proud of their accomplishments (成就).

養寵物除了能培養責任感之外，還能替孩子建立自信心。孩子在幫忙照顧寵物的同時，如果表現不錯，父母不妨適時的給予孩子們一些鼓勵，讓他們有成就感，進而提升自身的自信心。

Less Prone to Allergies and Asthma　減少過敏和氣喘

Multiple studies over the years have shown that children who grow up with pets are less prone to (較不易…) develop allergies (過敏) and asthma (氣喘).

When exposed to pet dander (寵物皮屑) and other allergens (過敏原) before the age of one, children tend to develop stronger immune systems. Results published in Clinical and Experimental Allergy state that boys who grew up with indoor pets were half as likely to develop severe allergies later on in life.

多項研究顯示，和寵物一起長大的孩子較不易罹患過敏和氣喘。孩子在1 歲前有過接觸寵物皮屑或其他過敏原的經歷，能幫孩子打造一個更強大的免疫系統。美國《臨床與實驗過敏》雜誌中一項研究發現，小時候家裡養寵物的男孩，長大後患嚴重過敏的比例比其他孩子低一半。

Exercise and Play　幫孩子鍛煉

Pets, especially dogs, need exercise and play. The activities that children participate in with their pets are usually physical. This allows boys and girls to stay fit.

In general, families spend more time outside when they have pets. The sunshine and fresh air are good for everyone. Learning about the need for exercise for pets to stay healthy helps children apply the same concepts to their own wellbeing (健康).

寵物需要有人陪牠們玩，特別是狗。孩子和寵物一起跑跑跳跳，能讓他們保持強壯的體魄。通常有養寵物的家庭會花更多的時間在戶外，而陽光和新鮮空氣對所有人都有益。

Calm　帶給孩子安寧感

Pets tend to bring about a sense of calm for children. Some youngsters are more relaxed around their pets than other humans. Like adults, children turn to their pets when they are feeling sad, angry, or otherwise upset. Magically, pets will bring peace to the situation and provide their humans with unconditional (無條件的) love.

動物會給孩子帶來安寧感，和動物在一起時，孩子會更自在、放鬆。當遇到悲傷、生氣或者情緒低落時，孩子也會向自己的寵物小伙伴傾訴。而寵物對主人的愛是無條件的，它們會耐心傾聽，使孩子從中獲得安慰。

Relieve Stress　舒緩壓力

Along the same lines of keeping children calm, dogs are also great to have around as stress relievers. Being around dogs can be extremely therapeutic (有益於健康的) for the entire family. Although cats are not as compassionate, as pets, they can still help relieve undue (不必要的) stress. There is something to be said when cats cuddle up. Their soft coats and purring can help their owners feels a sense of calm.

寵物除了給孩子帶來安寧感之外，也能舒緩一些壓力。

Improve Reading Skills　提高閱讀能力

Many children are more comfortable reading aloud (大聲地) to pets than they are other humans. Perhaps it is because pets do not judge – pets do not correct the children and make them reread.

The bottom line to improving reading skills is to practice it repeatedly. The more children read, the better they get at it. At younger ages, it is best for children to read aloud so that they can hear themselves.

你可能會對這個優點感到奇怪？為何養寵物能提高孩子的閱讀能力？原來是，孩子在寵物面前比較能放輕鬆，大聲地朗誦，也許是因為寵物不會像大人一樣去反駁或批評他們。

Learn About Consequences　學會考慮後果

Caring for pets can teach children a great deal about consequences (後果). When pets are not cared for properly, the results are real and easy for children to grasp (理解；領會). If fish are not fed, they die. If dogs don’t exercise, they get agitated (躁動的). When cats are ignored, they will seek revenge and do something mean.

照顧小動物能讓孩子對做事考慮後果有深刻體驗，對小動物照顧不當，孩子能真實地看到後果。例如不給魚餵食，牠們會餓死；不帶狗出去散步，牠們會躁動不安；任由貓咪為所欲為，牠們可能會損壞東西。讓孩子清楚明白養寵物所可能面對的問題及後果，長時間下來，孩子能養成周密思考的好習慣。

Learn About Commitment　學會付出

Growing up with a pet is a huge commitment (承諾) on the part of the human. Pets are not things children can just put on shelves when they get tired of taking care of them. They need to be fed, cleaned, exercised, played with, and otherwise loved every single day.

Having a pet is a total commitment and cannot ever be treated as a part-time job. This teaches children to commit (付出) and follow through (持之以恆) with the task.

養寵物是一項寵物與主人之間的承諾，首要學的第一點就是「付出」，孩子感到勞累和厭倦時，也不能把寵物束之高閣。他們需要每天給寵物餵食、洗澡，陪牠們活動、玩耍，並愛牠們每一天。孩子能從中學會付出和持之以恆的做事精神。

Discipline　學會自律

When growing up with a pet, children learn a great deal about discipline. If they have a dog at home, they learn to train it and teach it how to listen. It’s been scientifically proven that having a dog helps children learn about discipline.

科學研究證明，養寵物能幫孩子學會自律。在養寵物的過程中，孩子會懂得做事要講方法。如果養的寵物是狗，孩子要學習訓狗，並且教牠聽懂主人的命令。

看了這個多養寵物的優點，除了了能學習許多生活技能外，也能學會如何照顧他人及承擔責任！但最大最大的好處在於：寵物是孩子們最好的朋友