板桥英文｜10 Reasons Your Children Should Own a Pet 孩子们需要宠物陪伴的十大理由

到底该不该让孩子跟毛小孩生活在同一个屋簷下？

很多妈妈在怀孕之后，为了自己及宝宝的健康著想，会将宠物送离家庭，听起来似乎很有道理，但这样做对陪伴自己多年的宠物，不也有些不公平吗？

这个问题争论了多年，小编也没办法回答你，但小编从美国 Womanitely 的网站整理出其提出的【孩子需要宠物陪伴的十大理由】给大家！

Responsibility　培养责任心

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.

宠物需要被照顾，牠们需要主人喂食、洗澡、散步等。在照顾宠物的过程中，父母可以教导孩子懂得设身处地的理解和养成照顾的责任，将来能更好地照顾自己和家人。家长要注意循序渐进地把责任交放给孩子，如果孩子很小，不妨先试著让孩子帮宠物倒水或喂牠们吃饭开始。

Self-Confidenc　带来自信心

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).

养宠物除了能培养责任感之外，还能替孩子建立自信心。孩子在帮忙照顾宠物的同时，如果表现不错，父母不妨适时的给予孩子们一些鼓励，让他们有成就感，进而提升自身的自信心。

Less Prone to Allergies and Asthma　减少过敏和气喘

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

When exposed to pet dander (宠物皮屑) and other allergens (过敏原) 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.

多项研究显示，和宠物一起长大的孩子较不易罹患过敏和气喘。孩子在1 岁前有过接触宠物皮屑或其他过敏原的经历，能帮孩子打造一个更强大的免疫系统。美国《临床与实验过敏》杂志中一项研究发现，小时候家里养宠物的男孩，长大后患严重过敏的比例比其他孩子低一半。

Exercise and Play　帮孩子锻炼

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).

宠物需要有人陪牠们玩，特别是狗。孩子和宠物一起跑跑跳跳，能让他们保持强壮的体魄。通常有养宠物的家庭会花更多的时间在户外，而阳光和新鲜空气对所有人都有益。

Calm　带给孩子安宁感

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 (无条件的) love.

动物会给孩子带来安宁感，和动物在一起时，孩子会更自在、放松。当遇到悲伤、生气或者情绪低落时，孩子也会向自己的宠物小伙伴倾诉。而宠物对主人的爱是无条件的，它们会耐心倾听，使孩子从中获得安慰。

Relieve Stress　舒缓压力

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 (有益于健康的) 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.

宠物除了给孩子带来安宁感之外，也能舒缓一些压力。

Improve Reading Skills　提高阅读能力

Many children are more comfortable reading aloud (大声地) 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.

你可能会对这个优点感到奇怪？为何养宠物能提高孩子的阅读能力？原来是，孩子在宠物面前比较能放轻松，大声地朗诵，也许是因为宠物不会像大人一样去反驳或批评他们。

Learn About Consequences　学会考虑后果

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

照顾小动物能让孩子对做事考虑后果有深刻体验，对小动物照顾不当，孩子能真实地看到后果。例如不给鱼喂食，牠们会饿死；不带狗出去散步，牠们会躁动不安；任由猫咪为所欲为，牠们可能会损坏东西。让孩子清楚明白养宠物所可能面对的问题及后果，长时间下来，孩子能养成周密思考的好习惯。

Learn About Commitment　学会付出

Growing up with a pet is a huge commitment (承诺) 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 (持之以恒) with the task.

养宠物是一项宠物与主人之间的承诺，首要学的第一点就是「付出」，孩子感到劳累和厌倦时，也不能把宠物束之高阁。他们需要每天给宠物喂食、洗澡，陪牠们活动、玩耍，并爱牠们每一天。孩子能从中学会付出和持之以恒的做事精神。

Discipline　学会自律

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.

科学研究证明，养宠物能帮孩子学会自律。在养宠物的过程中，孩子会懂得做事要讲方法。如果养的宠物是狗，孩子要学习训狗，并且教牠听懂主人的命令。

看了这个多养宠物的优点，除了了能学习许多生活技能外，也能学会如何照顾他人及承担责任！但最大最大的好处在于：宠物是孩子们最好的朋友