Pets improve kids mental health except one, which makes things worse

Thinking about getting a pet for your family? You may want to avoid this faux-paw.Growing up with pets has been shown to do wonders for kids’ physical health.It can boost their immune system and block diseases including ear infection or fever, protect against eczema, and even help them avoid food allergies.Turns out, some furry friends — and even scaly or slimy ones too — help kids’ mental health as well.With one key exception.Researchers of a recent study found that owning a cat, specifically when the child was 4-5 years old, increased risk of mental health problems at age 7-8.Here’s what they think may be the reason why.Researchers looked at data from almost 2,000 mother-child pairs across Spain in the early 2000s.Moms had answered behavioral questions about her kid at age 7-8, including emotions like fear, worry, nervousness, and conduct problems like disobedience, hyperactivity, and bullying or having few friends.They split these problems into two categories: internalizing, which encompassed emotional and peer problems, and externalizing, which included conduct problems and hyperactivity/inattention.What researchers found was that having a cat at age 4-5 increased risk of both: internal problems, which are associated with depression and anxiety, and external, which could lead to problems working and dealing with others later in life.

This was not true of kids who had a cat at age 1.Meanwhile, kids who had less common pets — including rabbits, hamsters, fish, turtles and salamanders — at both age 1 and age 4–5, had fewer internalizing problems at age 7–8.In other words, kids with these less common animals early in life were less likely to develop both internalized and externalized issues.What about dogs and birds? Researchers didn’t find that these pets significantly affected kids’ mental health either way.Kids need emotional bonds to grow into healthy adults.They need it for their brain to develop properly, for self-confidence, and to for...