It is amazing the number of values and lessons that kids learn from anthropomorphic animals – animals that walk and talk like humans. I’m thinking about the books, videos and television shows that our kids watched as toddlers. The shows they liked the best were all pets of one species or another. I’ll admit that a dinosaur isn’t really a pet but kids are fascinated by dinosaurs and Barney is a favorite of young toddlers. He taught them to sing and dance and brush their teeth.

Clifford helped them learn to read. The Backyardigans taught them about nature and things to do in the back yard. Miss Spider and her Sunny Patch friends taught them about insects and friendship and much more. Blue taught them problem solving and thinking by looking for clues. Dog and his friends in Word World (Duck, Pig, and Sheep to name a few) built words and taught them how to recognize and pronounce them. All these different animated pets are sometimes their first experience with animals that may eventually become their real life pet.