Studies show that kids aged 10-12 only talk to their parents between 11 and 33 minutes per Week! At a time when developing empathy and learning to be sensitive to the feelings and needs of others is critical, this lack of communication with adults is alarming.
Dr. Robert E. Bierer’s studies of tweens, with and without dogs, asked them 72 questions about their relationships with others. No matter what their ethnicity or background, the 93 children who had dogs showed much more empathy toward others and had more self-esteem than the 33 kids who didn’t have a dog. Empathy and self-esteem are benefits of kids having a pet and a good reason to teach children to love a pet.