Kids may prefer pets to their siblings, according to new research

Children get on better with their pets than their siblings, according to a new study from the University of Cambridge.

Human kids were also found to get more satisfaction from their relationships with cats, dogs and other animal pals than from their brothers and sisters.

There are relatively few studies on the importance of child-pet relationships despite the fact that pets are very common fixtures in the UK’s family homes.

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The new research adds to mounting scientific evidence that pets could have a big influence on child development, including positive impacts on social skills and emotional well-being.

“Anyone who has loved a childhood pet knows that we turn to them for companionship and disclosure, just like relationships between people,” says Matt Cassells, lead researcher.

“We wanted to know how strong these relationships are with pets relative to other close family ties. Ultimately this may enable us to understand how animals contribute to healthy child development.”

Researchers surveyed 12 year old children from 77 families with one or more pets of any type and more than one child at home.

Children reported strong relationships with their pets relative to their siblings, with lower levels of conflict and greater satisfaction in owners of dogs than other kinds of pets.

“Even though pets may not fully understand or respond verbally, the level of disclosure to pets was no less than to siblings,” says Cassels.

“The fact that pets cannot understand or talk back may even be a benefit as it means they are completely non-judgmental. While previous research has often found that boys report stronger relationships with their pets than girls do, we actually found the opposite.

“While boys and girls were equally satisfied with their pets, girls reported more disclosure, companionship, and conflict with their pet than did boys, perhaps indicating that girls may interact with their pets in more nuanced ways.”

This study, published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, was conducted in collaboration with the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, part of Mars Petcare and the Economic and Social Research Council as part of a larger study, led by Prof Claire Hughes at the University of Cambridge Centre for Family Research.