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I don’t know that many people will disagree that having a pet adds something of real value to a child’s life.  Where they will disagree is what it is that has been added.

Some people will say that it’s simply the best opportunity for a child to acquire a sense of respect and caring for another living being.  This – hopefully is a lesson that will be carried through their lives.  I’m not convinced that that will always be the case- but I like the argument. How, after all, can anyone learn to love, respect and learn to care for something about which they are completely ignorant?

I think the naysayers would say – “take em to a zoo.”

Other people claim that “owning” a pet, (or being owned by one) is a great way to teach children about responsibility.  After all, if you want Rover to play with you on your terms, you’re going to need to take him for a walk in the rain on his terms.

Personally, I think that every reason you can forward for letting a child have a pet is probably a good one.  But what appeals to me the most is that I believe that at some point in every life, everyone should experience unconditional love.  And looking around me at all the things going on that are less than ideal,  it seems more and more likely that unconditional love is getting hard to find any other way.

Have you every noticed how many people in the video stores – for example seem to have trouble selecting a movie without a cell phone glued to the side of their head and constant feedback from the lucky person on the other end of the phone?  Independence and self-reliance are two characteristics that very much seem to have gone the way of the dodo.

But they’re very valuable qualities to have and I’ve always believed that one way to help cultivate those characteristics in yourself and later in your kids is through the pursuit of individual hobbies.  Anything from model building to model trains to sewing, gardening or growing bonsai trees.  Every one of these past times – and a few hundred others ,  will help people learn to spend more time -or should I say, “more happy time” in their own company. It’s entirely possible for a family to have  fun together and still have their own interests.

In spite of being such a busy place this really can be a very lonely world and if your kids can grow up knowing that they don’t need to be surrounded by other people to keep them entertained and from whose company they can extract their own sense of self worth, then encouraging their interest in puzzles, crosswords or building back yard birdfeeders will be an excellent investment of every one’s time.