KIDS LIKE PETS MORE THAN SIBLINGS

(Feb., 2017) A new study finds that kids like their pets more than they like their brothers and sisters. They report getting more satisfaction from relationships with the dog or cat than their brothers and sisters, they also get along better with the four-legged friend. For the study out of Cambridge University, researchers surveyed seventy-seven 12-year-olds with at least one sibling and pet at home. The kids reported stronger relationships and lower levels of conflict with the pet. In addition, dogs delivered more satisfaction than cats. “The fact that pets cannot understand or talk back may even be a benefit as it means they are completely non-judgmental,” says lead author Matt Cassels. The study was published in this month’s Journal of Boy, Isn’t That Obvious. (* Actually, it was published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.)
* Do we get a rebuttal from the dogs?
* I still say you love your siblings in a much deeper way. It’s just that all the aggravation covers it up.
* Results may vary, especially if you have one of those pit bulls that snaps one day and attacks the family.
* This is one of those studies that just seems designed to cause trouble.
* All they did was make a bunch of 12-year-olds hate their siblings more.
* And here I thought Cambridge was a good school.
* I think the idea of a 12-year-old getting satisfaction from any relationship is inherently creepy.