Animal Interaction And Child Development

Animal Assisted Therapy also known as animal-assisted therapy has been formally introduced to the world in the last ten years or so. Although animals have always been a place of comfort for a lot of people, scientists just began to realize the impact animals have on society. The world has begun to experiment with what animals can do to benefit human health. The most common type of animal-assisted therapy is equine-assisted therapy. Equines are horses. Equine-assisted therapy 's impact on minors who have mental health issues have led to a successful new type of therapy that includes multiple benefits. Equine-assisted therapy has worked well in is treating adolescents and children how to communicate and connect with others. Two big issues that animal-assisted therapy has been known to help is Autism and kids with attachment and social problems.

Biosocial development in early play years continues to play an important role in the growth of a child. Growth in is this context is described as a change in size while development is characterized by changes in complexity and function.

According to the growth and development of the attachment theory, children are part of the regenerative entities in the human society. This is also applicable in the animal world. In a study involving monkeys, it is evident that all living creatures exhibit tenderness to the young. Evidently, it is becomes possible to have elements of concern that are directed at influencing the general growth and development of a child. Children have a tendency

Imagine you're in school and a cute little puppy comes up to you during an important test. You can't resist but to pet the cute puppy. Little do you know that a dog can reduce your stress levels dramatically. You ended up doing better on her school test than the other classroomes without the puppy. In other words that puppy saved the day for a bad grade! An animal can realise an anti stress hormone in your body, which causes you to have less stress. This is why animals should be able to be in the classroom.

The benefits of animal-assisted therapy towards children varies, one of the benefits is to be able to bring out the best out of the child. The animal could connect with the child spiritually and could improve self-esteem because the child would finally feel accepted by the animal (Weston, 2010) as this quote stated, “A therapy dog may be the first creature who has listened and responded to the child with such enthusiasm and compassion. This can result in the child feeling heard and important” (Pichot, 2007 cited in Weston, 2010). The animals are capable of taking the pressure off the child as s/he is going through a difficult experience and being forced to deal with people, the animal can take up the role of being the child’s supporter. Animals can be used as a “bribe” because some children does not want to attend to therapy but is willing to show up because of the animal which is good because in the end the child would be able to receive the therapy s/he needs. Animals that are trained to be assisted therapy animal are capable of switching its beneficial roles to be able to comfort

Alper, L. S. (1993). The Child-Pet Bond. Progress in Self Psychology, 9, 257-270. Retrieved March 13, 2014, from the Progress in Self Psychology database.

Human beings are considered to be the greatest creations that were given knowledge, skills and power to rule over the entire planet. However, at the same time, their relationship with other animals and its implications in human civilization cannot be denied. Historically, it is proven that for thousands of years, human beings have developed close contact with animals who were their means of living and at the same time often, great companions. Considering the great significance of animals in the lives of human beings, often their relationships were portrayed in literature by authors. It was meant to help the global community to have a clear understanding of the impact that animals have in the lives of human beings which is very much significant.

Harlow gathered 16 rhesus monkeys, placing some with a cloth covered monkey that did not produce food, and some with a wired monkey that dispensed food. With this presence, it was found that the newborns didn’t die as they had the cloth to cuddle. It was found that the monkeys would rather cuddle the cloth covered monkey rather than the wired one which produced food, just to establish a sense of contact comfort, which was much more important for the attachment of the monkeys. Harlow also followed monkeys which had been deprived of a ‘real’ mother at birth and found the wire mother reared monkeys were dysfunctional but those with the cloth covered one didn’t develop normal social

The interaction a preschooler has with the surrounding environment, whether it be physical or social, has a significant impact on the child’s development. Ramani (2012), had taken a look at playful environment versus a structured environment to see which one benefited children more when it came to social interaction and joint problem solving. The interaction shown in the experiment showed that a playful environment benefits children more because they are free to communicate and interact with other children, they were more observant of their environment, would imitate more to get their point across, and were overall more positive. Denham, Bassett, Zisser, and Wyatt (2014) evaluated the child’s engagement with the surrounding physical and social environment, along with taking a look at the ways social-emotional learning can predict how academically ready the children are.

“It is quite clear that in abusing animals we abuse our relationship with animals, and that we abuse ourselves. We become less human to the extent that we treat any living beings as things” (R.D. Laing). There is a very evident connection between animal cruelty and cruelty to other humans. In studies conducted between 1983 and 2004, 60% of children who met the criteria for child abuse/neglect had families that were cruel to their pets. In 88%

Generally, everyone knows that children go from being defenseless newborns that stay where they were placed to walking, talking machines in just about a year or two. And we do know that the physical, mental, and emotional growth of the little children are accomplishing at very moment based on the influence of their surrounding environment, and involvement of the parents with their children. Base on the experiences with my two and three years-old kids (Osana and Vitu), and some knowledge from the reading from child development text book, website, and field observation. On May 15th, 2015, I took Osana and Vitu to my niece birthday party at Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach, California. During the party, I have recorded a short video clip, and then make an observation on how they develop, grow, and interact with other children.

In depth discussion and details of the research conducted that elaborates on the effectiveness of service animals- how do they help?

Children who have formed bonds with companion animals are more confident and have stronger relationships

Finally, I feel like this topic should be discussion more because human does not consider animal as human. Some pet owner will take good care of them for a couple's year and start to treat they like they are nothing. I feel like this should be discussion more in society and this research will draw closer to

Human-animal interaction (HAI) is a concept that has been around since the beginning; ever since man knew what animals were. We have interacted in so many ways with animals - ranging from hunting as a resource to observing in the wild, and from holding in captivity as a means of labor to domesticating for companionship. Throughout these centuries of interactions, it's become abundantly clear as to what these encounters do for us as far as productivity/research/ entertainment/companionship, but it's never been completely clear as to what our presence and encounters do to them - more specifically, what does it do to them psychologically and behaviorally? The word interaction is key, and it's important to note what an interaction means: both individuals affect each other- “... both human and animal are active and reactive during an interaction, independent of who is the initiator” (Eddie A.M. Bokkers, 31). So, what does this mean for animal development? An animal’s psychological development (just like humans) is most influenced at a very young age, but behavioral development (though still very impressionable at a young age) can be influenced at virtually any point in their life. This, in regards to the influence of human interaction, means that it influences these two branches of development through positive and negative stimulants that allow a psychological learning adaptation to take place, prompting a behavioral action.