Credit: CIA DE FOTO Children get more satisfaction from relationships with their pets than with their brothers or sisters, according to new research from the University of Cambridge. Children also appear to get on even better with their animal companions than with siblings. 
 
 The research adds to increasing evidence that household pets may have a major influence on child development, and could have a positive impact on children's social skills and emotional well-being. 
 
 Pets are almost as common as siblings in western households, although there are relatively few studies on the importance of child-pet relationships. 
 
 ''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, a Gates Cambridge Scholar at the Department of Psychiatry, who led the study. "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" 
 
 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 co-funded by 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. 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.'' 
 
 "Evidence continues to grow showing that pets have positive benefits on human health and community cohesion," says Dr Nancy Gee, Human-Animal Interaction Research Manager at WALTHAM and a co-author of the study. "The social support that adolescents receive from pets may well support psychological well-being later in life but there is still more to learn about the long term impact of pets on children's development." 
 
 Explore further: Research shows children often have closer relationships with their pets than their siblings 
 
 More information: Matthew T Cassels et al. One of the family? Measuring early adolescents' relationships with pets and siblings, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.appdev.2017.01.003 
 
 ||||| Kids like their pets more than their family, study finds 
 
 by Chuck Bednar 
 
 Children's relationships with their pets are more fulfilling than those with their siblings, a new study has found. 
 
 The University of Cambridge research even suggested that children may feel closer to their pets than they do to siblings. 
 
 ''Anyone who has loved a childhood pet knows that we turn to them for companionship and disclosure, just like relationships between people," said Matt Cassells, a Gates Cambridge Scholar at the Department of Psychiatry, who led the study. 
 
 "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." 
 
 The importance of pets to human well-being 
 
 The study, published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology and conducted in collaboration with the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, asked 12-year-old children from 77 families about their connections to their pets. 
 
 Overall, the children said they had stronger relationships with their pets compared to with their siblings, with dogs providing the greatest satisfaction. 
 
 Although in their responses some children may overlook the nuanced differences between relationships with animals and family members (and many would rarely be expected to publicly admit to loving their brother or sister in any context), the study does add to growing research about the important of pets in human well-being. In this case in the emotional and social development in children. 
 
 "Evidence continues to grow showing that pets have positive benefits on human health and community cohesion," said Dr. Nancy Gee, Human-Animal Interaction Research Manager at WALTHAM and a co-author of the study. 
 
 "The social support that adolescents receive from pets may well support psychological well-being later in life but there is still more to learn about the long-term impact of pets on children's development." 
 
 Pets are good listeners 
 
 Speaking about the differences between genders, Cassels noted that: "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.'' 
 
 One important element of the importance of pets in kids' lives may simply be that they are seen as being good listeners. 
 
 ''Even though pets may not fully understand or respond verbally, the level of disclosure to pets was no less than to siblings," explained Cassels. "The fact that pets cannot understand or talk back may even be a benefit as it means they are completely non-judgemental. 
 
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 Image credit: Thinkstock
– A child's best friend is the family pet, a new study suggests. Not only do kids 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. "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 of Cambridge University. The study is the latest to suggest that pets may have a major influence on child development, aiding kids' well-being and social skills, reports Medical XPress. For the study in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, researchers surveyed 77 12-year-olds with at least one sibling and pet at home. The kids reported stronger relationships and lower levels of conflict with the family animal, which is perhaps not surprising since only one party can talk. (RedOrbit also notes that 12-year-olds may be reticent about publicly admitting they love a sibling.) The team found that "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," says Cassels. All in all, the benefits young people derive from their pets "may well support psychological well-being later in life," says co-author Dr. Nancy Gee, who adds that more research is needed. Sorry, cat people, dogs delivered the most satisfaction in the survey. (Pope Francis prefers you have kids over pets.)