In 2017, Cambridge researchers looked at the interactions of 12-year-olds and their pets in 77 British households. The children were asked about the quality of relationships with their family members, including pets. That quality was calculated across four different dimensions: satisfaction with the relationship, feelings of companionship, communication, and conflict.
Of those parameters, the kids reported not only less conflict with pets than their siblings, but also more satisfaction. That’s a polite, academic way of saying they felt a stronger bond with their pet than with their brother or sister. Moreover, researchers noted that in the hierarchy of pets, kids were most bonded with dogs.
So consider this original Bored Panda list as the following argument: if you believe that your kids don’t need a dog, you must be a cat. While we’re at it, check out a compilation of photos we put together in the past to support this claim too.
Read More: If You Don’t Think Your Kids Need A Dog After Seeing These Pics, You Must Be A Cat (New Pics)
#1 8 Months Ago, Our Son Got A Support Dog. Our Son Was Mostly Wheelchair Dependent. We Hoped His Dog Would Help Him Grow Stronger. I Think We Can Conclude That Together They Succeeded
Image credits: YourNameWisely
#2 I Volunteer For A Dog Rescue, We Love Seeing Updates Of The Dogs In Their New Homes. This One Made Me Smile
Image credits: Meems138
#3 My Son Has Autism And One Of His Unique Trait, Is His Need For Physical Contact At All Times. Barb Came Into Our Lives And Elected Herself To The Position Of Weighted Blanket & Bodyguard
Image credits: SmrtGrl86
#4 We Told Lincoln To Watch Some Youtube Videos On How To Train His Puppy
So here he is, showing them to the dog.
Image credits: Daniel Ball
#5 Two Street Children, With Barely Enough Money To Afford Slippers, Bandage An Injured Puppy
Image credits: Imamofpeace
#6 My Daughter Has A Huge Heart For Dogs And Begged For Months To Get Another Rescue. She Even Used All Her Money To Pitch In For The Fees. Here She Is With Our Third Rescue Pupper, Daisy
Image credits: ExLaxMarksTheSpot
#7 A Sleeping Baby, Dog, And Cat. I Think I Win The Internet High Score
Image credits: reddit.com
#8 And I Never Thought That 17 Years Later, My Best Friend Would Live To Meet My First Child
Image credits: Physical_Boss3285
#9 So, Cassidy (My Daughter) Was Snuggling Elsa (Our Rescue Pup) Under Her Hoodie. I Walked Into The Room And Asked “Where’s Elsa?” Well, Elsa Tried To Get To Me
Image credits: Paramedic351468
#10 Their Dog Hasn’t Eaten Well Since They Brought Their Baby Home – Dog Kept Taking Food Into The Living Room And Leaving It There
Someone suggested the dog might be worried the baby isn’t visibly eating, so is “feeding” the baby. They tried giving the baby a bowl of food at the same time. It worked!
Image credits: xianaa
#11 Just A Boy And His New Dog
Image credits: Kevin_0019
#12 My Moms Rescue Dog Rico Is Best Friends With My Baby. I Interrupted Them Watching Peppa Pig
Image credits: izzygray603
#13 I Knew My Senior Dog Loved Babies, But Seeing Him Love My Daughter Makes My Heart Burst
Image credits: sarahdxyz
#14 Peeking Buddies
Image credits: kippei_husky
#15 This Bulldog Squish Into Any Space As Along As He’s Close To His Human
Image credits: reddit.com
#16 My Best Friend Has Four Paws. CJ (5 Years Old) And Chance (3 Months Old)
Image credits: JS Jeab Saisuda Photography
#17 My Dog Thinks My Daughter Is His Baby. They Love Each Other So Much. This Is How They Fell Asleep Yesterday During Nap Time
Image credits: jakeisthewolf
#18 6 Years Of Friendship
Image credits: DanielHillSKW
#19 Had To Put My Dog Down A Few Months Ago. My Son Will Never Know How Much Griffin Loved Him
Image credits: jon1045
#20 In Their Mind They Are Secret Service
Image credits: POONHANDLER208
#21 Took My Dog And Daughter Out For The First Time Together, In A Winter Wonderland
Image credits: obxsurfer06
#22 My Baby With My Dog’s Babies
Image credits: reddit.com
#23 Our Dog Has Hardly Left My Wife’s Side Since Baby Arrived. He’s A Proud Older Brother
Image credits: TheBaconmaker
#24 My Daughter Was Nervous Around Dogs, And Then She Met This Guy. He Let Her Love All Over Him For 20 Minutes And Afterwards, Her Fear Was Gone. Thank You, Sweet Boy, For Making Her Into The Dog Lover She Is
Image credits: DeeToTheWee
#25 It’s My Dogs 4th Birthday, My Daughter Spent All Her Pocket Money Buying Her A Steak
Image credits: MortyVulpus
#26 My Dog Is 18, Has Trouble Standing. Since Clare Was Born, He Stands For Hours Watching. Good Boy
Image credits: joscoto
#27 Our Son Had A Heart Transplant. My Wife Made Him A Tin Man Costume. Cowardly Lion Played By Murphy Jenkins
Image credits: iafffu
#28 The 12-Week-Old Guarding The 1-Week-Old. Something Tells Me This Is The Start Of A Beautiful Friendship
Image credits: moogadorf
#29 This Kid Walking His Dog In Full Astronaut Gear
Image credits: kchitownp
#30 Our Daughter Was Visited By Maddie, A Therapy Dog, Before Her (Successful) Surgery At Phoenix Children’s Hospital … This Dog Helped All Of Us More Than She Will Ever Know … She’s Not A Good Girl, She’s A Great Girl
Image credits: LordCinko
#31 My Son And Daughter
Image credits: xxMrJoshBxx
#32 Our Good Girl, Stella. Picked Her Up A Year Ago At The Pound. The Best Farm Dog Ever
Image credits: laNenabcnco
#33 Step 1: Try To Take Cute Pic Of Dog And Baby. Step 2: Dog Sneezes During Pic. Step 3: Accidentally Capture My Dogs Inner Demon, And My Son Thinks It’s Funny
Image credits: FluffyBicepz
#34 I Waited Over Ten Years For A Dog, Finally Have A Backyard. We Tried For Two Years To Get Pregnant, Finally Had A Daughter. Last Month My Heart Became Complete
Image credits: froyo0102
#35 She’s Loyal, Protective, And Goofy. Meet My Daughter’s Best Friend
Image credits: blackpinkwhite
#36 My Son And His Puppy – They Can’t Get Enough Of Each Other
Image credits: LameSaucey
#37 We Were So Nervous To Bring Our Newborn Son Home To Meet Our Beagle. Best Friends Right Away. Meet Oliver And His Doggo Sophie
Image credits: rawrimkat1017
#38 This Pretty Girl Came To Visit My Daughter
Image credits: nanowelder86
#39 Gentle Giant
Image credits: icon81
#40 They Bonded Before We Even Left The Parking Space
Image credits: ObligatoryCreativity
#41 Now This Is Just Perfect
Image credits: sanamre
#42 I Just Finished This “Fort” For My Son So He Could Look At Trucks Out The Window. Now He Can Hang Out With His Best Friend
Image credits: dcoughl02
#43 My Oldest Has Been Battling A Cold. 95 Lbs Of Lap Puppy To The Rescue. Such A Good Boy
Image credits: Akschmalz
#44 My Son Broke His Arm And Ever Since He Came Home My Girlfriend’s Dog Won’t Leave His Side
Image credits: bastian74
#45 Beginning Of A Great Friendship
Image credits: VirusGuy
#46 My Nephew Meeting The Puppy
Image credits: quiettcricket
#47 My Wife And Her Pupper 30 Years Ago, And Our Daughter And Her Pupper
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Image credits: land0man