Do Children Help Care for the Family Pet?
…Or does mom do it all? Photo: Samuel Borges Photography / Shutterstock By Zazie Todd, PhD How should children learn to take some responsibility for family pets such as dogs and cats ? New research by Janine Muldoon et al (University of St Andrews) investigates children’s perspectives of the division of labour in relation to their pets. The exploratory study involved focus groups with children aged 7, 9, 11 and 13. The researchers planned equal numbers of boys and girls, but constraints meant that 30 girls and only 23 boys took part. The main ‘caring’ activity that children took part in with their pet was playing with it. Some of the children were very honest in admitting they did not otherwise take care of the animal. For example, one 13-year old girl, Isla*, said, “She (mum) cleaned it and I just played with it.” The older children suggested they played in a way that included what the animal wanted, compared to when they were younger when they treated ...