Could Your Dog Be an Education Tool?
How can I better teach my children to be sharing, to communicate and to be responsible in all their actions? This is a question that would rise in most parents' mind.
They'd probably ask: what has this question got to do with having a dog? Well, it's simple.
Kids have a simple way of understanding the surrounding elements or beings, a simple manner of responding to the external factors.
This fact can also be stated about the psychic realm.
You read it in every education book: children will always look up to a model figure (either a mom, a dad, a sister, a brother) and will try to act in the same way they do.
What about later, when my child begins to figure out things on his/her own? How can I make my child or teen embrace the true values of responsibility, altruism, caring, or the best manner to enhance the communicating skills? The answer could be: I'll use man's best friend.
I'd like to consider that most families have a favorite pet, either dog, cat, parrot, even snakes and spiders.
But for the sake of this argument (I'm not saying that this model cannot be appropriate for other pets), let me assume I have a dog.
I consider that introducing a dog in the environment of my child (even in the early stages of life) is one of the many best methods of education.
Some parents might argue: "My child will interact with the dog, carry him around the house, etc.
, but that's not education".
From my point of view, this statement is completely wrong.
One of the first steps towards communication is the effort to achieve a proper socialization and to improve the language skills and the level of interaction with the "alter" part.
The small child, interacting with the dog, begins to see that he is different than the dog: observing all these different features (the physical appearance, etc), the child begins to define his own personality.
Not to mention the fact that he becomes friend with the dog and tries to talk to him using a few words.
Even the fact that he gives nicknames to the dog is a really good thing.
Later on, when children are capable of understanding and reasoning on their own, the bond between dog and child we be one of the most powerful tools to use.
Let me list some various benefits, with the use of some examples.
a) Responsibility For a short test, I'm telling my 9 year old son (Andrew) to take out the garbage, but not alone, helped by my dog, Sprinkle.
This is an excellent opportunity to see whether my son will actively use the dog's presence as an advantage, giving him a small bag of garbage to carry to the bin.
Doing so, my son should learn the first steps of responsibility.
The final achievement is to acknowledge that everyone has needs (of course, to seek the methods of getting the required thing done) and to be responsible for your own actions.
b) Sharing My son Andrew loves to throw a few pieces of chicken meat under the table, during dinner.
I don't consider it to be a bad thing, although most people will argue that a dog needs a proper feeding schedule.
I agree with that too (special dog foods, a proper feeding for my dog), but this is a great opportunity to see if my son can give up something for someone else.
If he can share a piece of food with his friend, the dog, imagine the benefits later on, at school (sharing a sandwich or an apple with other pupils, during breaks) or in any other situation.
c) Communication I adopted a dog and introduced him to my son while he was 4 years old.
That's one of the best decisions I've made.
Andrew used to call my dog Sprinkle with the nickname Dots.
It was the way he saw the dog at that age (Sprinkle had a white tan coat, with four small black patches on the underbelly area).
Sprinkle was his best friend.
Andrew used to pull him around with the leash, yell at him with excitement, introducing Sprinkle to other children he was playing with.
What a better way to engage the world, to communicate with others using as common link the presence of a dog.
Not to mention the fact that Sprinkle got used to Andrew's voice and obeyed his vocal "commands".
If this has proven to be a small lesson to you, my reader, don't forget: the humans are in the same time learners and teachers.
Don't miss out on this: a great opportunity to enhance your child's potential and to see the dog-child relationship in an entire different perspective.
They'd probably ask: what has this question got to do with having a dog? Well, it's simple.
Kids have a simple way of understanding the surrounding elements or beings, a simple manner of responding to the external factors.
This fact can also be stated about the psychic realm.
You read it in every education book: children will always look up to a model figure (either a mom, a dad, a sister, a brother) and will try to act in the same way they do.
What about later, when my child begins to figure out things on his/her own? How can I make my child or teen embrace the true values of responsibility, altruism, caring, or the best manner to enhance the communicating skills? The answer could be: I'll use man's best friend.
I'd like to consider that most families have a favorite pet, either dog, cat, parrot, even snakes and spiders.
But for the sake of this argument (I'm not saying that this model cannot be appropriate for other pets), let me assume I have a dog.
I consider that introducing a dog in the environment of my child (even in the early stages of life) is one of the many best methods of education.
Some parents might argue: "My child will interact with the dog, carry him around the house, etc.
, but that's not education".
From my point of view, this statement is completely wrong.
One of the first steps towards communication is the effort to achieve a proper socialization and to improve the language skills and the level of interaction with the "alter" part.
The small child, interacting with the dog, begins to see that he is different than the dog: observing all these different features (the physical appearance, etc), the child begins to define his own personality.
Not to mention the fact that he becomes friend with the dog and tries to talk to him using a few words.
Even the fact that he gives nicknames to the dog is a really good thing.
Later on, when children are capable of understanding and reasoning on their own, the bond between dog and child we be one of the most powerful tools to use.
Let me list some various benefits, with the use of some examples.
a) Responsibility For a short test, I'm telling my 9 year old son (Andrew) to take out the garbage, but not alone, helped by my dog, Sprinkle.
This is an excellent opportunity to see whether my son will actively use the dog's presence as an advantage, giving him a small bag of garbage to carry to the bin.
Doing so, my son should learn the first steps of responsibility.
The final achievement is to acknowledge that everyone has needs (of course, to seek the methods of getting the required thing done) and to be responsible for your own actions.
b) Sharing My son Andrew loves to throw a few pieces of chicken meat under the table, during dinner.
I don't consider it to be a bad thing, although most people will argue that a dog needs a proper feeding schedule.
I agree with that too (special dog foods, a proper feeding for my dog), but this is a great opportunity to see if my son can give up something for someone else.
If he can share a piece of food with his friend, the dog, imagine the benefits later on, at school (sharing a sandwich or an apple with other pupils, during breaks) or in any other situation.
c) Communication I adopted a dog and introduced him to my son while he was 4 years old.
That's one of the best decisions I've made.
Andrew used to call my dog Sprinkle with the nickname Dots.
It was the way he saw the dog at that age (Sprinkle had a white tan coat, with four small black patches on the underbelly area).
Sprinkle was his best friend.
Andrew used to pull him around with the leash, yell at him with excitement, introducing Sprinkle to other children he was playing with.
What a better way to engage the world, to communicate with others using as common link the presence of a dog.
Not to mention the fact that Sprinkle got used to Andrew's voice and obeyed his vocal "commands".
If this has proven to be a small lesson to you, my reader, don't forget: the humans are in the same time learners and teachers.
Don't miss out on this: a great opportunity to enhance your child's potential and to see the dog-child relationship in an entire different perspective.
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