How Family Pets Can Help A Kid With Critical Thinking

They sleep at our feet, they’re fun to play fetch with, they do cool tricks, and they’re always up for a cuddle. They’re excellent listeners, a source of support when we’ve had a hard day, and there’s even evidence that having them around can strengthen our immune systems.

If we play our cards right, our pets can also play a role in our kids becoming more effective thinkers. Our animal companions are more than just cold noses, bright eyes, and wiggly tails. They’re a source of inspiration for some pretty fantastic conversations! Here are some great big questions about pets that can lead to amazing and enriching conversations with little thinkers:

· Can you tell what your pet is thinking? Do they think about the same things a human would think about?

· Do pets feel emotions like love, anger, or regret? How can we tell?

· What’s the best way to describe our relationships with our pets? Are they like kids? Friends? Roommates? Something else?

· What’s the difference between a pet and a wild animal? Can some animals be both?

· Do our pets have fun, like we do? Can they make art, tell jokes, or play games?

· Is it our job to take care of our pets, or is it their job to take care of us? Maybe both?

· If our pets could speak our language, what do you think they’d want to tell us? What questions would we like to ask them?

· Does the way we see our pets affect the way we see other creatures who live in the wild? Can our pets help us learn to get along with other humans too?

As always, when you explore these big questions together, let your child go first, keep an open mind, and make sure everyone gives reasons to support their ideas. Musing about their pets will encourage your child to think about thinking, examine their connection to other beings, and understand themselves a little better too.

As if we needed more reason to love our pets!

Happy thinking!