Children who live with a cat or dog in their early years experience
““The The TTherheraapist that other pist that other
a lower incidence of hay fever and asthma and are less likely
MMassage assage TherTherapist’apist’s go tos go to.”
to develop animal-related allergies.
Optimum, highly effective results
for those in chronic pain or those
— Dr. Dennis Ownby, allergist, based on a Medical College of Georgia study trying to avoid surgery.
Specializing in:
St. John Neuromuscular Therapy
Melson believes one way is through the way the child’s immune system
Swedish Pregancy
pets. In her research, she tracked how responds to other allergens.”
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much time kids over age 3 spent ac-
tively caring for family animals, versus
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caring for or even playing with younger
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siblings. Over a 24-hour period, pet
One of the biggest benefi ts of having different, call Marilyn Reno
guardians spent 10.3 minutes in care-
pets is often unexpected, even for par-
giving; those with younger sibs spent
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ents who grew up around animals: They
only 2.4 minutes.
can help families grow stronger and
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“Nurturing animals is especially
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important for boys, because taking care
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parents if their pets are truly part of the
of an animal isn’t seen as a ‘girl’ thing,
family, most of them seem surprised—
like babysitting, playing house or playing
and almost offended—at the question,”
with dolls,” Melson says. By age 8, girls
Melson remarks. “The most common A-1 Organic Lawns, LLC
are more likely to be involved than boys
response is, ‘Of course they are!’”
in baby care, both inside and outside the
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A pet is often the focus of family
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activities. Everyone takes the dog for a
both genders remain equally involved.
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simply watching a cat chase her tail or
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According to a study by Dr. Dennis a fi sh swim in his tank. Spending time
Fertilizers
Ownby, a pediatrician and head of the like this offers the potential for slowing
visit us on the web:
allergy and immunology department the hectic pace of the day. www.A-1OrganicLawns.com
of the Medical College of Georgia, If someone asks what we’re doing,
having multiple pets actually decreases we might respond “nothing.” In an era
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a child’s risk of developing certain al- of overscheduled children and parents
lergies. His research tracked a group of constantly on the go, “nothing” can be
474 babies from birth to about age 7. an important thing to do.
He found that the children who were
exposed to two or more dogs or cats Bill Strickland, a freelance writer in Em-
as babies were less than half as likely maus, PA, recently published his mem-
to develop common allergies as kids oir, Ten Points. He regularly contributes
who had no pets in the home. Chil- to national publications.
dren with animals had fewer positive
skin tests to indoor allergens—like pet
and dust mite allergens—and also to
outdoor allergens, such as ragweed and
grass. Other studies have suggested that
early exposure to animals at home may
decrease a child’s risk of developing
asthma.
No one knows for sure why this
is the case, but Ownby has a theory:
“When a child plays with a dog or
a cat, the animals usually lick him,”
he says. “That lick transfers bacteria
that live in animals’ mouths, and the
exposure to the bacteria may change
www.MichiganHealthyLiving.com
March 2009
19
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