Raising your child with pets

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Litter Genie, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #petparents http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

If you know me, you know that I am a huge animal lover. Growing up, we always had at least two cats and one dog...often more. (10 cats and 3 dogs total over my childhood!) Having pets was just a normal part of my life...and I wouldn't have it any other way. Here I am at about 4 years old with our cat Tramp....he was the sweetest and always let me put my bracelets and necklaces on him.

And me at about 3 years old with our dog Lady. Can you tell what my favorite movie was??? My pets were a source of comfort, fun, and unconditional love. So many of my childhood memories involve my pets and I can't imagine not having them.

My hope is that Hudson develops a love and respect for animals...just like I did. He already LOVES our two cats and dog...but they don't love him as much...yet. They prefer to watch his crazy antics from a distance. But I know that in a few years they will be inseparable...and that brings so much joy to my heart.

Raising your child with pets helps them to learn to care for and love something other than themselves. Animals teach your children how to have compassion and treat all living things with kindness and respect. Caring for pets, cleaning up after them, exercising them, and taking them to the vet for regular check-ups helps kids learn responsibility. When I was little I was in charge of feeding our pets dinner every night and walking, brushing, and bathing our dogs. I'm sure I complained at times about the level of responsibility, but I wouldn't change my experiences for anything. Having lots of pets was a highlight of my childhood, hands down.
There have even been studies that show dogs and cats help make babies healthier by building their immune system! Score!

Every morning Hudson greets our kitties with a big smile and is always excited to see him. Sophie is constantly watching what Hudson is doing...and often joins in on his game! She is fearless and only runs away when Hudson pulls her tail...we are still working on "gentle"...ha!

Our cats have a kitty door to our basement where they can escape (and use the litter box) Hudson loves to point and meow at them through the door....love! I can't wait for them to become best friends one day. Our home is more complete with our pets in it. We love them just like they were members of our family.

We recently started using the Litter Genie from Target to make litter box clean-ups a breeze. It's been so helpful for keeping our home fresh and clean...which is a must when you have pets AND little ones! It functions just like a diaper genie...dump the poo in to it and it seals out the smell until it's time to throw out the bag. Cleaning up after our kitties is no longer such a dreaded chore because this makes it super fast...and I don't have to constantly lug poo to the trash bin. Even Hudson thinks it's fun! I can't wait for him to actually be able to help out! (he's just playing with the (clean) Litter Genie in this photo) Click here for a $3 off coupon to use on a Litter Genie at Target!

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