Actor W.C.Fields famously said, “Never work with children or animals.”  

 

He may have been missing out on a great deal. Animals can be a great way to educate children in so many different ways.

If you are interested in working with animals and children, there are many different career paths to consider. In this blog, we will have a look at just some of the examples –

 

Pet Therapy
Pet therapy is also known as animal assisted therapy.  It is a guided interaction between a trained animal and an individual.  The animal’s handler is also involved in the pet therapy process.  The aim of pet therapy is to help the person to –

• Recover from a mental health or physical health problem
• Cope with their mental health or physical health problem

Many types of animals are used in pet therapy. Dogs and cats are the most common, but fish, guinea pigs, horses and other animals can be used. The type of animal used depends on the individual concerned and the goals of their therapy.  

We also have to consider the choices of the individual. For example, if a person has a cat allergy or a fear of dogs.

 

Pet therapy can be very useful for children.  
Some examples –

• Pet therapy can be useful for children who have conditions, such as autism, ADHD, learning disabilities. They may find attending a dentist or doctor’s appointment to be a traumatic experience.   A therapy pet can help the child to stay calm during the appointment.   This may not totally eliminate a child’s anxiety, but having a therapy pet with them in the appointment can help to reduce their anxiety.
  
• Animals can also help to reduce anxiety generally for children and teenagers who are anxious. A therapy pet can be a useful way to encourage a child to face situations where they feel anxious.  Stroking a pet has been found to increase our levels of serotonin and dopamine, both known as feel good hormones.  
  
• Some children may have physical or mental health issues that require frequent appointments to doctors or therapists. They may find this repetition boring. Therapy animals can also help with this. The child may find the therapy more fun and rewarding for the child, and the presence of the animal can encourage them to attend.  Animals can be used to improve motor skills. For example, throwing a ball, picking up small treats to give to the animal, picking up small items off the animals back, putting on their lead, grooming an animal, walking them etc.
  
• Animals can help to comfort children experiencing traumatic situations, such as a court case.
  
• They can even help to encourage reluctant readers to read. For example, asking the child to read a story to the animal.
  
•  Guiding a horse can help a child to gain control. They may not have a lot of control in their lives for many reasons, but guiding a large horse and telling them where to go can be a good way to encourage a child to realise that they do have control over their environment in some ways.

Teaching 
Having an animal present in a lesson can be helpful to encourage children to read, reduce anxiety and so on, but you can also teach about animals themselves.
You might train to be a biology teacher, animal studies teacher, wildlife management teacher etc.  
Or you might teach about animals as part of an overall curriculum. Animals are a large part of our world.  For example –

•    Helping children to understand more about the impacts of climate change, by understanding more about the impact climate change is having on animals and our environment.
•    Showing children the natural world through pond dipping, forest schools, watching bugs, visiting animal sanctuaries etc.
•    Helping children to understand how animals grow and develop, from puppies to dogs, from kittens to cats.

As well as teaching about the animals themselves, we can bring animals into teaching in other ways –

• Grief – losing a pet can be the first time many children experience grief. Talking about the loss of a pet or an animal dying can be a way to encourage children to understand more about the circle of life.
• Animals can help children to empathise with others. How do you think the dog felt when you shouted at them? Do you think the cat liked it when you pulled their tail? We can encourage children to develop empathy.
• As we said above, animals can also help children to find ways to cope with their anxiety.
• Animals can also help a child to improve their confidence and self-esteem. For example, taking a pet to the front of the class during a talk. Practising a talk on an animal before saying it to other people.  

Online teaching
With the growth in online education over the last few decades, and in particular the last couple of years, there are increasing opportunities to offer online education.  Teaching children about animals through online courses is another great career choice.  

Parties 
Animal parties are always really popular in children. This might be exotic animals or cuddly pets, but children often love learning more about animals and having the opportunity to see them up close, and perhaps even touch them.  Animal party organisers often do parties for children’s birthdays, but that isn’t the only option. You might do parties for adults, older people, in schools, colleges and universities. There are many different potential options here.  This is a way to educate children about animals in a fun and rewarding way.

 

Zoos/Rescue Centres/Nature Parks

If you work in a zoo, rescue centre, nature park or other centre that has animals, being able to work with children can be another string to your career bow.  
Many zoos and animal centres now offer opportunities for children to come and see animals, such as –

• Experience days – Be a Zookeeper for a day
• Animal days – Get up close to a giraffe
• Training days – Learn more about a particular animal
• Helping children to overcome phobias. For example, of spiders.

These are just some examples of the ways in which you can work with kids and animals.

Increase your career and job prospects in a fun and rewarding way by working with animals and children! 

If you are interested in working with children and animals, why not consider training in some of the jobs we have mentioned above. We have courses in the following areas –

 

• Pet Therapy
• Instructional Skills
• Classroom Delivery Skills
• Wildlife Conservation
• Animals Husbandry I
• Pet Care
• Primatology
• Herpetology
• Zookeeper
• Dog Care
• Dog Behaviour
• Cat Care and Training
• Equine Behaviour
• Anxiety Management
• Child Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Counselling Skills