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According to studies, 44% of the millennials are seeing their dogs as a surrogate to children, meaning almost half of the millennials are choosing to own a dog instead of having children. Dogs became not just a member of the household, but a real family member, a child and we love them like they are our own.
We see that millennials are delaying traditional life milestones including buying a home, marriage and having children, so it is not a surprise that more and more millennials are adopting pets.
Question is, why are millennials choosing dogs over having children?
Raising a dog is significantly cheaper than raising a child. A kid costs about €700 on average per month, €8.400 on a yearly basis, compared to a dog with yearly expenses being between €850 – €1.250. It all depends on how much you spoil your dog of course, but expenses for a dog’s food & medical care is significantly lower than for a kid. For cash-strapped couples, a dog is simply a more financially feasible option.
Freedom
Pets can provide purpose without the sacrifices required for raising a baby. Dogs need heaps of love and attention, but not constant monitoring like a human child. Kids need to be watched all the time and childcare could become very expensive, especially when your kids don’t have the school age yet. Not to mention the costs of a babysitter for nights out. This is of course only the case if you don’t hire a dog walker on a daily basis or drop your furry baby off at a doggie day care.
Parenting practice
First you start dating, getting a relationship and the next step is getting a dog. This could give you great insights in how your partner would be as a parent & as well as learning some parenting skills together in case you are heading towards a future with a baby. Especially when you raise a puppy, the sleep deprivation, having to wake up every few hours to let your puppy out is a great practise.
Many argue that we can’t compare our furry babies to humans, but for those who think it might be too stressful to nurture a child, our furry friends are the perfect companion. They provide unconditional love, they can help and improve our mental & physical health and can give you and your partner a good practise for when you do want to have a baby in the future.
What is better than bringing your furry baby along with you to go shopping, on holiday or a day trip? Exactly, nothing! So we advise you to download the Doggies in Town app to find out about all the dog friendly places where you can bring your dog along.
