How Animals Support Children’s Mental Health

When I was a kid, I constantly felt like I was “too much.”

Too emotional. Too energetic. Too distracted. Too sensitive.

I had ADHD and anxiety long before I had language for either of those things, and like a lot of kids who experience the world a little differently, I spent a lot of time feeling misunderstood. School could feel overwhelming. My brain moved fast. My emotions moved even faster. But there was one place where I never felt judged for any of it: around animals.

We fostered kittens when I was growing up. Tiny babies who needed bottle feeding. Scrappy litters needing extra care. Nervous animals trying to figure out if the world was safe. And somewhere in the middle of helping them, they quietly helped me too.

There was something about animals that made me feel calmer, more grounded, more whole. They didn’t care if I was too loud or too emotional or if my brain bounced between a hundred thoughts a minute. They loved me consistently. Fully. Without asking me to explain myself first.

And then there was my dog, my sister. She was my safe place. My comfort after hard days. The steady presence curled up beside me when my mind felt noisy. Looking back now, I realize she gave me something every child deserves to feel: unconditional love without judgment.

I think that’s part of why fostering and rescue work became so personal to me later in life. Because animals absolutely change lives - not just the animals we save, but the humans lucky enough to love them along the way.

At The Bond Between, we see this every single day.

We see children sitting patiently beside fearful foster dogs, teaching them trust while quietly building confidence in themselves. We see teenagers struggling with anxiety find comfort and routine in caring for kittens. We see kids light up when a foster animal finally feels safe enough to curl into their lap. We see families rally around healing together. And we see the pride children carry when they realize they helped save a life.

That pride matters.

Research continues to show the mental health benefits of animals, especially for children and teens. Animals can help reduce stress and anxiety, improve emotional regulation, increase feelings of safety and connection, and provide companionship during some of the hardest developmental years of a person’s life. But honestly, I think many of us who work in animal welfare already knew that in our bones long before we saw the research.

Because so many of us started there.

Not as rescue leaders or veterinary staff or volunteers, but simply as kids who found comfort in the presence of an animal.

And when I look around our organization today, I see that story repeated over and over again. So many of our staff grew up with a companion animal who shaped them. A dog who helped them survive a difficult childhood. A cat who stayed beside them through loneliness or grief. A foster animal who taught them empathy, patience, or responsibility for the very first time.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that so many people drawn to this work started as deeply feeling children who found healing in animals.

Because animals have this incredible ability to reflect love back at us in its purest form. They make us feel safe. Needed. Seen. They teach us how to care for others, but maybe even more importantly, they help us recognize our own value too.

And maybe that’s one of the most beautiful realities of fostering.

A child may think they’re simply helping save an animal.

But quietly, in the background, something else is happening too.

The animal is helping shape the child into someone who feels worthy of love, connection, and compassion - both for others and for themselves. 

-Rachel Mairose, CEO and Founder of The Bond Between