American boys balk at the notion of caring for older relatives or younger siblings, but they jump at the chance to care for pets, according to several studies by Gall F. Melson, Ph.D., professor of child development and family studies at Purdue University and author of Why the Wild Things Are. Children consistently rated girls better caregivers for infants, young kids and the elderly. Pets alone were deemed appropriate for boys.
"Caring for a pet can be a valuable lesson in nurturing, and one of the few that is gender neutral," says Melson. Indeed, caring for pets may be crucial for both boys and girls. Nelson calculated that children spend an average of 10.33 minutes per weekend caring for their animal, but only 2.45 minutes caring for, or playing with, a younger sibling.
