Research on human-animal interaction (HAI) is a relatively new field of inquiry for developmental scientists seeking to understand the potential role pets play in children's health and well-being. It has been documented that pets offer a source of emotional support to children. However, most studies focusing on how animals affect children's health are limited and stop short of providing answers to key developmental questions. Addressing this need, beginning in 2008, scientists at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, in collaboration with the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, a subsidiary of the Mars Corporation, convened two international conferences of researchers to review the current science on HAI. These groups crafted a research agenda aimed at looking at how animal interaction affects children and promotes optimal development. This article reviews the key themes emerging from the conferences, addresses the application of HAI to child health and development, and discusses the potential of HAI as an important field of inquiry for developmental scientists.

No abstract

Nearly, 2 million children in the United States live in military families. Throughout all branches of the U.S. military since September 11, 2001, ca 700,000 children have had or currently have a parent deployed to the combat zones of Iraq or Afghanistan. As a result, researchers are paying increasing attention to the effects of military deployment on children and families. These facts and the changing landscape of military service point to the need to empirically examine the impact of parental military deployment on immediate and longer term child adjustment. The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) recently initiated a research program to address these issues. This article draws on attachment and family stress theories as a frame for discussing the effects of parental deployment on child adjustment and family functioning and for outlining the NICHD research priorities. It discusses areas where developmental science can make important contributions as well as challenges for conducting research in military families.