Kids who live with pets may be less prone to food allergies, recent study shows—here’s what an allergist says

Parents tend to go back and forth about whether it’s safe for their newborn to be around pets, but it turns out that having one around during a child’s early stages of life may lower their chances of developing food allergies.

A recent PLOS One study published in March found that exposure to cats and dogs while a child is in utero or just a few months old was associated with roughly a 14% lower risk of them having a food allergy later on in life.