The pets are the children of Millennials. It’s not going very well

They are having fewer and fewer children, but more pets. They are not parents, but they take their “children” to the gym, buy them healthy food and nights in hotels. Animals respond with anxiety.

Yena Kim He is 37 and ended up without health insurance to be able to pay for insurance for his two dogs.

Bohdi, his Shiba Inui, is the model for his dog clothing brand, which he created so he could spend all day with him. Who tells this story, and others like it, is , who states that “os millenials they are turning 40 — and that’s scaring them.”

In fact, in 2022, percentages of North American women between 30 and 39 years old (millenialstherefore) who did not have children were the highest since at least 1976, writes the newspaper.

This number seems proportional to the increase in the amount spent on pets, which increased by 67% between 2013 and 2021. With this increasingly latent concern, there are now companies like cafes or luxury hotels for pets.

“Even at home, we reached a point where We didn’t leave him alone at home.“, says one of the interviewees to BI. “So if we ate out, we would go to a dog-friendly place and always ask him for a dog sausage or we shared part of the meal with him“.

In addition to luxuries, there are basic care, which at the end of the animals’ lives, according to interviewees, can reach almost 500 euros per month.

But pets are increasingly humanized, as if they were babies. In its annual surveys, the American Pet Products Association (AAP) recorded that they have been spending more on things like treats, food, toys and clothing for animals every year.

“New York City is home to places like District Dog, which makes birthday cakes for animals, and Love Thy Beast, which sells custom clothing for dogs. for pets, such as Chateau Poochie, in Pompano Beach, Florida, cater to dogs and cats in luxury condominiums”, says BI.

But the AAP also found that this year, purchasing calming products, such as anxiety supplements, diffusers, and chewshas grown 168% for dogs and 174% for cats since 2018.

“[Os animais de estimação] have become so accustomed to being the center of attention that theyThey don’t know how to deal when that attention isn’t there“, and this can lead to destructive behaviors, such as excessive barking or chewing on furniture, explains Mark VanWyeCEO of Zoom Room, a chain of indoor dog training gyms in the US.

Some experts also blame this change in attitude in pets on the pandemic, which means that, upon seeing their owners return to their workplace, the animals feel a kind of separation anxiety.

A 2022 survey by the Association for the Prevention of Pet Obesity showed that 59% of dogs suffered from obesity or overweightan increase of 3 points compared to 2018. This number is due, says another coach, Sean Prichardto the fact that owners “feed their dogs like children”, giving them human food whenever they ask.

What are the millenials to pets? Opinions are divided between a show of affection or a harmful fever. Without children, the millenials They seem afraid of being alone. And it is already known: whoever is afraid…