Exposing kids to butchering. Please take a second to weigh in.

[kfacres]

Shikens! :

I'll keep this short and simple.

I am going to buy a meat bird and have my 2 step daughters involved in the raising butchering and cooking. I think it is important that at least once in their lives they see where food comes from. I think it's important for a lot of reasons.

My question is, when YOUR kid was exposed to this whole process did younger kids understand and except it better or do older kids handle it better? The last thing I want is more harm than good.

The girls are 11 and 14. I feel like the younger the better but I have never done this before. Please share! I am especially interested in anyone that has done this with step kids. Please weigh in on how that went down.

*yawn* I'll check this in the morning.

by 11, I was choosing which birds to kill, and doing the whole butchering process by myself... heck by 11, i was... well no use for long stories.. they are plenty old enough.​

 

[Saltysteele]

i've been around animals and animal processing my entire life.

i can relate to how your kids may feel. i'm 38, and still feel for the animal and aim to make it as painless as possible.

seeing a dead animal and watching it die are two different things.

as a step parent myself (mine step kid is 19 and moved out), even if you were to dislike the mother (not saying you do, just even IF you did), you still should respect her feelings. more than likely (could be wrong, but usually) mothers have at the very least, 50/50 custody. don't make things hard for your husband by making her angry, which then will translate into her making things difficult for him

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Well, since you asked, I'll give you my $.02 --

I just don't think there's a one-size-fits-all answer. Some kids do well when exposed to this experience early, others would do better if left to experience this at a later age. A lot depends on how much the rest of the family is involved in doing things like this. You'll hear that in some families there are certain children who more readily join in the work while other siblings cannot bear to be anywhere near.

And while I think it's admirable that you wish to instruct your girls in these realities of life, I don't think it would be beneficial if they weren't already willing & interested in attempting this project. Instead of them getting more connected to their food sources they could end up resentful towards you and disgusted with the whole process of processing.

I think you're doing well to begin to open discussions on these topics. Maybe you could start with growing a few containers of their favorite veggies, keep a couple of laying hens, go visit some farmers' markets or nearby farms. Connect with your local 4-H, meet some other kids their ages doing agricultural projects.

If you want to connect with the chicken on your plate go ahead and raise some meat birds learn how to process them by yourself. You can lead these teenaged horses to the water, but good luck trying to make them drink if they don't already find it appealing.

 

[BarefootMom]

haven't read the other replies but I think the younger the better.

It is a way of life and I think people should not be so naive about it.

When we processed our 23 meaties my son was 3 1/2 and my daughter had just turned 2. They understood. They know that the beef we eat at supper (and lunch) used to be "t-bone" our jersey steer that we raised from a bottle baby. They know that bacon comes from pigs etc.


I know some people don't agree with me on this, but I will not lie to my kids about death or birth for that matter.
I recall being in 2nd grade and there was a pasture outside our classroom window. There was a cow giving birth one day and all the kids besides me and a few friends were utterly disgusted and had never seen that before. I remember "helping" pull calves when I was 3-4 years old.



another thing and I will quit rambling-

I had a lady stop to buy some pullets from me (even though she thought I was selling roosters...) and she asked me how long a chicken was pregnant for. I laughed and said well they aren't really ever pregnant they lay an egg and if the egg is fertile and incubated (either by the hen or an incubator) the egg will hatch in 18-21 days. She had this look like I was crazy. She though chickens had live babies...like mammals. (because they are bigger than birds...

) My 3 year old son then went on to tell her that we incubate the eggs and they sometimes take 2-3 days to hatch. They have to stay in the incubator until they are dry and then mommy gives them water and food. He showed her the food and she couldn't believe it. She said she assumed they drank milk. Thankfully I didn't sell her any chickens, she obviously needed to do some research.

I love that my son could tell her all about it. He know so much and retains more information that I could ever dream him understanding. He can tell you all about milking cows, feeding bottle calves, chickens, rabbits, etc.

Like I said the earlier the better. Some people in this country have no idea where their food comes from and I find that really sad. I was on a different discussion forum the other day and there was a huge argument whether or not Ham was a red or a white meat. I thought everyone knew that pork was the other white meat.

 

[Dogfish]

The more we coddle our kids, the less prepared they are for the real world.

 

[menageriemama]

Involving kids in the process of raising food and getting it to the table = Great idea in my book

My kids have a healthy respect and a large appreciation for where our food comes from, and I credit much of that to letting them be a part of what us grown ups do in the farmyard and in the kitchen.

 

[kfacres]

Quote:
The most common 2 that I hear when I'm showing our livestock--

do brown cows give brown (choc milk), and why do the sheep have blankets on them ( my response-- the sunlight turns their wool green).

 

[jgervais]

What happened to a time when people actually knew what was in season and what farmers grew locally. They knew that meat did not come from the store packaged in plastic, but that it took a lot of care and time to raise and process. They knew how to milk a cow, gather eggs and when the vegetables were ripe to pick. How would any of us ever survive is something happened and food was no longer packaged for us? The more knowledge the better.

 

[HLAC]

Quote:
This!

By time I was 11 I was butchering my own critters with proficiency.

 

[Shikens!]

Quote:
I don't interact with their mother, their father does. I will pass this idea along to him an HE will decide with their mother if it is something they want their kids exposed to. Just like everything with their kids.

I don't have any responsibility to interact with her EVER. That's how we do things and it works for us.

Where are people getting the idea that I'm just going to do this without any ok from the kids parents, ie their mom and dad???