How to prepare young children for witnessing of butchering?

[jcatblum]

Never seen any child friendly resources describing how we actually get chicken or any other meat. With my own children they knew from the day the cute fuzzy chicks arrived they would be eaten one day. Most kids are curious & want to know how the chicken is processed. If you are in an area where most people hunt or fish I don't think there would be a large opposition to kids viewing the processing. Think the big thing is don't make the child view or participate if they don't want too. IMO no reason to make the child scared of or resentful of the processing.

Maybe someone could write a book for kids on how local meat comes to our homes from small scale farms???

 

[MissJenny]

When I was four a neighbor raised a rooster from Easter till sometime mid-summer.... and then one day we all gathered around in their yard -- about 20 of us and watched them hack his head off. Some kids said the rooster would run around with his head cut off... I didn't think he would... Then they dunked him in boiling water and then some of us helped pluck him.

I did not think anything of this whole process... I took it in stride -- "This is what they were going to do. I did not equate that nice rooster with that dead rooster. I was too young to be either horrified or to empathize.

I think their are stages of development where child do become old enough to empathize with the animal being slaughtered, at some point they will feel responsible, they will feel they've let the animal down for not being able to stop it's being killed. You are wise to consider the feelings and developmental impact on children regarding a slaughter... I don't have answers... but you might consult a child development site.

Jenny

 

[taprock]

First as a kid it didn't bother me as much as it does now, there wasn't as much thought involved for me it was just something my parents did and I wandered around and watched, I didn't actually participate in the butchering. I didn't have to be there but chose to be.

Second - this is my son's first year deer hunting and he hasn't been involved in the gutting, skinning before but he will be if he gets a deer. So my husband found youtube videos that show how to skin, gut, clean a deer and they watched them. Whether he is prepared or not I don't know but he seems to feel better about it now. I have never looked for chicken processing but if they have deer they may have chicken. It can't compare to the real thing but it might prepare them a bit more than just talking about it or give you an idea if it might be too much.

Good luck,

 

[Tracydr]

Are these city kids or country kids?
I'd be really uncomfortable with somebody else's kids there unless the parents were participating.
Here's how I'm preparing my granddaughter for the fact that the big white fatties get eaten. I tell her from day one that these are eating chicks and we talk matter of factly about it. However, she won't be involved with processing, because her mother is squeamish about the idea.
At least she has the idea of where her chicken comes from now and doesn't have to wonder where all the fatties disappeared to. Her mother, aunts/ uncle and my husband can't even cut up a piece of meat with bones, they have to buy everything boneless. The only thing they buy with bones is the T-Day turkey and me and one other in-law have to slice them. Nobody in the family can even slice a whole chicken if their lives depended on it.
Anyway, city kids are much more insulated about this stuff than country kids.

 

[MicheleC]

I like the idea of telling the kids to thank the bird and all. It makes sense, my problem is bringing myself to do it. I am an animal lover, but believe in utilizing what you've got. I have yet to butcher one, although I several Roos that are about that age. I have raised them from chicks so they are quite tame which makes me feel guilty...