Kids and Meat Question

[coffeelady3]

Hopefully you omnivores can help me with this one. I'm a vegetarian (and yes, I'm aware of the irony that this is one of my favorite threads!) , but my 5-year-old daughter is not. I figure it's a personal choice for me, and when she's older she should be able to decide for herself what she want to do. Anyway, How do you break it to the kids what they're eating? When I was little, I don't remember associated eating chicken with the fact that I was eating an actual animal. (I don't even remember when I finally figured it out!) I never had any kind of personal relationship with livestock when I was little. As far as I was concerned meat came in neat and tidy little plastic wrapped styrafoam containers from the store! She loves her chickens (we have 2 layers) and I guess that I am worried that she'll be traumatized, feeling the way she does about her girls, when she realizes where meat actually comes from.

Any input on how kids take it when they realize what it is they are eating?

(Sorry if this seems like a silly dilemma. She's my only kid and she's starting to ask questions. i don't want to screw her up!)

 

[Henrietta23]

It's not silly at all! My son is 6 and he sometimes chooses not to eat meat because he knows it came from an animal. We don't raise our own meat but we talk about what we buy in the grocery store. He figured it out when he realized there was chicken on his plate and chickens in the backyard, and hey wait a minute..... He knows that I sometimes choose not to eat meat because of the way animals can be treated. I think you're wise to let her choose for herself and to answer her questions honestly!

 

[KellyHM]

Do you call it chicken when she eats it? Just ask her where she thinks if comes from (do the same with veggies, etc) and see what she says, then go from there. Sometimes what they know will surprise you!

 

[coffeelady3]

She sometimes calls it chicken. She mostly eats meat over at her Dads house. She's half Korean, so when they talk about meat they usually use the Korean words. (She's bi-lingual) That might confuse the situation a little bit more.

 

[willheveland]

I explained to my girls when they were very small what animal each type of meat comes from.Also how important animals are to our survival and what they are intended for.You could explain the food chain to her.Also that even though humans were first gatherers,it wasn't until they began eating red meat that their brains really developed. good luck, not an easy thing to do. Will

 

[MissPrissy]

I let them come to the realization on their own. At a young age when we put things 'in their face' so to speak I often wonder if we do more harm than good. There is plenty of time for children to figure out that the meat they eat comes from an animal. My kids knew early that hamwasprok and that meant pig and that beef was cow etc. I just didn't push it on them. I let them find the light switch on their own realization.

Perhaps looking at the meat case at the market is an easier way to introduce the idea as she get older?

 

[chickenma]

First of all : Tell them the truth. They can handle it.
Meat chicken eggs, don't come from a store, you only buy them there.
They are from animals and this is part of the circle of life.
We all can choose to eat meat, vegetables , chicken etc. to stay healthy and have a good and happy life.
Eating meat or chicken doesn't mean you don't like animals. It only means that you choose to eat it because what ever reason you can think of.
I have 3 kids and all 3 know that every chicken we have will end up as dinner sooner or later. We treat our chickens with respect, love them and make sure they have a good life while they are with us.
When we are having dinner we thank God for this chicken and are happy he /or she was in our life and if he will take good care of the chicken in chicken heaven.
It sounds crazy for some one else but this is how it works for my family.
We all(humans and animals) are part of the circle of life. We all live and we all die. There is nobody / anything that's live for ever. Only in our hearts people and animals live forever.
I hope this is helpfull
Goodluck Crazy about chicken Family

 

[JessicaGrant]

As with most things, with my kids I answer their questions honestly when issues come up. If they are asking questions and are curious they are probably ready.

That said, my kids have always known where food comes from and what it is. We don't farm and have only had chickens for 6 months or so, but even before, we talked about farms and where veggies and meat come from. We get all our meat locally and we have visited the farm and played with the animals. Sometimes the boys want to talk and think about the moral issues surrounding killing living creatures for our food. I am comfortable with my meat eating and tell them why that is. If they ever want to be vegetarians I would support that. then I tell them what they would have to eat to be healthy vegetarians and they decide to eat meat.

Good luck. I think if she is asking questions and you are honest but gentle with her you won't traumatize her!

 

[ginbart]

Quote:
Miss Prissy, what's hamwasprok? I never heard of it?

 

[MissPrissy]

hahahaha! Major typo

ham was pork