Kids and Meat Question

[ginbart]

Quote:
I know I was just busting on you.

Sorry I'm tired. I just had to do it. Hope you don't get mad.

 

[MissPrissy]

Not at all. My 2 yr old picked the keys off my lap top and it doesn't type the same now.

 

[Chicken Boo]

I remember I was 5 when I realized that I was eating a dead animal in the middle of dinner. It had never occurred to me that animals were anything but pets and and beautiful things to look at. If it wasn't for the fact that I knew I would get a beating for refusing to eat what was on my plate, I probably would have screamed and cried and become a vegetarian right there. This was the mid 1960's; my family would not have tolerated my not eating meat. Actually, they would force me to eat meat now, if they thought they could get away with it.

 

[Leah-yes I know I'm crazy]

When your daugghter asks you why you don't eat meat but other people do answer with a simple "I don't like it and because I'm an adult I don't have to eat things I don't like as long as I eat the other things that keep me healthy." And when she asks it is a good opportunity to talk about the importance of taking good care of animals like your chickens because keeping them healthy makes the eggs you eat healthy and if you have a garden the importance of soil and water to grow food that is healthy also. Don't put any more worry into it than that. She's five...there are going to be sooo many other ways you can screw her up in the future that you might want to just let this one go. I have teens...if I let them list all the ways I've messed them up this one wouldn't even make it on the first six pages.

 

[redhen]

i wouldnt bring it up to her at all..until she asks..(and she will someday)..noone ever metioned it to me..and i figured it out on my own...

..but, i will tell you that if my mother had told me at a young age that i was eating a cute little pet chicken or a cute little piggy..i would have become a vegatarian...because kids are like sponges..and you can sway them to your beliefs very easily...and i dont think thats fair.. i would just let her find out on her own..and tell her when she decides to ask you questions about it...its the natural way...best wishes..

 

[coffeelady3]

We just got our first egg yesterday. When I asked her if we should have it for dinner, she got all pouty and said NO! (Because she loved it, she said) If she got that worked up over an egg, I dread being around when she realizes where her drumstick came from!

(After I cracked open the egg and showed it to her she was ok with eating it. Go figure!)

 

[Akane]

I grew up on a farm so it's normal to me to say "That's a pet, that's food, and that one is a pet until it turns into a rooster and then it's food". Don't name anything until you know it's destination.

I think the eggs are a good place to start. One thing we did not have growing up was chickens cause my mom has a serious dislike and fear from my great grandma's attack rooster and giant messy flock. It did make me stop and think after I hatched chicks and then went to eat eggs. Then again when I cooked button quail eggs. It's a start to realize eggs can be food and eggs can be chickens. Don't make a big deal out of it. Stay calm and matter of fact and it shouldn't turn into a drama. We frowned and pouted when the cute calves or our friend's little lambs turned into big fat animals and then food but our parents mostly just continued on serving the food and teaching us to take care of the animals properly until we reasoned it out for ourselves. It was never a big discussion or event. I would expect she'd figure it out soon and start making decisions on what she does or does not want to eat.

 

[farm_mom]

If she's asking questions, you should tell her the truth. My kids are 3 and 4 and they understand all about where the food on their plate comes from, be it the veggies from the garden or meat from the coop or local farmer. In fact, they don't even use the terms "pork and beef" but rather say "pass the pig or cow." Kids are resilient and curious, and I find I tried to shelter them way more in the begining than was warranted.

My daughter was 3 the first time we slaughtered the birds, and I kept her from it. I then dreaded having the talk about where they went and what that meant (as she LOVED being with the flock). But I found I was projecting my own issues. She was absolutely fine with it after the initial curiosity. She asked where they went ("we turned them into food") and then she was all like "we EAT them?!?" and I said yes. She processed this for awhile and then said "okay, can I go play now?"

Now my children are present at the processing of our ducks, turkeys, chickens if they want to be (and both have always wanted to be) and they have a complete and full understanding of their food. Perhaps that is easier than being shocked into the knowledge when they're older, I don't know. I know I have a very distict and jolting memory of when I first figured it out and I was much older and very upset by it in a way my little ones do not seem to be.

The only time my now 4 year old daughter has cried about this issue is when she saw the small clip of the caged birds in a factory farm while we were watching The Natural History of a Chicken.

 

[coffeelady3]

Thanks for all the excellent advice. It's very much appreciated!

 

[Cetawin]

coffeelady I got on late but I wanted to pipe in. Being an American Indian, animals are more than meat to us and when I faced this situation with my son (now 24 yrs old) and my daughter (now age 12), I did not try to explain it to them until they asked and when they brought the topic up, I explained it to them straightforward and honestly.

I also explained our beliefs to them which helps and told them that hunting and killing animals for food is a necessary and good thing for the environment...and that hunting keeps herds and flocks healthy. The subject came up with both of my children over my deer hunting.

Honesty is always the best policy and if they are old enough to inquire about, they old enough to handle the truth of the matter.

Good luck with this, I am sure it is hard for you being vegan but I applaud you for not making that choice for her and allowing her to choose for herself later.