Telling Kids a Chicken Died

[Avalon1984]

Quote:
Good for you on how to handle this matter! My husband grew up without pets and I don't know if that is what it is but he is just sooo uptight when he gets sad. He holds it all in and it is just terrible to watch. We have lost so many animals this year, his 13 year old cat, our 3 year old horse...I would feel a lot better if he would approach it like the people on the thread. Holding stuff like that in or trying to hide the fact does not seem like a good idea.

so...I have to know...Did you thing about stuffing the chicken????

 

[moodlymoo]

Quote:
Good for you on how to handle this matter! My husband grew up without pets and I don't know if that is what it is but he is just sooo uptight when he gets sad. He holds it all in and it is just terrible to watch. We have lost so many animals this year, his 13 year old cat, our 3 year old horse...I would feel a lot better if he would approach it like the people on the thread. Holding stuff like that in or trying to hide the fact does not seem like a good idea.

so...I have to know...Did you thing about stuffing the chicken????

ummm...

yes lol. She was to cute to not lol. She was a 10week light brahma but the worst part was my little girl was playing "farm" with her and her little people and my nufy took off with her in his mouth so she got turned out to the garbage. I think she was more upset about that then the dang thing dying lol. My kids know they will die, I warned them of that before we got chickens. I told them most likely they will live for a few years before they become our/some other animals dinner

 

[JoshDeere]

i would tell them that she went on a vacation and isn't coming back if the kids were between 2-5. any older the truth and some cookies.

 

[bobbi-j]

I think to the point is a good thing. It's wrong to lie to a child. The sooner they learn, the better. But you can still give them cookies.

OP, I'm glad they handled it well. Kids really are much more resilient than we give them credit for. As another poster said, they take their cues from the adults in their lives. If we can tell them in a matter of fact way that their pet died, and not get overly emotional about it, they'll do the same. They may be sad, and that's OK, but they won't see it as a major crisis.

 

[Mattemma]

Yes, it went really well. I was getting calls from friends and family asking how ds handled it,and they were suprised at how well he did. Whew! I was so worked up over it due to the past experiences.

 

[I see egggggs]

Well, death is a part of life, and even kids know that. They have to learn to deal with how they feel about it.

Here's what I do with kids when some pet dies - We have a little informal 'funeral' for it - we dig the hole, carefully wrap the animal in paper towel or something else that will decay in the ground, and then I say some prayers. Mostly like, "Thank you, God, for giving us this lovely animal to enjoy, even if it was for just a short time. We loved this animal that you made. You did such a good job on her, she had such lovely feathers, and laid wonderful eggs. We don't know why you took her home to heaven just now, but we realize that she belongs to you. You are the creator of all things, so you own us and all the animals and other things you created. And since you're God, we know that she is safe in your hands. Thank you - and now help us, please to get over our sadness about her death. Thank you for everything - AMEN

This usually sends kids away feeling very secure. Hope it works for you!

i think it is soo butifull, im only 12 and i know about life only just this thanksgiving our hourse died that was 25 :'( and we just got chicks this weekend and one is allready dieing we found it this morning on the floor still breathing and i know what i have to do but is there anything you guys can say to help me get throu this fast i dont wana put it in a bag with baking soda or something like that and i can't bring myself to cut its head or snap its neack any ideas

 

[greenckick]

We are new to the chicken thing but my 4 year old son bonded immediately with one of our Dominique he named Beauty. He carried her all over, gave her tractor rides. She was such a sweet girl. Then one night I went to shut the coop door and turned around to see her bloody and dead in the yard. A hawk or some other tried to take off with her. I tossed and turned all night wondering how I was going to tell him, his Beauty was gone. The next morning here is what happened:
Me: Beauty died. I am sad she is gone.
Son: Why did she die?
Me: Chickens are food for other animals just like they are food for us. Another animal killed her and used her for food.
Son: Maybe it was a Mommy animal and it needed Beauty to feed her babies. I bet she needed food for her babies. Can we call Rose, (our other Dom) Beauty now?

He still mentions that he missed Beauty, and is sad she died but I was absolutely blown away at the brilliant logic of my little guy. Kids are amazing.

 

[aggiemae]

Me... "I am sorry, but little Ruby June died today."

My kids... "are we going to eat her?"

Two of our boys take things hard. The youngest hasn't has anything to do with the chicks since the one he picked out at the feed store died. My middle kid sounds like your kids....

First time he saw a magician pull a rabbit out of his hat he actually asked his older brother "can you eat that?" His brother ( who choose on his own to become a vegetarian when he was only three) replied, "It's not right to eat your animals friends."