Children When is the right time to tell your child about meat?

[Second Summer]

When should we tell our innocent little one what the meat on other people's plates really is?

Also, how is the best way to explain this?

 

[Poppy]

I would suggest that you keep it simple for now. Tell her what she sees is made from animals and your family doesn't eat animals. Later you can tell her that your family likes to eat other things because you believe that eating animals is mean.

 

[Clueless Git]

Well, imho ...

1. The right time to start providing explanations to a child on anything under the sun is when a child begins asking questions, either directly or indirectly, about it.

2. The best way to explain anything to a child is as simply as possible to begin with. Next, expand the info untill the child's immediate curiosity is satisfied. Last, leave the child with something that will stimulate it's curiosity further and result in more questions coming later.

Proviso to #1: If a child shows no little to no curiosity then employ the final step of #2 at every possible opportunity.

3. Once the cycle has started then keep it going, ad-finitum.

 

[KLS52]

I am going to have the same dilemma with my grand children. Daughter doesn't want them to know I don't eat meat and why. I'm fine with that for now. They have never asked questions about my food so the connection has not been made yet. But I'm not going to hide it forever. At some point they are going to find out.

 

[ledboots]

We were omni when the kids were young, and I remember my very young son asking if the chicken we were eating was the same as chickens that ran around on a farm. His older sister said "Yes and bacon is pigs, hamburgers are cows." He gave me this betrayed look. I was not surprised when he went veg a few years later.

Karen, that is ridiculous about not being able to tell the grandchildren. My sister and I had a whole thing about our sons and circumcision; she didn't want her boys to know that all boys weren't circumcised. And what it means.

 

[shyvas]

I am going to have the same dilemma with my grand children. Daughter doesn't want them to know I don't eat meat and why. I'm fine with that for now. They have never asked questions about my food so the connection has not been made yet. But I'm not going to hide it forever. At some point they are going to find out.

I don't see the point as it makes out that not eating meat it is some kind of dark secret.

 

[Danielle]

My dad doesn't want me to tell my niece why I don't eat animal products.
It's funny they want to feed her something and not tell her how it's made because maybe she won't want to eat it anymore

 

[RascalsMom]

My nephew is 5 and he will tell people that I'm vegetarian and that means I don't eat animals. (I keep trying to get him to say vegan.. The word vegetarian bugs me. Don't know where he picked it up. Lol)

 

[ledboots]

When should we tell our innocent little one what the meat on other people's plates really is?

Also, how is the best way to explain this?

At birth.
In all seriousness, as early as possible, at the child's level.

Child points to hot dog."What's that?" "It is called a hot dog, but it is made from pigs and cows. Our family doesn't eat animals, but luckily there are hot dogs we can get with no animals in them! Yay!" (Parent then spends way too much money on fake hot dogs and buns and serves them for dinner.)

 

[Mel]

I don't see the point as it makes out that not eating meat it is some kind of dark secret.

Sounds like guilt and fear that the child will want to stop eating meat, and we can't have that...

No experience here really, my daughter was 8 when I stopped eating meat and it was at a point where she really could decide herself what to eat. I stopped buying meat though, so whatever meat she got had to come from outside sources. She's 18 now and doesn't have a job yet, so again, her meat comes from outside sources. Mostly from her school lunches.

 

[ledboots]

Sounds like guilt and fear that the child will want to stop eating meat, and we can't have that...

No experience here really, my daughter was 8 when I stopped eating meat and it was at a point where she really could decide herself what to eat. I stopped buying meat though, so whatever meat she got had to come from outside sources. She's 18 now and doesn't have a job yet, so again, her meat comes from outside sources. Mostly from her school lunches.

I or the kids packed my kids' lunches to avoid the meat and just gross school lunch food anyway. Daughter was and is omni, but got vegan lunches when the rest of us went vegan. She likes vegan food, so no issues.

 

[Clueless Git]

The reason omni parents would prefer to 'protect' their children from the truth about meat ...

Much the same reason as a school gate drug pusher would prefer children to be 'protected' from the truth about drugs.

Both know the truth will out in the end.

Both are just racing to get the children fucked up beyond much hope of repair, as they are themselves, before the truth gets out.

 

[Bite Size Vegan]

Well, imho ...

1. The right time to start providing explanations to a child on anything under the sun is when a child begins asking questions, either directly or indirectly, about it.

2. The best way to explain anything to a child is as simply as possible to begin with. Next, expand the info untill the child's immediate curiosity is satisfied. Last, leave the child with something that will stimulate it's curiosity further and result in more questions coming later.

Proviso to #1: If a child shows no little to no curiosity then employ the final step of #2 at every possible opportunity.

3. Once the cycle has started then keep it going, ad-finitum.

I was going to say "upon the moment of birth" but this seems far more reasonable.