When your child asks

[Guest guest]

why other people eat meat, eggs, etc - how do you respond?

 

My son is 3 1/2. I'm also 6 1/2 months pregnant. My family is strictly

vegetarian and my children will be raised according to our beliefs.

 

I try talking to my son about being vegetarian, but I don't get really " into "

it. I haven't really expressed any of the awful details about non-vegetarian

lifestyles. He does not know meat = dead animal, living conditions of the poor

creatures, the

dairy farms, etc. I've only told him the we eat plant foods, vague things like

that. He gets excited to see the lobsters in the tanks at the supermarket, and

I've never told him why they're there...

 

I really want to start expressing more to him, I guess I'm just afraid of

upsetting him or scaring him with the information.

 

He's starting to ask questions that I don't know how to respond to, so I know

now is certainly the time to open up more to him on this subject.

 

I'd appreciate any advice, story books, etc that you have learned from your own

experiences with raising veg*n children that you have to offer.

 

Thanks,

~gv

[Guest guest]

~gv asked:

 

<<My son is 3 1/2. I'm also 6 1/2 months pregnant....I try talking to

my son about being vegetarian, but I don't get really " into " it. I

haven't really expressed any of the awful details about non-vegetarian

lifestyles....I've only told him the we eat plant foods, vague things

like that. He gets excited to see the lobsters in the tanks at the

supermarket, and I've never told him why they're there...I really want

to start expressing more to him, I guess I'm just afraid of upsetting

him or scaring him with the information.>>

 

Well, my daughter is nearly 3 1/2 and I'm 6 months pregnant, so I guess

I'm rather qualified to answer this question!

 

I don't get into gruesome details with her, but I do honestly say that

" meat " is actually animals which have been killed. She has some concept

of what it means to be dead, because she has seen dead insects and

birds. When we see lobsters or crabs in the tank at a Chinese

restaurant, I mention to her that while we enjoy seeing the animals

alive, the reason they are in the tank is because other people are going

to kill them to eat them. This information has not been upsetting to

her at all. She just looks at me, nods her head in agreement, and says

" OK " . She accepts that we don't eat Gummi Bears (except for the special

vegetarian ones, which I make sure to offer a couple times a week)

because she knows that gelatin comes from dead animals too. I think

it's just a case of being straight-forward, clear and simple in your

explanation. If you appear uncomfortable, your child will pick up on

that.

 

The reason I've expanded our discussions to include information about

killing the animals is because she is starting to be more " in the

world " , thanks to summer camp and nursery school starting in the fall.

I will have less control over her (she's already had a Rice Krispy treat

at camp because she didn't know it was made with marshmallow), so I need

to help her understand *why* we eat differently than most of her

friends. If you just state a rule, there's no way for the child to

understand what to do in a new situation. " I eat plants " isn't as

helpful as being able to state " if there's something in there that

involved hurting/killing an animal, I don't want to eat it " . It gives

more of a blueprint.

 

I'm not sure at what age it becomes appropriate to discuss things like

the medical dangers of eating animals, but my guess is we're both years

away from that eventuality. I think 3 year olds understand the concepts

of morality and kindness (in simplistic terms) better.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Liz