If you're a parent would you think this was ridiculous if I pulled you aside after school for this?

I would want the teacher to take the moment to explain to my child that it's wrong. So long as it wasn't a repeated behaviour, I don't think I would need to be told. If it was repeated, I would want to be told.

This is exactly right. Should be dealt with in school, but no reason to mention to home unless it happens again or becomes part of a bigger picture.

Of course it’s wrong to stamp on a big deliberately. That’s not the issue, the issue is whether it then merits a separate conversation after school once consequence has already been handed out.

My DCs best friend had headlice so they are very ok with bugs being killed.

Not to mention our cat brings in things he kills all the time.

How would you approach it if you had a child from a farming background used to animals being sent to the abattoir?

Its a 5/6 year old squashing a bug. I love how on mumsnet this totally normal young child behaviour warrants a teacher talking to parent but a classroom incident where a young child violently breaks a window doesnt.

🙄

If the teacher called me in to tell me "James stepped on an ant at playtime", I'd think you were insane.

If he was deliberately looking for bugs/snails etc and routinely killing them then I'd want to know.

I think unless the school is vegan you're on dodgy ground preaching about protecting animals/not stepping on ants and then serving up burgers in the canteen.

I would want to know. Empathy is important- it might be something that forms over time in line with development, but I have reinforced this with my kids. For example I didn't allow my kids to chase pigeons either, and have taught them how to interact with pets respectfully and how to read signals from them.

I'd inform the parents. It all starts at home, and I do hope more adults come to senses that killing "just because" isn't on. If the bug or insect isn't hurting you, leave it alone.
I hate when people don't even think about squashing bugs. I have always taught my son to be gentle with every little bug we see, it all starts from me.

Honestly, I'd think you were a tad bonkers.

I would think you were completely insane for telling me. Kid was in the wrong. But was also 5. This was a whatever adult was there telling him off situation not a tell mum situation

I'd be disappointed if this were my kid and I would want to be told.

Nonsense !
A child that age should know about kindness and respect to living creatures.

I’d mention to the parents and see it as an education for them too. The child likely picked this up from them.

I would wonder if you were having a mental breakdown

I would like to know so I could speak to him about it being wrong.

I wouldn't expect to be told about this tbh. I expect and trust the school staff to discipline appropriately. If there is a serious or ongoing problem I'd expect to be told but not something like this.

Of course you tell them about it!

Even before Reception we would move the bugs off busy paths.

If noone tells them how will they know?

The child is old enough to learn how to read, write, eat, toilet, walk and talk. They can be told right from wrong.

I'd probably nod and think the demerit was slightly ridiculous. Given most adult happily kill small bugs for whatever reason, I would at the time if I had a child that did this tell them not to, but I wouldn't see it as a 'tellable' event. It's an at the time don't squash bugs conversation and I wouldn't be expected to need to be told about it as it happened and was dealt with. I would not assume my child was a wanna be sociopath who I needed warned about. Plenty of kids and people squash bugs. I'm not a big squashier, but I am liberal with the fly spray which takes longer and is probably crueler.........

Yes I would think it was ridiculous.

I wouldn’t expect a teacher to report home about this, but wouldn’t expect my kids to do either. My daughter once came home extremely angry because her teacher had killed a big spider in the classroom, my daughter had been upset and cried about it but been told not to be silly. My dd would have caught the spider and put it out if she’d been given the opportunity!

Unless you are working at a vegan school, I wouldn't mention it. As a pp said, lots of people kill spiders or swat flies or put down ant powder or use fly paper or chomp down a burger and are not utterly cruel or sadistic in their day to day interactions, they just value different forms of life differently to you.

I’m a vegetarian and I actively encourage my 9 year old to kill mosquitoes and the tiny moths our house is riddled with. I discourage killing anything else but I know lots of people kill spiders etc because they don’t like them. It’s not really any different.

I’d want to know if my child purposely hurt a living creature for fun. It’s completely different to killing a creature because you have to, for example if it’s a parasite that’s making you ill, or a pest which is infesting your home and destroying stuff and spreading disease. The latter is regretful but understandable and unavoidable. The former is psychopathic.

People who say it’s cruel are you all vegetarian?

I would think the teacher or TA was absolutely ridiculous to tell me this.

Yeah I'd want to know. My 4 1/2 year olds know not to hurt bugs, god forbid walking down the road I don't see a bug they've seen, I soon know about it. So yes, at 5/6 so I assume year 1, it's a deliberate act