Should I be concerned at my son killing flies, bugs etc.

[bumble79]

My son aged 9 has autism and is a little young for his so say the maturity of a 6-7 year old in some aspects.

He keeps killing Bugs, flies, spiders etc.

He doesn't like them and wants them gone but I tell him we must let them out, not kill them.

But he does it anyway when I'm not looking.

He just managed to kill a fly and then decided to cut it in half when I wasn't looking.

This is a relatively new problem.

Posting here for traffic. Should I be concerned? He's really gentle with animals such as cats and dogs but I keep telling him bugs are animals too.

Is killing bugs a sign he's going to have issues? I mean I'm guilty of squatting annoying flies but he seems to like squishing them...

Normal or not??

@MaxNormal

I am a meat eater. I was brought up to only ever kill things I planned to eat. I dont understand grown adults killing creatures that they could just as easily move outside without harming.

I agree. The person who said 'pulling spiders legs off' made my stomach turn. Do spiders feel pain?

I would be worried if my child killed things for fun. I think it is slightly different taking pleasure in killing an animal and pulling their legs off and putting bug poison for slugs somehow.

(have memories of pulling legs off daddy long legs, & I will definitely kill any insect that steps into my house except ladybirds/butterflies obviously & I let spiders do their thing & sometimes rehome them)

Keep talking to him about it -perhaps take him to the zoo to see some pretty insects

god how cruel!

I dont understand grown adults killing creatures that they could just as easily move outside without harming

I kill green bottle flies because in summer they are attracted to things like my daughters stinky nappies. Put them outside and they are back in minutes. I specifically am aiming to kill them before they breed more.

Good grief. No it’s not normal at all.

I used to bait the lawn with bread and then use my air rifle shoot any starlings that arrived. The cat was sent out to dispatch any wounded ones. I turned out to be relatively normal so I wouldn't worry about a few flies or spiders.

@Lactarius

I used to bait the lawn with bread and then use my air rifle shoot any starlings that arrived. The cat was sent out to dispatch any wounded ones. I turned out to be relatively normal so I wouldn't worry about a few flies or spiders.

🙄🤦‍♀️

I have a friend whose 10 year old would trap spiders in a jar together so that he could watch them fight to the death. He always gave me the heebie jeebies before I found that out but I have to admit I've given them a bit of a wide berth since.

Whichever way you look at it, it's cruel. @lockeddownandcrazy I agree with you. No need for anyone to kill or harm any living creature. Wasps aside!
Insect, animal, whatever...they all have a right to live! Of course we can all harm things unintentionally and squash and step on things without meaning to. But it's the malicious intent behind it that I can handle. Not saying your son is being malicious OP, he's probably curious and doesn't fully understand the effect of his actions.

*I can't handle

Seems pretty normal behaviour. Maybe except the cutting the fly in half, but it's still not that weird. Kids are inquisitive and I guess poor bugs are usually at the receiving end.

I remember burying our budgie ( it was dead ) , then digging it up a few weeks later. I just wanted to see what it looked like.

PlanDeRaccordement

“Normal”

No, it isn’t.

Am I the only person who thinks its odd to be so bothered by a child killing nuisance bugs?

Nope. I’ve fly killer, wasp killer, ant killer, mouse traps, if I see a spider I’ll pick it up in some loo roll and flush it.

Never met anyone in real life saying oh no, I love that ants nest on my patio. Or yes, let’s keep the wasps,

Killing pests is fairly normal behaviour. That’s why there’s a mass market in kit to do it. In fact there are people whose job it is solely to kill pests

Oddest thread I’ve ever seen on here, people pretending they don’t know that,

Killing insects out of reaction or to get rid of them from the house is one thing - doing it sadistically is a bit different.

Hmm not sure really maybe seek professional advice if it continues as he gets older as it can be a typical trait of pyschotic behaviour or another issue like phychosis. But I dont mean to worry you as all kids go through a phase of squishing bugs. I remember when i was about 8 i pulled the wings off a greenfly to make a joke "its now just a green" 😥 and my mum was MORTIFIED!!! I turned out okay..😂 but yeah id probably keep an eye on it if it continues xxx

Lactarius

“I used to bait the lawn with bread and then use my air rifle shoot any starlings that arrived. The cat was sent out to dispatch any wounded ones. I turned out to be relatively normal so I wouldn't worry about a few flies or spiders.“

That’s horrible, in no way, shape or form normal.

Killing insects is entirely normal. There are insect sprays in every corner shop and pest control firms in every town. It's socially acceptable behaviour.

@ThunderSkies

Good grief. No it’s not normal at all.

Do you run around b&q in hysterics looking at at all the insect and rodent killer spray and kits then?

@category12

Killing insects out of reaction or to get rid of them from the house is one thing - doing it sadistically is a bit different.

He's nine.

Calling a primary-aged child sadistic is going a bit far, don't you think?

I remember picking our cat up by the tail to see what happened. I also remember pinching our neighbours little boy to make him cry!

I’m utterly horrified I did these things and I’m very empathetic now. I literally kill nothing. I just wonder if empathy develops slower in some kids

While I think it can be normal to protect yourself from things that bring in disease etc, you can do so without automatically killing anything that passes the door that isnt either human or cute and fluffy.
In fact, we have a huge decline in insects and maybe we need to try and change our opinion on how we treat them. All pollinators are important, not just pretty ones, and the same with all types of insects.

Sorry to hijack the thread OP!

Whether or not insects are animals is irrelevant here. The fact is that insects are not seen as animals in the same way as a kitten or a hamster in our society, and, rightly or wrongly, it's considered socially acceptable to kill an insect. This means that a child killing insects is of far less concern than a child killing kittens because children are influenced by social norms. A lot of children probably don't fully comprehend that insects are animals at all. I used to dissect flowers as a child and perhaps a less mature child wouldn't see a fly as that much different to a plant. We don't have to condone it or pretend it's not cruel, but we do have to view it in the context of social norms and the child's level of maturity.

I used to pull woodlice legs off, loved stomping on ants and clapping moths to kill them. It was fascination more than being a mini psychopath.

I used to seek out and kill ants for hours at that age. I grew into a pragmatic non-squeamish adult who has had to take professional decisions over which people we should prioritise for survival, but I'm vegetarian and have never actually killed anyone.