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

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I work in a school.

A 5/6 year old today trod on a small bug. He did this on purpose.

I'd like to say it was because he didn't know better but this was half an hour after a lesson on looking after the environment and things we could do to care for nature. Lots was mentioned about animals, etc.

I pulled the child up and spoke to him about his behaviour. He essentially received the equivalent of a bad behaviour point as a result.

If you were pulled aside after school as a parent and told about this incident would you think it was ridiculous?

I know people have different views, some would draw the line at hurting an animal the size of a cat, for example, but wouldn't bat an eyelash at killing a spider.

Is this for real?

I would think the teacher didn't understand the emotional capabilities/limitations of a child that age. I'd nod, say 'oh dear' and carry on slowly explaining life and responsibilities as the child aged.

I’d want to be told. At 5/6 and after those lessons I’d think purposely killing a living creature was cruel.

I would mention it. At 5 or 6, they do have the capacity to know that that will cause pain to a creature and it's good to have that message reinforced at home as well as in school.

If it was a one off, I wouldn’t mention it. You dealt with it so what’s the parent supposed to do hours later. If dc regularly kills bugs then mention it.

I think it totally depends on the parent! I've seen more than one parent squashing bugs without a second thought; I would want to know so I could deal with the behaviour, but a parent who happily squashes bugs would probably think you were being ott.

I agree with you OP.

I am in my 50s and remember being 4 years old. I remember nursery where we learnt about trees, plants and insects as we had a nature areas on our playing field.

I knew at 4 it was cruel to kill an insect. I also knew to put back insects we found under rocks.

My 2 adult DC remember going on woodland walks when they were and me teaching them the same.

Its NOT hard for a 4 year old to understand this

I’d absolutely want to be told. No harming of any animal happens in this house so I’d see it as a really big deal if one of my children did this.

As an ex teacher I wouldn’t have told a parent about this. However I would have disciplined the child appropriately - he knew what he was doing was wrong.

A 5/6 year old would definitely know that’s not ok. I’d definitely want to be told

It’s a personal ethical view. Most people worm and flea their pets, is that cruel? Are mousetraps cruel? Swatting flies / fly paper? Slug pellets? Yes, many parents would think you were overstepping and at best, ignore you.

I would want to know too if my child did this its a living creature which the child is well aware of from the lessons you have been teaching .

Id want to know. At that age children know right and wrong.

Wouldn’t go down well in a rural area or for anyone who has an insect/rodent problem in their house.

Tricky one - the act of killing something for pleasure is definitely wrong so I think I’d want to be told - but we kill bugs as a society all the time - ant powder, fly swats, carpet beetles etc etc

The teacher understands perfectly, thank you.

I killed many ants in my house today. I do not feel bad.

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

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

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

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.

There's a massive difference between killing to eat and killing for fun.

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.

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 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!