When did your child understand what meat really is?

[snowleopard]

Sorry, I'm sure it's been done before but couldn't find a recent thread.

We eat meat and DS (2.9) loves most meat and fish, but he's sarted asking a lot of questions and now seems anxious about it. If I say we're having eg fish or chicken, he says "not a real chicken, real chickens live outside" and wants to be reassured. We recently had a boots ham sandwich and it had a picture of a pig on the box. He kept saying "not really a piggy in the box mummy, piggy isn't inside".

I don't have a moral problem with meat, I buy free range where possible and I was intending to explain it all to him in an idealistic bucolic hugh fearnley twattingstall kind of way. But tbh I wasn't expecting these questions so soon and I don't want to upset him and put him off food. But it's getting to the point where the questions are so direct I'll have to be honest or lie - and if I lie he'll get confused when I do tell the truth. What did you do/say and when?

you are an urban wus tortoise! Chickens as pets!

Now llamas, they do make good pets. everyone has one rund here

I haven't thought about it, but we certainly don't hide the fact that meat = dead animals from her.

In our local butcher's shop there is huge model cow head stuck on the wall and ALL the little children think that the body is behind the wall

Fio my DS has picked up the awful habit from me of going "Mmmmmmmm duck yummy" when he sees them on the river

Mine chased pigs across a farmyard aged three yelling "Piggy!....bacon! yummy!" I was mortified. The pigs didn't look so happy either....

Just before his third birthday he sarted asking for mouse and lizzard and bear.. well he said I'm tired of chicken and fish I want to eat a different animal..