How would you react if your child killed something?

[Twiglett]

like a worm / snail / spider etc

on purpose?

(not my child btw)

oh, yes, fire ants can fly. they also swim in balls so if it floods they're just one among the many poisonous, stinging things that can get you - water moccassins, bees, ants, etc.

they leave a hideous welt after biting, too.

bastards.

don't have a garden to don't ahve to worry about slugs and whatnot, although i have pitched the odd beetle out the window.

spidermama-i so agree..it's natural discovery..finding about life/death actions/consequences etc.
I think it's fascination..and they will grow out of it.
plus how many of you if you had a mouse/rat/cockroach infestation would just leave them alone..?

we used to leave a bowl of beer out at night for the slugs..at least they drowned a merry death...

Feel need to point out that it wasn't the pulling legs of things that made me worried about my cousin in law (??), it was the fact that he said he liked to look into the insects eyes as he did it!!
Also feel need to add that when his poor pet dog got run over and needed to be put down...he asked his father if he could shoot it himself...I think I rest my case...

Stamping on a snail cos they make nice crunchy noises is not a reliable indicator of psychopathy...!!!!! But see no reason why you can't suggest it is not really a particularly nice thing to do....

my dad used to do that to slugs, baby. he'd use an old jar and put beer in it - also good for large cockroaches, but you have to coat the opening w/grease of some sort so the roach can't get out.

barf.

jessajam
this kid sounds like he needs help

expat The whole family are a bit...um...

sorry but there is no way dh will waste beer on slugs:o

i tell a lie! if there are ANY brown-banded cockroaches and can and will kill them in whatever way possible. they are rank!

lol 2shoes...

dp used to live in rural yorkshire and had a dark driveway..i hated walking up it..just waiting for that sickening crunch of snail under my feet..eeek

it wouldnt arse me if they killed a crawlie or snail

OK .. so you think you should ignore it if a child purposefully kills another living thing

really?

twiglett part of growing up to squash a snail, or pull legs off s word (cant say it as have bad phobia)
or to chop a worm in half
i call it lifes science lesson and shows inquisitiveness

I probably would say something, but certainly wouldn't lose a second's sleep over it.

Well Twigglett I probably would ignore it actually but then I eat meat and used to help my grandmother kill chickens when I was 12 so have no problem with killing animals in some circumstances. The issue is what your values are and how you share that with your children. The little boy's mother obviously doesn't share your values so has not imparted them to her child.

I would however try and put it into context. If the child were generally very agressive and seemed to take a lot of pleasure from taking an insect apart I might worry about it.

Well Twigglett I probably would ignore it actually but then I eat meat and used to help my grandmother kill chickens when I was 12 so have no problem with killing animals in some circumstances. The issue is what your values are and how you share that with your children. The little boy's mother obviously doesn't share your values so has not imparted them to her child.

I would however try and put it into context. If the child were generally very agressive and seemed to take a lot of pleasure from taking an insect apart I might worry about it.

sorry on double post

I would be upset - in that it is upsetting to see a creature being harmed - but I would not worry about it for a minute. It is perfectly normal. Most children have to be socialised into not harming other things. I would show the child my distress as I think it's useful for them to learn that killing is unpleasant and upsetting, and would explain why we don't do it.

Talking about counselling is absolutely mental IMO

I would probably say 'it's not nice to kill insects/worms etc' but wouldn't be horrified.

You lot talking about counselling you are joking right?

I stamp on snails. They eat my veg otherwise. I am not otherwise cruel to creatures.

Dh cannot suffer a wasp to live.

I'd probably give them the talk about not harming living things for no reason. But I don't think I'd ever need to as I'm not even allowed to kill slugs FGS!!!! We are overrun with snails and slugs and they eat everything - I don't use slug pellets as I think they are really savage things and not good for kids and animals. So we have to relocate the bl**dy things too - used to 'relocate' them over the garden fence until a keen gardener moved in so now my DD collects them and takes them to the park...she takes it very seriously as she knows that otherwise mummy would squash them. I have a friend who takes them to the other side of her road (a quite busy one) - if they make it back safely that's fate, if they don't at least she didn't actually kill them !

I don't generally like to see smaller creatures being needlessly hurt just for fun though. I have a phobia about spiders but I hate to kill them - I always think that I'l get persecuted by it's big brother our for revenge....

northerner I am struggling to work out on this thread which posts are genuine and which are wind ups.

Beginning to wind me up these days trying to work it all out....

I'd make it very, very clear that deliberately killing or causing pain to another living creature is completely unacceptable and must never happen again. I will come down very sharpish on any signs of cruelty - and I'd do the same with any other kid around too.

Even dh, who hates spiders, has got round to picking them up and putting them outside when ds is around instead of killing them.

I'm a veggie, btw. Ds isn't so will have to have that conversation at some point. But he doesn't eat snails so there's no inconsistency in a ban on hurting them.

I would probably say What the bloody hell do you think you are doing, as it really would annoy me.
Sat watching my friends son stamp all over some ants the other night and wondered if she would say anything, then saw her crunch a woodlouse under her broom and felt :( that they both thought they were bigger and better and could just do that to something else without a second thought :(