When to Introduce Where Meat Comes From to our Children

When should we introduce the concept of where meat comes from to our children? 
And how should we do that? 

Unless a child is brought up to be a vegetarian, then like Lily your child has probably been eating meat for a while now. Lily has eaten plenty of meats, chicken, beef, lamb, pork and she enjoys them all. But one thing I haven't yet taught Lily about is where that meat comes from. 

Myself, I obviously know that meat comes from an animal. I can't remember what age I learnt this, and i'm not even sure who taught it me, or if it was something I just came to realise over time. But I have grown up knowing that beef is from a cow, lamb from a sheep and pork from a pig. For me when I eat these meats, I must admit, I never actually relate the food I am eating to the animal. I don't eat beef thinking oooh this is a lovely bit of cow, and so somehow there has been a disconnection between the eating of it and the knowing of what it is. I think it is because of this disconnection that I actually manage to eat meat, because knowing me, If I thought about it too much I would end up becoming a vegetarian. 
This does make me wonder though that if I taught Lily about it now, would she end up making too much of a connection. She loves her animals, and telling her that her beef comes from a cow might cause questions with answers she could not understand. But there is also the other side of it all where I wonder should I tell her so then she can make her own decisions about meat. 

Then there is the question of how would I teach her about it and this is where I move onto the brilliant Taste N Tell Discovering Food books. 

Taste N Tell currently have 2 books out which are both about discovering foods. Inside they talk about the food and where it comes from. So for example we have the Discovering Fruit book which would show you an apple and that the apple has come from an apple tree. There is also a Discovering Vegatables book which would show you a carrot and that the carrot has grown in the ground. The books both have characters that you discover with and have fun illustrations and rhymes to support the learning about the food. Then the books all have a special pot included which you can place a piece of that food inside for your child to get out and discover.

The idea behind the books is that your children get to try the food whilst learning all about it at the same time. Which I think is a brilliant concept and works really well. 

But after making the fruit and vegetable book, the next type of food that Taste N Tell are looking to teach about, is Protein, and so they are looking to produce a book called Discovering Protein with Beefy Bear. 

But of course this book would be talking about meats, and if they were to be set out like the other discovering food books then it would show an image of the animal that the meat came from though taste and tell have decided to use a silhouette of the animal rather than a photograph. With the book being for ages 1-5 years, it then asks the question what would be an appropriate age for a child to learn about where meat comes from and would a book like this be the best way for them to learn about it. 

This is where I ask you my readers to fill in a very short survey that Taste n Tell are conducting which asks about these questions. We would really love to know your view on introducing the concept of where meat comes from to your children. 

As a thank you, at the end of the survey you will have the option to be entered into a giveaway to win the Book 'Discovering Vegatables with Veggie Vole'. 

Please Click the following Link to begin filling out the survey. 
Click here to Begin

Also feel free to leave your comments below with your opinion on the subject. 

*Competition Terms and Conditions*

- Entrants must reside in the United Kingdom.- There are three individual prizes available for this prize draw. 
- Three winners will be chosen at Random and contacted by email. Each winner will receive one Taste 'n' Tell 'Discovering Vegetables with Veggie vole' Starter Pack.
- Competition and Survey closes on the 31st of May.

- Personal details will only be used for this prize draw, and will not be used for any other purpose.