My daughter is 2 and knows what a deer is and gets excited when we see deer or are looking at pictures and wanted to know how you have approached the situation with bring your harvested deer home and explaining to your child what happpened?
Tough situation.... She'll probably cry (I hate that...). I'll ask my cousin how he did it, his children are all hunters
I think that is usually the case. It seems "normal". My kids are always bummed that the deer is usually gutted before they see it. They like to investigate the "guts". If the kid has been around it and still thinks its sad, best thing you can do is be honest like Fitz said. Don't sugar coat it.
I like to take my youngest (11 months) to the local pro shop so she can just look at the different mounts on the walls. At first she wouldn't like to get up close to the deer or turkey she would just bury her head in my chest, but now all she wants to do is point, pet, and make noises. Start them out young so they just know what's natural. My 7 year old has been in the woods with me since he was 3. He loves GUTS!! He especially likes watching squirrels fall with their insides hanging outside when he shoots them with his .22 magnum.
My kids have been around it since they were born and it's understood why we do this. Like Fitz said, we eat this. Last fall had an issue with my niece (12 yrs old) who has never been around it. She basically had a breakdown when she saw it. Tried explaining to her but not a lot of luck. Not sure how that will work out.
My youngest "teethed" on deer jerky!!! That was enough for her.... My older daughter, watched me butcher them and has wanted to be a doctor since she was 3. She seriously will watch Discovery Health over cartoons, and when she's been around while I was gutting a deer, she wanted to search through the guts and name off the body parts. She even, along with half a dozen of her cousins put her hands inside the abdominal cavity before I'd pulled all the bloody stuff out to warm her hands while we were gutting a deer on the back of the "Gator" at my in-laws. At 5 1/2 yrs. old, she "tracked" a doe I killed for me. I'd watched the deer fall, but gave her the opportunity to locate the "first blood" then walk me to the deer. At 2, she may be a little young to break into it, but JERKY is always a way to get them interested, as EVERYONE likes jerky don't the????
I have 3 girls and I always explain to them the reasons for hunting. Food, Control, and safety. Where I live deer are so bad that our season goes from Sept 3 - March 27 for Archery. When I brought a deer home last week my youngest who is 4.5 was looking upset. I told her that this was our way of providing for the family and also keeping other people safe on the roads. She said ok, and that was the end of it. Every child is different, My 3.5 yr old boy wants to hunt but was grossed out by the cleaning of the deer lol. My 12 yr old girl will get elbows deep in butchering. Good luck!
This is how I was when I was younger. I would ask my dad "What do people do on the weekends if they dont hunt??" I dont have kids but Ive been around it since I was born and it was just ingrained in me form the start. Heck my dad bought me a Red Ryder BB gun before I was born and before he knew I was a boy!! I still have that gun today. Killed a many of tweety birds in its prime!
My oldest (4) had no problem watching me gut and hang up my deer. If we see deer when we are driving around he tells me to pull over and shoot it. He has been watching hunting shows since he was a kid.
My just-turned 3-year-old would see a patch of woods or brushy draw from his carseat and say from the back of the car: "Daddy, that'd be a good place to go hunting or trap!"
ive been turkey hunting with my dad since i was 4. he always had me use the calls to get the birds in. he wouldnt let me go deer hunting to protect me from "Deer Camp" and from the cold but i do always remember having 4 or 5 deer hanging in the garage and i would always watch as he butchered them.
I have twin daughters that just turned 3. Honestly, I'm not really sure they fully grasp "death". However, they have been raised with it. We watch hunting shows and they like my mount on the wall. They look at all my trail cam pictures with me, have named my target "butterscotch" and always ask when he's going to be up on the wall with "bubba" so that they can be best buds. They also like to go with me to my local shop to see all the animals on the wall. That said, I am still careful what I allow them to see. I don't want them being calis to death when they're 4.
Never had a talk with my kids just allways talked about killing deer. Never hid it from them that we kill them for meat in the fall. My kids are boys, but my god daughter allready acts like shes shooting every deer she sees on tv or out the car window, her father dont hunt and she is 2 1/2 years old! Dont hide it from them, we kill them.
I can remember watching my dad clean pheasant in the garage when I was about 4 or 5 years old. When I was 6 he took me hunting for the first time. But even though my whole life we had talks of hunting, I can't at all remember him having to explain it to me, or my other brother and sisters. I just kind of understood, I guess. I suppose the younger they are the easier it is, for most. Maybe the best thing to do is bring up hunting to her. Or ask if she would like to go hunting someday and then explain to her what it is.
Very good thread. I have gun hunted for a few years now and my kids have had venison. My daughter saw me drag a doe from the woods last year at age 3 and said "Daddy, did you drag a dead deer from the woods? I said "yes I did, do you want to see her?" she replied yes, and she proceeded to check out the deer from the fur to the head to the open cavity where I'd field dressed it. She then said "Can I go hunting with you next year?" to which I replied " you need to sit very still, be very quiet and I will take you hunting." A few months later I was buying a ladder stand at a gunshop with her and the guys there said "Are you going to hunt with daddy?" She said "Yes but I have to learn to sit very still and be quiet and I'm not very good at that yet." LOVE that girl, she will get to hunt with me soon! Point being, introduce your children to hunting from birth and there is no issue. My kids know that some of the meat on the table daddy provides. End of story. This year I bow hunt for the first time and my daughter will sit in the blind with me. Jim
I showed my daughter a dead skinned deer hanging in the garage when she about three, she looked like someone slapped her in the face when I opened the door. After a minute or two of me explaining what she was seeing and getting used to being around it she relaxed. She's 5 now and has seen a few more since then doesnt bother her at all. She knows I love to hunt.
