Recently, my 10-year-old niece announced that she will not longer eat pork or ham because pigs are cute. My sister (her mother) shared this on Facebook. Most comments could be categorized as either "oh how cute" or "yum bacon." There were a few comments, however, that I would put in a third category - it is just a phase, don't let her get away with it. In other words, not eating pork is really a power play on the child's part and you as a parent must discipline the child when it comes to food.
I am not about to start another round of the mommy wars. I have no interest in battling it out with other parents about how they choose to raise their children, or trying to get validation for the choices I make raising my daughter. I just find it interesting that no one, including me, saw my niece's decision as a legitimate or reasonable choice. I am not sure if it was because of her age or her personality or how my sister had presented the situation. No one took it seriously.
I remember a night when I was very little, and I was trying to understand where the food on our dinner table came from. With some help from my older sisters, I made the connection between the chicken in the oven and the chickens I had seen when visiting a farm. I was crushed. I cried and cried. I don't remember why it bothered me so much or what my mother did about it. I must have stopped crying and my mother continued to feed me chicken, and I continued to eat it.
I guess a part of me is still that little kid crying about the chicken and wondering what is so bad about not eating pigs because they are cute.
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