Reply to Should I force DD to sit with us at dinner?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Eat with the family, yes.[b] Just as you respect and honor her desire to not eat meat, she needs to respect your choice to eat meat [/b]and also respect the family dinner.

However, I also am impressed by her conviction at such a young age and would "reward" her for participating fully in family dinner by allowing her to help choose and plan some meatless meals for the whole family.[/quote]
This seems to be the consensus, and I wonder why people feel this way.  If you think of something you find morally objectionable, do you also feel that you need to respect (and, perhaps, participate in) the other side?  I'm trying to think of something that is equivalent to vegetarianism and I'm having trouble finding an analogy.  An imperfect analogy would be if I were somewhere where it was culturally permissible to eat dogs.  Would I really have to sit there and watch people do it?  Or wouldn't it be fine to feel so disgusted by that that I would rather eat alone. [/quote]

Because when we have different beliefs or mores, we don't resolve our differences by sitting in separate rooms. One of the most important tools we give our children is the ability to hold on to their own values and give others the space to hold different ones. As someone pointed out, the child cannot sit in a separate lunchroom at school. It's not feasible for her to isolate herself completely from meat eaters, so she needs to learn to cope with that reality.[/quote]
I guess we will agree to disagree.  They aren't trying to resolve differences or get anyone to agree with anyone else.  Poor girl is horrified that they are eating a pig, which represents her lovey.  Seems cruel to make her watch that kind of thing.  I'm not a vegetarian, but I know people who think that pigs are as cute and smart as dogs and are horrified at them being eaten.  It's not my point of view, but I just wouldn't sit and make them watch me just because I am in a position of power over them.  [/quote]

You are being overly dramatic. The family is not forcing the girl to eat the pork or "forcing" her to watch. Yes, ribs was a terrible choice for a girl who loves pigs, but the family can serve small amounts of a different kind of meat that will be less upsetting. The meat can be brought to the table on the plates so there isn't a large platter of it in front of her. The OP seems very willing to try to minimize trauma for her child.

You didn't address the issue of how the child is expected to function at school when she is "forced" to watch people eat burgers and bacon day after day. How does hiding in a different room at home help her to cope with a meat-eating society?[/quote]

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