Hi!
i am trying to teach my kids respect for life and nature. On the other hand I sometimes kill spiders and flies with a fly swatter! How do I explain this to my kids? Do you kill bugs in front of your kids?

Feb 1, 2013 -- 10:49AM, Christine wrote:

I do kill bugs in front of my kids.  Although if it's a lizard or a moth or something like that I'll catch it and put it back outside.  But, I do kill most bugs and if it happens to be in front of them then it is.  They understand the difference.

You kill spiders too? Do you kill them with a fly swatter or are you brave enough to squish them with a piece of tissue? ;)

Yes, I do kill the bugs but not in front of the kids. Rarely does it happen in front of them. At that moment, I try to make them understand that they are not good for health and very hygienic. They can bite us and leave the microbes in our body which make us ill. 

I love this discussion!

I am the designated bug killer in our house. But we have rules.

1.) All cockroaches will die! No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

2.) No killing harmless bugs, ladybugs, etc.

3.) No killing lizards! They eat the yucky bugs.

4.) Spiders: we make a deal with them, dont come in our house and we won't mess up yours; so, no killing them outside of the house, and no destroying their hard earned webs (unless they are dumb enough to build it connected to the swings. location, location, location!), if they are in the house I will kill them if I can catch them, or if I think it might be one that is poisonous (we've only ever seen one black widow in ten years and it was at a campground we were at)

5.) Fire ants should know better, our yard is not very big and our kids have claim to it. The kids try to watch where they step but the gloves are off when those ants bite my babies! Those suckers are going down!

Other than that we say live and let live.

Oh, 6.) Hornets, bees etc., if you build your nest on my porch, playset, or shed, you're trespassing- trespassers will be sprayed; stick to the trees and we're all at ease!

Okay, I'm done. =•D

Funny Judy!  I agree with most of those!