Quote Originally Posted by starmom View Post
I suppose I ought not to have used the word "naturalist" since now it is being put into quotations and used.... well maybe in a way that I did not intend.
Darn it. I was afraid posting that half-finished post was going to get me in trouble.

What I was trying to get around to saying was that there are lots of people who will say you shouldn't worry about this or shield your kid from that because it is nature's way, or whatever. Yet many of those same people would be horrified if nature was allowed to have its way with one of their human loved ones. And for kids, the difference between a human loved one and a pet may be unclear or nonexistent.

So it really wasn't aimed at you personally Starmom, even if you were the one who used the word "naturalist" in this thread.

It is hard to know where to find a balance between sheltering kids enough and sheltering them too much, whether it be stuff like this or things like all the violence in the news. Early in this thread Joanna said something about each parent being best able to make the decision for their own child, but she left out that it is often a very hard decision to make.

Definitely this has been a great discussion.