But you're willing to let it suffer and die a slow death in an inappropriate habitat? That's called neglect. Nice lesson to teach your daughter.

It'd be best to be honest with her. As many have mentioned, she needs to find out that certain animals die for food, and it would be better if you were the one to tell her this rather than someone else. I know it's adorable to see her very excited about her new "pet," but maybe it's time to let her have a real pet, even if it's just a common goldfish. Plus, that lobster could really hurt your little girl if she takes the rubber bands off of its claws, assuming that they're not already off. You don't have to kill it in front of her, make sure she doesn't see. My mother made sure to teach me from a young age that you eat certain animals, and allowed me to have "pet" crabs while at the ocean, as long as I knew they'd later be eaten. She made sure I never saw them get killed, and I never got mad at her for it. Your little girl probably won't hold a grudge against you as long as you keep a firm, yet gentle approach when you tell her the truth. In the meantime, this would make a good story to tell her when she gets older :)

Also, #147, it honestly makes no difference. If OP were to have cooked it like she was planning to, it still would have suffered a slow, painful death in a pot of boiling water.

Just make the lobster pinch your daughter and she will beg you to kill it

Lobsters don't "pinch" you. They cut your fingers off your hand.

OP for the love of lobsters get Mr. Shelly an aquarium with the proper habitat if you're going to keep him.

Idiot they would kill it first

It's not going to die slow and painfully, it's gonna get old and die comfortably and it won't suffer because it is taken care if and fed.