Guest guest Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 Hi all, my son (3,4 - a vegetarian since birth but doesn’t know about that yet) will go to nursery school for the first time on Friday. He will attend it only once a week until June. We chose Fridays on purpose since sweet (no meat) meals are served on that day. So far so good, but the main problem will come in September when my wife will probably have to go to work and our son will attend nursery school five days a week. Of course meat is served four days a week and teachers are allergic to hear anything about special diets. 1. How do you deal with this kind of a problem ? What kind of philosophy do you hold ? 2. When is the right time for children to realize they differ from 99 % of the society ? Vladimir Czech Republic PS: My wife and me have been vegetarians for about one year - since we found enough courage to tell even our parents „no more meat " . Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 Vladimir, My oldest is almost 4 and she has known all along that she is vegetarian and that makes her different. She does not feel bad about being the only vegetarian at her pre-school. She understands that meat is dead animals (that concept was fully grasped when she was almost 3) and is proud that she doesn't eat animals. We are fortunate that her pre-school is very accommodating and always asks if a food they are serving is questionable. I think it is important for your son to know of your conscientious decision so he can speak for himself when meat is being served. I do not know from experience but have heard that if a long-time exclusive vegetarian ingests meat it will give them painful constipation that would be a painful way for your son to realize he is different. My daughter has spoken up more than once when someone tries to serve her milk and it when it comes from her it seems to have made a more lasting impression than if the information had come from her parents. I wish you luck with the staff of the nursery school. Stephanie (USA) - " Vladimir Profant " <vprofant Tuesday, January 21, 2003 7:17 AM Nursery school Hi all, my son (3,4 - a vegetarian since birth but doesn't know about that yet) will go to nursery school for the first time on Friday. He will attend it only once a week until June. We chose Fridays on purpose since sweet (no meat) meals are served on that day. So far so good, but the main problem will come in September when my wife will probably have to go to work and our son will attend nursery school five days a week. Of course meat is served four days a week and teachers are allergic to hear anything about special diets. 1. How do you deal with this kind of a problem ? What kind of philosophy do you hold ? 2. When is the right time for children to realize they differ from 99 % of the society ? Vladimir Czech Republic PS: My wife and me have been vegetarians for about one year - since we found enough courage to tell even our parents " no more meat " . Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus. For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website at http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to http://www.vrg.org/family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 Vladimir My 3 year old son attends a 'meat' daycare. I pack a vegetarian lunch for him every day. I make sure it is ready to serve which means that the staff are not required to heat it up, mix it together, etc. I told them they could even serve it in the container, just take the lid off. I figure that the less effort they have to make the more agreeable/supportive they will be of the different diet thing. When possible, I give my son food similar to what will be served at the daycare that day. (They are required to post their menu a week/month in advance.) If daycare is serving beef & vegetable soup, I make a veggie soup at home. To be honest, I find it expensive and time-consuming to prepare 'special' meals but it is worth the effort! And, to answer your second question, my son has no problem eating 'different' food. If I don't have time my son gets a different meal to the one they are serving at daycare and doesn't care a bit. Perhaps this is because I limit/monitor closely the food he consumes and he is used to not having things others have. Also, I make sure he knows that I do not consume these 'forbidden' (meat, Coke, candy,etc) foods either. He often talks about who eats meat (just about everyone we know) and who doesn't (me, him, the rabbits, cows, and deer). I have tried to explain what meat is and why we don't eat it but he did not understand. That said, he seems not to worry about being different from everyone else as long as he is not different from me. Good luck, Madeline >Vladimir Profant <vprofant > > > Nursery school >Tue, 21 Jan 2003 04:17:08 -0800 (PST) > >Hi all, > >my son (3,4 - a vegetarian since birth but doesn’t >know about that yet) will go to nursery school for the >first time on Friday. He will attend it only once a >week until June. We chose Fridays on purpose since >sweet (no meat) meals are served on that day. So far >so good, but the main problem will come in September >when my wife will probably have to go to work and our >son will attend nursery school five days a week. Of >course meat is served four days a week and teachers >are allergic to hear anything about special diets. > >1. How do you deal with this kind of a problem ? What >kind of philosophy do you hold ? > >2. When is the right time for children to realize they >differ from 99 % of the society ? > >Vladimir >Czech Republic > >PS: My wife and me have been vegetarians for about one >year - since we found enough courage to tell even our >parents „no more meat " . > > > > > > Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. >http://mailplus. > > > >For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website at >http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to >http://www.vrg.org/family. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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