RE: Help with a 3 year old veggie and turkey day

[Guest guest]

Denise,

 

It's amazing how engrained the whole " turkey day " thing is in schools.

My daughter is five and it seems like practically every day this month

they made some sort of turkey in her class as a project. It's

ridiculous. They also taught her that you eat turkey on Thanksgiving. At

five she knows why we don't eat it, but I imagine it has to be difficult

for her to keeping hearing all the turkey stuff, especially coming from

a teacher. My son is three and he also knows. All year long (not just at

Thanksgiving) we talk about why we don't eat animals. We also have some

great vegetarian children's books, a couple that are vegetarian themed.

I think I will write a blog post on this and make a list of those

Thanksgiving books that we read. But I think probably the most important

thing that sticks in their mind is that they have met turkey's. We have

taken them to a sanctuary, where they got to meet live turkeys and touch

them. I try to get them seeing live animals as much as possible (outside

of zoos... but going by farms, the sanctuary, etc.). I think that is

really important to helping them make the connection. Also, when we go

to the grocery store we sometimes go to the meat department and we

discuss the products. I point out what things are...turkey, chicken,

cow, lobsters. I make sure they understand what a hamburger, steak and

ham, etc. are...I teach her the animals, not just a substitute name that

people use. Even seeing those things dead in the meat department helps

them make the connection. I teach them that the red is blood. They hate

the smell, but are curious and check out the department. I take them to

the lobster tanks and we talk about how sad it is.

 

Do you think your ex will give him turkey if he asks for it? If no, then

you don't have much to worry about. All you can do at this age is keep

re-enforcing your values and helping them to make the connection. We

live in a country engrained in eating animals that it can be an uphill

battle for our kids. But it's a battle worth fighting, as far as I'm

concerned. At three he is still too young to make these decisions on his

own. Maybe talk to your ex and ask that he please keep the turkey away

from him. I feel for you...

 

Jacqueline

www.vegblogger.com

[Guest guest]

Hi Denise,

 

This is a really tough one!

 

Here are a couple of options:

 

Provide some Tofurkey or something similar for him to eat

and hopefully his father or whoever feeds him will serve

it to him.

 

If you can find " Twas the Night before Thanksgiving " at the library or

from someone you should read it to him. He may

be too young to " get " this -- or he just really wants

to do what he thinks we are supposed to do on

Thanksgiving -- or who knows!!

 

Here is a link so you can see what it looks like and

get more info:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Twas-Night-Before-Thanksgiving-Pilkey/dp/

0531059057

 

Good luck!

 

Tracy

 

 

On Nov 23, 2009, at 8:50 AM, Denise wrote:

 

>

>

> Hi everyone,

>

> I am having an issue with my 3 year old.

> He is in school, where he has learned about eating turkey on

> Thanksgiving.

> He brought it up a couple of times to me in the past few days.

> I explained to him that we are vegetarians and we do not eat animal

> and a turkey is an animal....

> This morning on the way to school he brought it up again...I said

> to him, you know a turkey is a bird, it is an animal.

> He said " I want to eat it "

> I told him again, we do not eat animals and we talked about how the

> turkey might feel about being eaten...

>

> He will not be with my on Thanksgiving (joint custody). So he will

> be around turkey...

>

> How can I help him understand these concepts?

>

> I already have plans to get some kids books about being vegetarians..

>

> Thanks group!!

>

>

[Guest guest]

Just as an aside, we're sending my son to school tomorrow with a copy of a

story about my family's front yard advocacy: our tofu turkey. It was in

our local newspaper: http://tinyurl.com/ych5y8g

 

Marla

 

> Denise,

>

> It's amazing how engrained the whole " turkey day " thing is in schools.

> My daughter is five and it seems like practically every day this month

> they made some sort of turkey in her class as a project. It's

> ridiculous. They also taught her that you eat turkey on Thanksgiving. At

> five she knows why we don't eat it, but I imagine it has to be difficult

> for her to keeping hearing all the turkey stuff, especially coming from

> a teacher. My son is three and he also knows. All year long (not just at

> Thanksgiving) we talk about why we don't eat animals. We also have some

> great vegetarian children's books, a couple that are vegetarian themed.

> I think I will write a blog post on this and make a list of those

> Thanksgiving books that we read. But I think probably the most important

> thing that sticks in their mind is that they have met turkey's. We have

> taken them to a sanctuary, where they got to meet live turkeys and touch

> them. I try to get them seeing live animals as much as possible (outside

> of zoos... but going by farms, the sanctuary, etc.). I think that is

> really important to helping them make the connection. Also, when we go

> to the grocery store we sometimes go to the meat department and we

> discuss the products. I point out what things are...turkey, chicken,

> cow, lobsters. I make sure they understand what a hamburger, steak and

> ham, etc. are...I teach her the animals, not just a substitute name that

> people use. Even seeing those things dead in the meat department helps

> them make the connection. I teach them that the red is blood. They hate

> the smell, but are curious and check out the department. I take them to

> the lobster tanks and we talk about how sad it is.

>

> Do you think your ex will give him turkey if he asks for it? If no, then

> you don't have much to worry about. All you can do at this age is keep

> re-enforcing your values and helping them to make the connection. We

> live in a country engrained in eating animals that it can be an uphill

> battle for our kids. But it's a battle worth fighting, as far as I'm

> concerned. At three he is still too young to make these decisions on his

> own. Maybe talk to your ex and ask that he please keep the turkey away

> from him. I feel for you...

>

> Jacqueline

> www.vegblogger.com

>

>

>

> ---

>

> 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.This is a discussion list and is not intended to

> provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a

> qualified health professional.

>

> edical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health

> professional.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Good for you, Marla! I think your family has made the news a few times,

haven't you?

Heather

 

 

2009/11/23 Marla Rose <marla

 

>

>

> Just as an aside, we're sending my son to school tomorrow with a copy of a

> story about my family's front yard advocacy: our tofu turkey. It was in

> our local newspaper: http://tinyurl.com/ych5y8g

>

> Marla

>

>

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

OMG Marla...that is so wonderful!  What a great idea.  where did you get the

turkey?

 

--- On Mon, 11/23/09, Marla Rose <marla wrote:

 

 

Marla Rose <marla

Re: Help with a 3 year old veggie and turkey day

 

Monday, November 23, 2009, 6:10 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just as an aside, we're sending my son to school tomorrow with a copy of a

story about my family's front yard advocacy: our tofu turkey. It was in

our local newspaper: http://tinyurl. com/ych5y8g

 

Marla

 

> Denise,

>

> It's amazing how engrained the whole " turkey day " thing is in schools.

> My daughter is five and it seems like practically every day this month

> they made some sort of turkey in her class as a project. It's

> ridiculous. They also taught her that you eat turkey on Thanksgiving. At

> five she knows why we don't eat it, but I imagine it has to be difficult

> for her to keeping hearing all the turkey stuff, especially coming from

> a teacher. My son is three and he also knows. All year long (not just at

> Thanksgiving) we talk about why we don't eat animals. We also have some

> great vegetarian children's books, a couple that are vegetarian themed.

> I think I will write a blog post on this and make a list of those

> Thanksgiving books that we read. But I think probably the most important

> thing that sticks in their mind is that they have met turkey's. We have

> taken them to a sanctuary, where they got to meet live turkeys and touch

> them. I try to get them seeing live animals as much as possible (outside

> of zoos... but going by farms, the sanctuary, etc.). I think that is

> really important to helping them make the connection. Also, when we go

> to the grocery store we sometimes go to the meat department and we

> discuss the products. I point out what things are...turkey, chicken,

> cow, lobsters. I make sure they understand what a hamburger, steak and

> ham, etc. are...I teach her the animals, not just a substitute name that

> people use. Even seeing those things dead in the meat department helps

> them make the connection. I teach them that the red is blood. They hate

> the smell, but are curious and check out the department. I take them to

> the lobster tanks and we talk about how sad it is.

>

> Do you think your ex will give him turkey if he asks for it? If no, then

> you don't have much to worry about. All you can do at this age is keep

> re-enforcing your values and helping them to make the connection. We

> live in a country engrained in eating animals that it can be an uphill

> battle for our kids. But it's a battle worth fighting, as far as I'm

> concerned. At three he is still too young to make these decisions on his

> own. Maybe talk to your ex and ask that he please keep the turkey away

> from him. I feel for you...

>

> Jacqueline

> www.vegblogger. com

>

>

>

> ------------ --------- --------- ------

>

> 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. This is a discussion list and is not intended to

> provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a

> qualified health professional.

>

> edical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health

> professional.

>

>

[Guest guest]

too cute! we have about 3 of these same turkeys in our neighborhood (and even

one at our trader joe's)....but none with the great message!

j.

 

 

 

 

________________________________

Marla Rose <marla

 

Mon, November 23, 2009 10:10:28 AM

Re: Help with a 3 year old veggie and turkey day

 

 

Just as an aside, we're sending my son to school tomorrow with a copy of a

story about my family's front yard advocacy: our tofu turkey. It was in

our local newspaper: http://tinyurl. com/ych5y8g

 

Marla

 

> Denise,

>

> It's amazing how engrained the whole " turkey day " thing is in schools.

> My daughter is five and it seems like practically every day this month

> they made some sort of turkey in her class as a project. It's

> ridiculous. They also taught her that you eat turkey on Thanksgiving. At

> five she knows why we don't eat it, but I imagine it has to be difficult

> for her to keeping hearing all the turkey stuff, especially coming from

> a teacher. My son is three and he also knows. All year long (not just at

> Thanksgiving) we talk about why we don't eat animals. We also have some

> great vegetarian children's books, a couple that are vegetarian themed.

> I think I will write a blog post on this and make a list of those

> Thanksgiving books that we read. But I think probably the most important

> thing that sticks in their mind is that they have met turkey's. We have

> taken them to a sanctuary, where they got to meet live turkeys and touch

> them. I try to get them seeing live animals as much as possible (outside

> of zoos... but going by farms, the sanctuary, etc.). I think that is

> really important to helping them make the connection. Also, when we go

> to the grocery store we sometimes go to the meat department and we

> discuss the products. I point out what things are...turkey, chicken,

> cow, lobsters. I make sure they understand what a hamburger, steak and

> ham, etc. are...I teach her the animals, not just a substitute name that

> people use. Even seeing those things dead in the meat department helps

> them make the connection. I teach them that the red is blood. They hate

> the smell, but are curious and check out the department. I take them to

> the lobster tanks and we talk about how sad it is.

>

> Do you think your ex will give him turkey if he asks for it? If no, then

> you don't have much to worry about. All you can do at this age is keep

> re-enforcing your values and helping them to make the connection. We

> live in a country engrained in eating animals that it can be an uphill

> battle for our kids. But it's a battle worth fighting, as far as I'm

> concerned. At three he is still too young to make these decisions on his

> own. Maybe talk to your ex and ask that he please keep the turkey away

> from him. I feel for you...

>

> Jacqueline

> www.vegblogger. com

>

>

>

> ------------ --------- --------- ------

>

> 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. This is a discussion list and is not intended to

> provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a

> qualified health professional.

>

> edical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health

> professional.

>

>

[Guest guest]

I love it!

 

________________________________

Marla Rose <marla

 

Mon, November 23, 2009 10:10:28 AM

Re: Help with a 3 year old veggie and turkey day

 

 

Just as an aside, we're sending my son to school tomorrow with a copy of

a

story about my family's front yard advocacy: our tofu turkey. It was

in

our local newspaper: http://tinyurl. com/ych5y8g

 

Marla

[Guest guest]

I think it's not too late to adopt a turkey from the Farm Sanctuary:

http://adoptaturkey.org/

 

Let him pick it out, and in a couple weeks he'll get a picture of " his

turkey " and info about it (favorite foods and so on).

My son *LOVES* doing this with us, and we try to adopt animals throughout

the year for him, as a way for him to have a personal connection with them.

He really likes picking out his turkey (this year he picked Olive, because

he thought it was great that her slogan was that she was a lover, not a

platter).

 

Maybe you can print out her picture, after you adopt one, so he can keep it

with him on Thanksgiving maybe as a reminder of what the others are eating

are just like his turkey and maybe he won't be so tempted if he understands

or makes that connection (or you can make it for him)

 

HTH

Missie

 

On Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 10:50 AM, Denise <jayroe wrote:

 

>

>

>

>

> Hi everyone,

>

> I am having an issue with my 3 year old.

> He is in school, where he has learned about eating turkey on Thanksgiving.

> He brought it up a couple of times to me in the past few days.

> I explained to him that we are vegetarians and we do not eat animal and a

> turkey is an animal....

> This morning on the way to school he brought it up again...I said to him,

> you know a turkey is a bird, it is an animal.

> He said " I want to eat it "

> I told him again, we do not eat animals and we talked about how the turkey

> might feel about being eaten...

>

> He will not be with my on Thanksgiving (joint custody). So he will be

> around turkey...

>

> How can I help him understand these concepts?

>

> I already have plans to get some kids books about being vegetarians..

>

> Thanks group!!

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks, guys. Yeah, we work it. We got the inflatable turkey at Party

City; as I recall, they are often discounted after Thanksgiving for you to

use the subsequent years. This is the first year we've had the box with

vegetarian starter kits, which I'm so glad to have. People seem to be taking

them even though our street is residential and not widely traveled.

 

Thanks for the kind words and support!

 

Marla Rose

 

> too cute! we have about 3 of these same turkeys in our neighborhood (and even

> one at our trader joe's)....but none with the great message!

> j.

>

>

>

>

> ________________________________

> Marla Rose <marla

>

> Mon, November 23, 2009 10:10:28 AM

> Re: Help with a 3 year old veggie and turkey day

>

>  

> Just as an aside, we're sending my son to school tomorrow with a copy of a

> story about my family's front yard advocacy: our tofu turkey. It was in

> our local newspaper: http://tinyurl. com/ych5y8g

>

> Marla

>

>> Denise,

>>

>> It's amazing how engrained the whole " turkey day " thing is in schools.

>> My daughter is five and it seems like practically every day this month

>> they made some sort of turkey in her class as a project. It's

>> ridiculous. They also taught her that you eat turkey on Thanksgiving. At

>> five she knows why we don't eat it, but I imagine it has to be difficult

>> for her to keeping hearing all the turkey stuff, especially coming from

>> a teacher. My son is three and he also knows. All year long (not just at

>> Thanksgiving) we talk about why we don't eat animals. We also have some

>> great vegetarian children's books, a couple that are vegetarian themed.

>> I think I will write a blog post on this and make a list of those

>> Thanksgiving books that we read. But I think probably the most important

>> thing that sticks in their mind is that they have met turkey's. We have

>> taken them to a sanctuary, where they got to meet live turkeys and touch

>> them. I try to get them seeing live animals as much as possible (outside

>> of zoos... but going by farms, the sanctuary, etc.). I think that is

>> really important to helping them make the connection. Also, when we go

>> to the grocery store we sometimes go to the meat department and we

>> discuss the products. I point out what things are...turkey, chicken,

>> cow, lobsters. I make sure they understand what a hamburger, steak and

>> ham, etc. are...I teach her the animals, not just a substitute name that

>> people use. Even seeing those things dead in the meat department helps

>> them make the connection. I teach them that the red is blood. They hate

>> the smell, but are curious and check out the department. I take them to

>> the lobster tanks and we talk about how sad it is.

>>

>> Do you think your ex will give him turkey if he asks for it? If no, then

>> you don't have much to worry about. All you can do at this age is keep

>> re-enforcing your values and helping them to make the connection. We

>> live in a country engrained in eating animals that it can be an uphill

>> battle for our kids. But it's a battle worth fighting, as far as I'm

>> concerned. At three he is still too young to make these decisions on his

>> own. Maybe talk to your ex and ask that he please keep the turkey away

>> from him. I feel for you...

>>

>> Jacqueline

>> www.vegblogger. com

>>

>>

>>

>> ------------ --------- --------- ------

>>

>> 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. This is a discussion list and is not intended to

>> provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a

>> qualified health professional.

>>

>> edical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health

>> professional.

>>

>>

[Guest guest]

Hi, We just adopted our turkey from Farm Sanctuary!! My kids chose Rhonda,

because they thought she was beautiful!! Also, they liked that she was in the

NY shelter, and we just moved a year ago from NY to Las Vegas so I guess they

were feeling sentimental about that!! I printed out a larger pic of her and

added " We love our Turkey " on top and her name and little saying under her pic

on the website. I also printed 2 small pics for them to each have. I homeschool,

so we have a large bulletin board in our kitchen, right next to our table, where

we hang all our pictures and things like that. So we hung up her " poster " we

made and we will be remembering her on Thanksgiving. I also explored the

website with my kids, ages 6 and 3 and showed them some of the cute videos they

have. I just take every opportunity to show my kids how beautiful animals are

and how much we love them. To my kids, the thought of eating an animal is so

absurd, but they do start to have questions when they are around other kids who

are not vegan like us. Just take every resource out there you can find to keep

up a positive message to your son....good luck!!

 

, Missie <mszzzi wrote:

>

> I think it's not too late to adopt a turkey from the Farm Sanctuary:

> http://adoptaturkey.org/

>

> Let him pick it out, and in a couple weeks he'll get a picture of " his

> turkey " and info about it (favorite foods and so on).

> My son *LOVES* doing this with us, and we try to adopt animals throughout

> the year for him, as a way for him to have a personal connection with them.

> He really likes picking out his turkey (this year he picked Olive, because

> he thought it was great that her slogan was that she was a lover, not a

> platter).

>

> Maybe you can print out her picture, after you adopt one, so he can keep it

> with him on Thanksgiving maybe as a reminder of what the others are eating

> are just like his turkey and maybe he won't be so tempted if he understands

> or makes that connection (or you can make it for him)

>

> HTH

> Missie

>

> On Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 10:50 AM, Denise <jayroe wrote:

>

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > Hi everyone,

> >

> > I am having an issue with my 3 year old.

> > He is in school, where he has learned about eating turkey on Thanksgiving.

> > He brought it up a couple of times to me in the past few days.

> > I explained to him that we are vegetarians and we do not eat animal and a

> > turkey is an animal....

> > This morning on the way to school he brought it up again...I said to him,

> > you know a turkey is a bird, it is an animal.

> > He said " I want to eat it "

> > I told him again, we do not eat animals and we talked about how the turkey

> > might feel about being eaten...

> >

> > He will not be with my on Thanksgiving (joint custody). So he will be

> > around turkey...

> >

> > How can I help him understand these concepts?

> >

> > I already have plans to get some kids books about being vegetarians..

> >

> > Thanks group!!

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Hi Denise,

We adopt a turkey from the Farm Sanctuary every year, too. It's so much

fun - and we have all the adopted turkey pictures in our dining room as

part of Thanksgiving decorations - revering the turkey. :-) I think

our son, at 3, didn't completely understand the reasons behind our

family decision to be vegetarians, but he understood how much we love

our adopted turkeys. :-)

 

Best of luck! I'll be thinking calm, peaceful thoughts for you as you

both navigate the weekend. :-)

Lorraine

 

 

On

Behalf Of Missie

Monday, November 23, 2009 12:22 PM

 

Re: Help with a 3 year old veggie and turkey day

 

 

I think it's not too late to adopt a turkey from the Farm Sanctuary:

http://adoptaturkey <http://adoptaturkey.org/> .org/

 

Let him pick it out, and in a couple weeks he'll get a picture of " his

turkey " and info about it (favorite foods and so on).

My son *LOVES* doing this with us, and we try to adopt animals

throughout

the year for him, as a way for him to have a personal connection with

them.

He really likes picking out his turkey (this year he picked Olive,

because

he thought it was great that her slogan was that she was a lover, not a

platter).

 

Maybe you can print out her picture, after you adopt one, so he can keep

it

with him on Thanksgiving maybe as a reminder of what the others are

eating

are just like his turkey and maybe he won't be so tempted if he

understands

or makes that connection (or you can make it for him)

 

HTH

Missie

 

On Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 10:50 AM, Denise <jayroe (AT) (DOT)

<jayroe%40> com> wrote:

 

>

>

>

>

> Hi everyone,

>

> I am having an issue with my 3 year old.

> He is in school, where he has learned about eating turkey on

Thanksgiving.

> He brought it up a couple of times to me in the past few days.

> I explained to him that we are vegetarians and we do not eat animal

and a

> turkey is an animal....

> This morning on the way to school he brought it up again...I said to

him,

> you know a turkey is a bird, it is an animal.

> He said " I want to eat it "

> I told him again, we do not eat animals and we talked about how the

turkey

> might feel about being eaten...

>

> He will not be with my on Thanksgiving (joint custody). So he will be

> around turkey...

>

> How can I help him understand these concepts?

>

> I already have plans to get some kids books about being vegetarians..

>

> Thanks group!!

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hello,

 

Hopefully, some of the ideas from others have helped and your son is no longer

interested in eating Turkey. However, if not, you might try asking him why he

wants turkey and listening to his answer. If he is having trouble with the

vegetarian concept at three, there are probably some outside forces that are

worth addressing. Is he getting a consistent message about his vegetarianism

from you, your X, and other caretakers? If not, it will be very hard for a

three-year-old to negotiate those mixed messages. If there is another reason he

is so interested in turkey, you can work on an approach to it once you know what

it is. Now, his environment is pretty controlled, but in just a couple of years

he start having opportunities to make his own food choices.

 

On a different, but related note, my daughter accidentally ate a slice of turkey

when she was three. My husband and I are both vegetarians, and her day care was

always very good about giving her vegetarian food. However, one day, on a make

your own sandwich day, they had a new teacher who was not yet so aware of her

food needs. My daughter put a piece of turkey on her sandwich thinking it was

" pink cheese. " Once she bit into the sandwich, she realized her mistake. She

asked the teacher, who confirmed that it was not cheese, but turkey.

 

When I picked my daughter up that day, she told me about the sandwich incident.

I asked her if she was upset. She said, " no " . I asked how the turkey tasted. She

said that it tasted good. I then explained that we make such mistakes sometimes

and that we just need to move on and not get too upset. I spoke to her teachers,

and felt assured that it was a one-time mistake. Then I forgot all about the

incident until a couple of years later when she brought it up. She now, with

some regularity, talks about that " pink cheese " and how yucky it was. She has

even written some poems about it. Clearly it did upset her to eat it. She is now

seven and the now-yucky " pink cheese " is among her few three year old memories.

 

Good luck with your son. Have a great Thanksgiving and let us know how it goes.

 

--

Sharon

 

 

On Behalf

Of Denise

Monday, November 23, 2009 11:50 AM

 

Help with a 3 year old veggie and turkey day

 

 

 

Hi everyone,

 

I am having an issue with my 3 year old.

He is in school, where he has learned about eating turkey on Thanksgiving.

He brought it up a couple of times to me in the past few days.

I explained to him that we are vegetarians and we do not eat animal and a turkey

is an animal....

This morning on the way to school he brought it up again...I said to him, you

know a turkey is a bird, it is an animal.

He said " I want to eat it "

I told him again, we do not eat animals and we talked about how the turkey might

feel about being eaten...

 

He will not be with my on Thanksgiving (joint custody). So he will be around

turkey...

 

How can I help him understand these concepts?

 

I already have plans to get some kids books about being vegetarians..

 

Thanks group!!