What to do w/ 5 year old being away from home in an omni setting?
Our daughter just turned 5 and as I said in my first post here, she decided to go Vegan back in July of 09, we've been doing okay, I'm obviously not new to it.
But here is my question (or few.)
My Hubby is pure Omni. that will never change (sadly) and so are his parents, well they are the only people who watch our daughter, my family for various reason can't.
The problem is they live 8 hours away, so when they watch her, they really watch her, right now she is at there house and will be until the 27th!
I asked her if she wanted to go and of course she did, everyone needs a vacation, and I told her that they wouldn't have very many vegan things, if any, she accepted it and went.
I'm just worried...we didn't even say anything to them about her being Vegan so right now I am feeling a HORRIBLE amount of guilt.
At the same time she already can't have dairy, so that puts them in a bit of a bind never being around a child with an allergy like hers before.
So I dunno, do I leave it alone and let her make her own choices and be non-vegan while with them or what?
I don't want to sit down and "train" them in the do's and dont's of this lifestyle ya know?
Ugh, any help is appreciated.
Idk what your financial situation is, but if I was in your place I would make as many veg friendly meals as possible and freeze them for her or send as much veg ingredients as I could with her. That way they don't have to go out of their way to buy separate groceries (if that's an issue). Good luck, must be tough.
Caveat: there are many others here more qualified than me to advise, since my own child was a late teen by the time my food ethics got to where they are now... hopefully those folks will chime in also, but for what it's worth...
Have you talked to your family, not necessarily in an in-depth way as to why, but just generally about your daughter's desire to eat animal-free food? If they know it will make her happy, and only see her sometimes... grandparents like to make grandkids happy; maybe if you present it this way, they could make it a 'fun' thing, going to the grocery store with her, and picking out some things together? (Maybe you could make the point that 'that's something her other grandparents would never do with her,' if true!) If they understand that it's something SHE wants to do, maybe it doesn't have to go further than that, as far as the whys...
When you talk you your daughter by phone, have you asked if she's ok with the food there? Would she like for you to talk to them about going grocery shopping for some vegan food? If so, what would she most like? It would probably help if you could give them specific recommendations; OR, you might hear that she's already straightened them out about it, and they've got plenty of fruit/ veg in the house & she's feeling really fine about the whole thing...
If she ends up eating omni food while she's there, you might casually work into conversation -- at some point later -- that someday she'll be old enough to be in control of what she eats all the time... if she's aware of the ethics aspect of food choices, it'd maybe be good to make sure she doesn't feel bad about eating non-vegan, in a situation where there wasn't any other choice for a 5-year-old.
IDK if that's helpful... family's always a challenge, isn't it?! Good luck!
Tough...Why haven't you told them ya'll are vegan? I think, at this point, your daughter will probably turn down the meat, and they already know she can't have dairy, so she'll probably be pretty close. After this, though, you should bring it up. Then, next time, they'll be prepared. You can spend time telling them about her favorite foods and stuff, and it won't be all at once. I don't know how your child will be about the food, so it's hard to tell, but they'd probably appreciate the help, so they don't have to deal with what they might feel is a "picky" kid? I know I'd be worried about letting my MIL watch her--especially for so long--food wise she might run out of ideas. But maybe if you supplied them with a list next time, of easy things...Like spaghetti w/ veggie marinara, hummus, beans and tortillas, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, you get the idea. Sorry for the rambling. :) Good luck!
Why don't you get a copy of the book That's Why We Don't Eat Animals and have her ask her grandparents to read it ;)
http://www.wedonteatanimals.com/
I completely understand my entire extended family and husbands fam are omni. My daughter is 11 now but when she was little i was kind of a lunatic about our veg lifestyle. Just let the in laws know she doesn't want meat and dairy and let the oreos slide. I don't really think not feeding your child animals is that much of a burden. But will they ever understand that stock , gravy etc. is not ok ? Probably not. But if your girl has developed the enzymes to digest those things your lucky she wont get sick. Honestly I'm a food sender. Have no shame. Good luck.