DS will be going on a school trip to Twycross Zoo

[BananaFruitBat]

I really really hate zoos. I won't go to zoos, I wouldn't take DS to a zoo. I'm not comfortable with him going.

I can't let him miss the trip though.

Or can I?

Am I being unreasonable to hate zoos so much?

Should I let him go? I really don't know.

i agree, you shouldnt push your own views on your kids.
i understand why some people are against zoos, but on the other hand it is the only way alot of people and children would ever get to see animals and amire their beauty,
its because of twycross my eldest son has decided on a career in wildlife thanks twycross

Never been to Twycross but dd and I have had some lovely days at Chester zoo where I don't remember any of the animals looking particularly miserable and they have some very good, spacious enclosures. I have been to Drayton Manor in the past and wasn't particularly impressed with the whole place. It was a good few years ago though but in comparison to Chester zoo it was poor so if this is your only recent experience of a zoo maybe you should reserve judgement. A visitors map on a web site with no scale is hardly a good indicator of the type of conditions the animals are being kept in.
Anyway, in answer to your question as to whether or not you should allow your ds to go..... your ds so your choice but maybe the experience would be valuable to him if only to help him better understand why you don't like zoos.

I would certainly let him go. My ds wants to be a zookeeper when he grows up. He adores Woburn, loathes Colchester, likes part of the Aspinall zoos but not others. Primates in cages make him sad. He plans the zoo he will work in, and knows a ridiculous amount about animals.

I read the obitury a while back of a young man who worked on rhino conservation. The start of his (tragically short) life-long love of rhinos was an encounter at Port Lympne. Just the same as DS. And if he goes on to do what this man id, I would be trmemdously proud of him.

They have big fields and paddocks at Marwell.I also like Longleat.

I don't think that you should put your views onto a child-of course he is isn't going to ponder the ethics of zoos at 5yrs! It takes longer but he can't start until he goes in the first place! He may want to be a zoo keeper when he grows up- there is no reason at all why children should have the same views as their parents.

gardeningmum05 - FGS why would I make my children eat something I believe is bad for them (AND the environment AND the animals)???? Why do you assume it's the veggie parents, not the meat eating parents, that are doing something harmful??

I don't understand why people are saying you shouldn't 'push your views' etc on your child. It's called parenting.

As it happens I hate zoos as well. I wouldn't stop the LO going on a school trip and she has been to zoos, but she (at 3) understands why it's not nice for the animals to be in cages (or relatively small running areas, compared to the wild, of even places like Longleat), but she also understands that some of these places prevent extinction etc and are valuable (not that she'd tell you that using those words!).

She also understands that school trips are a LOT of fun, regardless of where you go and even if you have to do BORING work

You obviously bring your DC up according to your views-you just have to be aware that they may eventually totally disagree with you, alternately they might totally agree or they might not be bothered either way.That is the joy of parenting-you don't know at 5yrs. They are their own person as they develop.