The Circus...here we go.

[infomama]

DD1 came home from school with a little flyer about a local circus next weekend and just about lost it when I told her we weren't going. I don't like the circus due to the mistreatment of animals and I won't support it by taking my kids to them.
Then I had to figure out a gentle way to explain it all to her and it turned into a big fat mess. Anyone else in my boat?

[SnuggleBuggles]

I have the same circus feelings and am lucky ds has been satisfied with my saying that they aren't a good fit for our family. It's been a few years since I have had to explain it though. I think he would get it because he is very into nature and respecting it. I guess I would be in the bribery camp and offer up a trip to a local farm or something on that day instead.

Beth

[JoyNChrist]

We did the circus a few months ago. It ended up costing us $75 for me, DH and DS (tickets, snacks, some crappy plastic toy they were peddling). The acts weren't great and the animals looked miserable.

Never again.

[Piglet]

Ugghhh... I hate the circus. Even as a kid, it never really appealed to me. I am glad we have not had any pressure from the kids to go.

[PearlsMom]

Well, are you sure this is one of the bad circuses? I remember going to one as a kid that didn't have any animals at all-- I was a little disappointed, but it still had clowns and acrobats and trapese artists and such. Maybe this is that type?

If not, I love the idea of going to a farm or petting zoo or aquarium or someplace else that you feel treats animals humanely. My grandparents used to live close to a farm where they bred and trained seeing eye dogs, and the public was encouraged to visit the puppies to help socialize them - so fun!

BTW, what is the school doing promoting the circus, anyway??

[infomama]

Well, are you sure this is one of the bad circuses?

BTW, what is the school doing promoting the circus, anyway??
The flyer has a horse up on his back legs and an elephant standing on a step so ya...animals will be in the show. I have no idea how this marketing gets into the backpacks...very bothersome.

[khalloc]

I am not a big fan of the circus. I dont think the animals should be used the way they are. But my mother had her heart set on taking DD to the Ringling Brothers Circus in Boston last fall. We went. It was fun. It made my mother so happy she was crying! For that it was worth it. I guess she really had her heart set on bringing her grandkids to the circus...As an aside, it did seem like they were limiting the use of the exotic animals. We barely saw the elephants and tigers. They did a bunch of tricks with dogs though, Australian Shepards and it seemed like the dogs were enjoying it. Running around chasing frisbees and stuff. Alot of it was acrobatics.

[truly scrumptious]

What about Cirque du Soleil? Not sure if there is one in your area any time soon. But you could tell her instead of going to the "small" circus you'll take her to the "big" one. Of course, it is much pricier, so I don't know if that'll work for you. But no animals involved and way cooler than the regular circus anyway.

[newnana]

Cirque Du Soleil was exactly what I was going to recommend. Check out their new arena tour for local listings. Pricey, but much more in line with the ethics and still on the fantastic side. I'm currently trying to convince DH:

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/alegria/default.aspx

[boolady]

DD1 came home from school with a little flyer about a local circus next weekend and just about lost it when I told her we weren't going. I don't like the circus due to the mistreatment of animals and I won't support it by taking my kids to them.
Then I had to figure out a gentle way to explain it all to her and it turned into a big fat mess. Anyone else in my boat?

I'm not yet, but I will be, because we won't be going to the circus. I am hopeful that by using one of the lines a pp suggested, like it's just not for our family or a good fit for our family, that will suffice. We'll see.

[JoyNChrist]

Ooh, yes. DH and I went to Cirque Du Soleil and it was amazing. Might depend on the age of the child though...I think an older child might appreciate it more.

[ChunkyNicksChunkyMom]

DD1 came home from school with a little flyer about a local circus next weekend and just about lost it when I told her we weren't going. I don't like the circus due to the mistreatment of animals and I won't support it by taking my kids to them.
Then I had to figure out a gentle way to explain it all to her and it turned into a big fat mess. Anyone else in my boat?

ITA, my DH and I went before kids and were horrified! The animals looked drugged, we will never, ever go back!

[MamaSnoo]

FWIW, we went to a small circus that had mostly acrobats and clowns and 2 brief acts with trained dogs. The dogs are all rescues, and just did cute tricks. They looked very healthy and seemed to be enjoying doing the show.

This was very entertaining to DD, and I did not have the ethical concerns that I have with the shows with large animals. So maybe your family would like something like that or cirque.....

Sadly, a different circus had a zebra escape here in town last year. The zebra ran through downtown and onto the freeway before it was captured. Ultimately, they euthanized the animal because running on the roads had done so much damage to his hooves. It was so sad, and just another reason to not support those types of shows.

[infomama]

Looked into Cirque but it's not coming 'to a town near us' anytime soon..bummer. I would gladly spend the money to take them family to a show like that. DH and I have never been and I have heard they are just fantastic. I would love to see the day when circuses (with animals) are no more. Here is a link to some good info from The Humane Society (for those of us who don't want to look at PETA's circus site) http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/issues_facing_wildlife/circuses/circus_myths.html

[Cuckoomamma]

DD read a book called, "Saving Lilly" about a class of kids buying an elephant in order to send it to a rescue/preserve type place (word escapes me now). The teacher in the book wanted to take the class to the circus and two of the kids "educate" the class and the teacher about the mistreatment of animals in a circus.

I don't know how old your child is, but you could always do it as a read aloud. DD read it at 6, so the concepts are explained simply enough and not too graphically for little ones.

It cured my daughter of any desire to go to a circus with animals :-)

[sunnyside]

This is an issue very close to my heart. I'm a circus fanatic and went to an actual circus school for 8 years. (Yes, I can do flips on a flying trapeze to a catcher!).

I highly recommend Cirque du Soleil, however if you look around there are other smaller circuses in that vein, and you just have to look a bit.

I think most cities have something like that.

Anyway, I'll be watching this thread to see what others think.

[vejemom]

I think Cavalia is supposed to have a pretty good track record for humane treatment of their horses. I've not seen it, but it supposed to be amazing.

[1964pandora]

Yeah, I think we're in transition. IMHO Ringling Bros. and the like are the circuses of the past and Cirque de Soleil and the like are the circuses of the future. I think it's a tad difficult just because society's standards are evolving and we're in the middle of a dramatic change in tastes. I mean, my husband's father used to take him to see a bear wrestler, (just outside Washington, DC, not even in the boondocks) for chrissakes. Personally, I don't know anyone who would take their kids to an animal circus anymore so I know that something is really changing. When I was a child, we all went to the animal circus.

[JoyNChrist]

I'm a circus fanatic and went to an actual circus school for 8 years. (Yes, I can do flips on a flying trapeze to a catcher!).

That is so freaking cool! :)

[Melanie]

I would simply say we were not going, and leave the thoughts of humans being cruel to animals for later years.

I don't always explain to my children why we do or do not do things.

[sunnyside]

I saw Cavalia years and years ago when the show was first created and it was mesmerizing. I am sure they take care of their horses, it is much more like a Cirque du Soleil show.

JoyNChrist - Thanks! I miss it so much. I"ll tell you, if there are any kind of circus classes that you can take for exercise, it is way more fun than the gym. That's how I got into it. But I don't want to hijack the thread.

[wellyes]

That's a hard one. Sorry you have to deal with that. Maybe you could raise it with the administration that circuses are controversial / questionable and not a good choice for a school trip. Not to cancel the current plan, just so that they're a little more consciencious in the future.

[infomama]

That's a hard one. Sorry you have to deal with that. Maybe you could raise it with the administration that circuses are controversial / questionable and not a good choice for a school trip. Not to cancel the current plan, just so that they're a little more consciencious in the future.
Oh man if this was a school trip I would probably be on the horn in the morning but this was just a little flier (looking closer it was a child's admission ticket) for this circus coming to town. Dd1 is starting to come down, thankfully.

[DrSally]

We went a few years ago with a friend who had tickets. DS immensely enjoyed it and talked about it for months to come. I was appalled by the use of the animals. Totally unnatural (making tigers jump through fire) and sad. There were people picketing outside when we arrived and DS asked about it (he knows what protesting is from the book "Edwina". He keeps asking about going back, but I really can't in good conscience. I would love to find something that didn't involve animals. It was more the atmosphere and "so many things to look at" and the dark (we brought glow sticks) that was exciting to him.

ETA: I haven't had that talk with him about why we're not going, so I don't have many tips. If I could find an alternate circus, that would help alot, I'm sure.