White Post Farms — 8.26.2010

White Post Farms is a great place to go to with your little ones. I've been taking my son since he was two, and he LOVES the animals. Hey, I love the animals! We pack our own drinks and lunch and head out to Melville, NY. It's really quite close to Nassau County and Queens, so don't let "Melville" keep you from going. It's two seconds, literally, off the L.I.E., but I take shortcuts via Hempstead Turnpike and Bethpage State Parkway, or Hempstead Turnpike and then a cross-over north to... oh, you get it ;) It's easy.

It's an enjoyable place to go to for even a couple of hours if not a whole day. They have plenty of animals and activities. The reason I bring my own food is because the food is a bit pricey there and a deli counter really doesn't cut it for me and my son, but the produce is fabulous and locally grown. I think some of it is grown right there at their farm. They have some home baked breads and pies, but we passed on them for fresh sweet corn and organic snacks for Harry's school lunch pack.

Taking your child to a farm is a great way to teach your child kindness towards animals. It shows your child that animals are not just things, but living beings that have feelings like they do. Kids can see that they are happy or feel grumpy, get excited, bossy or pushy, and they see the animals being loving, as my son saw when we watched the piglets with their mom and the mother goat with her kids. Harry even thinks he heard some animals laugh. Hey, you never know.

Teaching children to respect animals from an early age is one of the greatest things you can do for your child. Once they respect their family and peer, and then animals, you have a little one who has already learned kindness, caring and feelings towards others — and not just other humans. Hopefully they will then teach this to their friends. Children need to know that animals have feelings, and it's not just their dogs or cats, but all animals.