Being vegetarian and court

[JMKid]

I raise my LO as a veggie. My ex strongly hates this as he is big meat eater. He is complaining about it and hates having to follow the diet. My LO has a very balanced and varied diet aside from no meat or fish, always a healthy wide, very active and not hindered in any way. He is going to raise this issue at our next court hearing. Can they insist I start giving LO meat or insist the ex gives him meat? I appreciate as he gets older he can choose but surely I can decide? Things are very very fraught between us and know this is about control as is everything else he does.

[T0ddlerSlave]

I don't know, but presume he can parent in his chosen manner when he has your LO and you do the some in your time. It's not child abuse to eat meat so can't see them stopping him, but equally can't force you to prepare meat.

[GeneralBobbit]

You can both give him what you want as long as it's not harmful

Neither of you gets to decide how the other parent feeds him obviously

[Petal40]

How old is yr child

[Petal40]

My 6 yr old is able to say clearly he is vegan and will refuse to eat anything not...he's still a fussy toad with food so people do tend to stick to what they know he will eat.he is well aware he dosnt eat animal flesh and has been ,his choice ,aware of it since he was about 4.. So the older yr child gets and the more you explain about being vegi,the more yr child will state what he will and won't eat

[Petal40]

I'd be stressed in yr shoes ,so I would be getting a diary and writing down everything my child ate every day.and a writing next to the meals what what was in it ie ...protein, fibre,calcium.b12 ect ect

[MrsHulk]

It's extremely unlikely they would compel you to feed your child meat: vegetarianism is accepted as a healthy lifestyle for children so long as you're sensible/cautious about making sure they get enough b vitamins etc. You would only need to worry about being compelled to give him meat if the Gp or a nutritionist has said that you're not giving him an acceptable vegetarian diet.

However it's equally extremely unlikely that the court would compel your ex to feed his child a vegetarian diet if he does not want to. Ultimately he can choose his child's diet, while caring for his child, just like you can.

[JMKid]

LO has just turned two. There was no contact for nearly a year through his choose so I have made all the decisions, etc and feel that whilst he may not agree he should at least continue to follow the decisions I have made.

[JMKid]

Thanks Petal, a good idea.

[fastdaytears]

So are you saying that your DS's dad should feed him a vegetarian diet when he has him there, or are you worried that you might have to feed DS meat?

I can't see any way around the former but I can't see any justification for the latter.

[microscope]

You feed him veggie, your ex feeds him what he wants - when the child is old enough he makes up his/her own mind. don't expect the court to impose a veggie diet on your ex.

[Sprink]

and know this is about control...

Yes. From both sides.

[PurpleDaisies]

LO has just turned two. There was no contact for nearly a year through his choose so I have made all the decisions, etc and feel that whilst he may not agree he should at least continue to follow the decisions I have made.

He sounds like an arse. However, feeding your son meat isn't going to harm him. I doubt a court would force you to feed your son meat, bug is be amazed if it stopped your ex from giving it to him.

[JMKid]

Sprink - not about control but about ensuring LO has consistency when in both our care. And until you know the full details please only provide constructive feedback. I was asking for opinions on what might happen nothing else.

[PurpleDaisies]

not about control but about ensuring LO has consistency when in both our care

It doesn't matter if he's given the same food or not as long as he's properly fed. That's the consistency that will be considered important.

[Gmbk]

Of course they won't let you stipulate no meat when he isn't in your care! Can you imagine the shit people would ask for.

You are trying to control your exh by enforcing this.

[fastdaytears]

please only provide constructive feedback

Have you been on MN long? You don't get to decide how people respond to you. Plus, Spink makes a good point.

[MyWineTime]

You will be allowed to continue not feeding your DD meat.
Her dad will be allowed to feed her meat.
Consistency doesn't extend to dictating to your ex what he's allowed to feed his child.

[WannaBe]

Whether your ex feeds him meat is none of your business. You have a vegetarian lifestyle, he does not. Therefore what he feeds his child when he is in his care is his business and nobody else's. Just as what you feed him while in your care is your business and nobody else's.

[Natsku]

You can't force your ex to feed your child a vegetarian diet when he is caring for them, and no court is going to force that unless there are medical dietary reasons. But also you won't be forced to feed your child meat (again, unless there are medical dietary reasons)

[Petal40]

Actually these are all good points and this issue is important,or rather it would be to me if I was in the op s shoes.....like religion ,say if one parent was atheist and the other catholic,could the atheist say no going to church when not on my watch...I sort of had something similar ,ish ,with In laws who decided that they would feed my kids meat when they had them to stay..luckily I stopped them from having the kids till they accepted no meat.....I know it's different with an xh thou,likely to do anything to wind the xw up

[WannaBe]

No. Neither parent could dictate religion (or lack thereof) to the other.

The key here is that they are equal parents (the lack of previous contact notwithstanding) and as such the way they parent is up to the individual, as long as there is no abuse or harm to the child involved.

[JacquettaWoodville]

Op

If you didn't like chicken, say, and never ate it, your ex could feed your DC chicken. Consistency isn't an argument you can win with here.

[Petal40]

Wannabe,does this not leave wide open the possibility of confusion for the child...would the court not get involved in a religion issue

[MrsHulk]

You have absolutely no chance of persuading a court to compel your ex to stick to a vegetarian diet.

Honestly, trying to persuade a court to make such an order will make you look unreasonable and controlling. You'll lose credibility for any other points you want.

It would be totally reasonable to say that as your son has had a vegetarian diet so far, your ex should be careful about introducing meat gradually (too much meat too quickly might be difficult for your son to digest as he's not used to it), but that's the most you can hope for.

This isn't about "respecting your decisions". It's about you learning to respect that your ex is also a parent, and will make his own decisions about his son while looking after him.

[WannaBe]

Petal40 no they absolutely wouldn't get involved in a religion issue. Many parents have differing religions, and when they split up those differences become more apparent. But it is never down to one parent or another to dictate which religion their child can or cannot be taught when in the care of the other parent.

And TBH children are really a lot more flexible and adaptable than we sometimes give them credit for. They will know that one parent does X and the other does y, the issue really is that the child is likely to grow up with one or the other's viewpoint and at some point is going to make their own choices as to which they follow. And it's IMO that which the other parent usually has an issue with, because as parents we sometimes like to think that our children will grow up with our own belief systems etc.