If you're vegetarian and your partners not - what do your DC eat?

[FuzzyLeaf]

I'm veggie and my partner's not, it came up the other day what we would feed our children (none yet), we couldn't come to a conclusion and I'm interested in what other people have done in regards to diet!

What do your kids eat?
How did you decide that or did they decide for themselves?
How did you explain eating meat vs not eating meat in a non biased way?

I'm veggie, DH isn't. Our son is veggie too, and we have a veggie house (no meat in fridge or cooked in kitchen etc - sometimes DH gets a meat takeaway).
Our son's best friend has a veggie Dad and non-veggie Mum, and he is being raised non-veggie.

People always say 'I wanted them to choose for themselves' but did you give them a choice before feeding them meat?

It's always been interesting to me how it works one way but not the other.

Straight - my view is offer them ‘everything edible to a human body’ that is the range of food humans can eat. Anything less that than is you restricting their choice for them

Now personally i think restricting chocolate or sugar is a good thing - and because of my views as a veggie I do keep meat and fish to a minimum level

@Redteapot67

That makes sense. Cheers!

But I do think cutting out completely should be their choice not mine

Both of mine eat meat and fish

No worries straight - I did did spend a long time thinking about it before my dc.

I am veggie, DH is not. DS is an omnivore. I don’t cook him meat or fish (well, I fling fish fingers in the oven, and will get the hot tray a chicken burger is on out of the oven for DS as he is only 8).

We do 50:50 cooking, so DH cooks him meat and fish. I have explained in an age appropriate way why I am veggie for years. DS “I’d like to be vegetarian mummy because I don’t want to eat animals. But they taste so yummy so I won’t be”

I don’t eat meat but my children do. I don’t believe in imposing my beliefs onto my kids.

I honestly don't think you need to do anything you aren't currently already doing.
If one of you doesn't handle or cook with meat then why change?
I also don't think there needs to be any "decision" on how to raise your children.
Surely, you and your partner just cook how you have always cooked and let your future children eat what's been prepared that day.

I’m vegan, DH is pescatarian. I genuinely believe meat is murder (those are my beliefs, and I’m aware many people don’t share them, and that’s fine!), so anyone I’m feeding has to eat what I’m comfortable making them. I can cope with cooking eggs or cheese if I need to but could never deal with meat or fish.

Deciding what to serve up for dinner every night is a choice you are making for your children surely, whether vegetarian or not?!

Our whole job as parents involves making the choices for our children that we feel are best for them. I hope I'm bringing up my children to care for the environment and respect other animals - and a vegetarian diet is key to this.

Of course at some point they might decide to eat meat, and I'm ok with that. But so far it's just not an issue.

There are always veggie options anywhere you eat out, and for parties etc. we just don't make a fuss. My DC know to just eat the bits they want. Occasionally for a party I've let the hosts know DC are veggie and it's never been a problem.

Not eating meat is just life for them. They've literally never (even as toddlers) reached for a sausage roll or begged for a chicken nugget. It's as alien to them. Meat doesn't register as a food really.

I'm vegan, DH is a recent pescatarian, DD is a pescatarian who would like to be a vegetarian and poor DS is an avid meat eater.

If I'm cooking it's vegan and they can add butter, cheese or whatever they like. If DH is cooking he usually tried to squeeze some fish or eggs in to the DC as he feels its good for them.

DS is a teen and is happy with his food although I buy bacon or pop corn chicken crap for him to cook sometimes and he eats meat when we go out about 50% of the time.

Im veggie and my partner is not. We only have veggie food in the house and everything we cook for us and the children is vegetarian. However my husband eats meat sometimes when we are out. If he takes the children out on his own or is at home cooking for them on his own I would imagine he may buy or cook meat for them. I think that is up to him.
I dont personally want to handle or cook meat or have it in the fridge at home. But what everyone else does is up to them.

So my children mainly have a vegetarian diet because I do the majority of the food shopping basically!

Redteapot I never found ensuring DD didn't eat meat or fish out of the home an issue.

I think she quite likes the fact that she's been veggie since birth. I know DH is quite envious of that! So I don't believe that any harm has come to her from my decision.

I'm vegan, dh is pescatarian at home (meat eater when out) and our children are veggie. My dh doesn't cook and happily eats mostly vegan meals so that's what we feed our children (1 dd at the moment another due in a few weeks) mhe also agrees with me ethically but not strongly enough to do it himself so is happy for our children to be brought up veggie. If they choose to eat meat when they're older then that's totally fine and we do discuss the people who eat meat/fish in our family as their own choice.

I'm a veggie. DH is not and comes from a culture where vegetarians are viewed as oddities and with extreme suspicion .

I have always fed the DC meat and cooked DH meat before we had DC. I feel they need the nutritional value of it while growing. All of them adore it. I sometimes leave the table when they're all sat there chomping and gnawing on chicken bones or sucking on lamb bones

I'm vegetarian, DH is not. We do have a lot of vegetarian meals, but the DC eat meat and fish and know that if they want to do so, that's cool, and if they want to be veggie, that's cool too. I really wouldn't feel comfortable telling the dc (or anyone else) that they had to make the same dietary choices as me.

But mostdays surely you've been making dietary choices for your children since the day they were born? Choices based on your own personal morals, views and what you feel is best for them? Breastmilk or formula, purees or baby led weaning, homemade or shop-bought, school dinners or packed lunches, free reign on sweets and treats or only on occasions?

Making choices like these for your children is the essence of parenting. That's what we all do every day.

When my children were tiny I made the choice that I would feed them a diet that didn't contain meat or fish (because I feel it's healthier, better for the environment and kinder to animals). Now they are older and can understand the pros and cons I'm very happy for them to make their own choices.

When they couldn't make a choice, of course I made choices for them. Not giving a choice to someone incapable of making one is hardly the same thing as dictating to someone with the capacity to decide for themself.

I'm veggie, DH is a meat eater ( and a terrible non veg eater ). Our boys are both meat eaters. DS1 couldn't be veggie as he will only touch minimal vegetables and is allergic to most fruits. DS2 could be vegetarian as he loves veg etc but there's no way he'd give up meat!