To raise my child as a vegetarian?

[rstuk]

Both myself and DH are vegetarians and we would like our children to be vegetarians too for both health and ethical reasons, however I'm a bit unsure because all of the websites i've checked have conflicting opinions on whether or not this is good for a small child (digestion issues etc) and our parents (non/ex-vegetarians) think we're 'depriving' the child
Help anyone? i'm completely lost

Hmm, the Japanese seem to do OK with a significant traditional consumption of soya products such as tofu GreyWhites From what I've heard it's a very healthy thing to include in our diets, especially in it's more natural forms such as tofu (Meant to be especially good during the menopause and with PMT IIRC)
Also nothing wrong with a thoughtful ideeological perspective IMHO - and I think actually very positive to raise children to think of others in their choices, whether that's animal welfare or the well-being of others sharing the planet.

YANBU at all

(In fact you were being a bit U for even worrying about it)

Ps, I am not even vegitarian

I'm a meat eater and I do think loads of people do eat far to much meat than is good for them nobody actually needs to eat meat especially not every day.

I also have very strong views about the depriving comments,in my experience people who make comments about the poor little children being deprived due to food products ( when those children obviously have enough healthy food) tend to also be the people who have such a lack of imagination with regard to showing love that they can only do so via food, and I think that's a bit shit really.

Either way why is this any of their Buisness? Why are you even having this conversation with them its bugger all to do with them

3 Kids all vegetarian from birth (now 17, 15,12), very fit and healthy, not even slightly chubby, boys both A-team rugby players.

We do take some trouble to feed them lots of greens and pulses and different whole grains. They are very unwilling to try meat, and won't eat gelatine. Obviously, at their ages this is completely up to them.

We do our very best not to talk about our eating habits because people are so prejudiced. It is mildly amusing when our 6'3", very muscular, cool, rugby-playing son tells people he is close to vegan.

I could do better with "greens and pulses and different whole-grains" clara What sort of things/ meals can you recommend ? I quite liked some whole wheat things, a bit like pearl barley, that I tried recently.
You sound very proud of your lovely DCs

"I just think calling it a lifestyle gives ammunition to the stereotyperers. After all, you don't talk about a carnivorous lifestyle, do you?"

Very good point, seeker.

There are so many different grains and beans, and it is fun being vegetarian if you experiment with cooking different ones. Some of our favourites are: black turtle beans, pinto beans, puy lentils, red lentils, red kidney beans, navy beans, then there are aduki beans, black eyed peas, yellow split peas, giant Greek beans, etc, which I cook less often.

We have about 4 or 5 different kinds of rice (my favourite is short grain brown rice), amaranth, whole oats, millet, barley, polenta, quinoa, bulgar wheat etc.

I make different soups, stews, pies, wraps, and so on.

I also use nuts, seeds, lots of herbs and spices, and many different vegetables, as well as tofu, seitan and tempeh.

We eat some cheese and eggs, but not an enormous amount.

Our diet is fun and varied, I think, mainly because I enjoy fooling around with different ingredients. At the same time I am very lazy and never take a really long time to cook anything, and never can be bothered to follow a recipe accurately.

(Thanks for not minding me saying how great my kids are. I hate to come off as smug, but there are always lots of people who thing vegetarians are self-righteous, sickly, flabby, joyless prigs. I guess I want to defend vegetarians from all those accusations. Vegetarians are just like everyone else: some of us are annoying all of the time, some are annoying some of the time, and some are hardly ever annoying.)

& - especially @ your last line clara !

Oh, and the food sounds good at your house

Go for it, OP. Look at the vegetarian society website and don't take notice of what the grandparents say.

I've been a vegetarian all my adult life and my ds, now in his 20s, is a vegetarian since birth. He is moving towards veganism. He's never wanted to eat meat or fish and is repulsed at the idea.

His paternal grandmother said he wouldn't walk unless he ate meat and once he started walking at 1, she said he wouldn't grow well. He passed her height when he was 12 and she stopped saying anything after that. He's now well over 6ft tall and calls me short as I'm under 6ft. If he had eaten meat on my MIL's advice, she'd say that's why he's now so tall.

It's true that you lose the digestive juices needed to digest meat. If you've never eaten meat, your body adapts.

I was vegetarian for over 20 years, I now take digestive enzymes with every meal as I have low stomach acid.

I also used to believe that vegetarian was the healthiest option but no longer believe this to be so. I only buy & eat high welfare meat for my family & don't eat meat out of the house.

The most important thing to consider with regard to growing bodies is the requirement for a high quality protein, it's all very well mixing grains/pulses but the protein is inferior & the volume of food need to be eaten will be very difficult. I assume your DC will eat eggs ? This is the only food where you will find vitamin b12.

My suggestion is you bring your children up as meat eaters - giving organic/free range meats & when they are old enough, then they can decide whether to go vegetarian.

Yes, we all know someone who has gone from veg to meat, but do you really think they're going to detail you their bowel movements etc ?!

I think it's only normal that parents feed their children what they cook when in the house irrespective of the type of diet you have.

As children get older they will pick what they want to eat outside of the house and I think it's right that children are allowed to make those choices and try things when they want.

I think if you truly believe that vegetarianism is the right thing for human beings and you can argue for the supposed health benefits of it then I am surprised you feel you need to question your judgement where your children are concerned. Vegetarianism either is or is not a way of eating that is complete and comprehensive in terms of the nutrients any human being needs.

If you come to the conclusion that it is not a sufficiently diverse and adequate diet to sustain your child and provide optimum health then you should be asking yourself if vegetarianism is the right thing for human beings at all.

Willow that's not true, dairy products are a good source of B12. (As well as Marmite!)

Vegetarianism for my last two children and not the others. Last two are the lardy ones!!

Why would you want to eat something that's so natural for you that you have to "build up a tolerance" to it?

People who have eaten a low fibre/high processed diet have to build up a tolerance to pleanty of veg, legumes etc. It's not unknown for belly ache, toxic fart-i-tus and a bit of "the world just fell out of my bottom" at the start of a significant change in diet. Starting small and building up lets the digestive system adust.

Does that make veg and beans slightly less natural ? No.

two of mine are (one has now chosen to eat meat).

they were brought up in a vegetarian house so that's what they ate.

people judged but that's their problem not mine.

i remember my gp asking what i fed the youngest at weaning age and thinking 'here we go again, more abuse' but he was just interested and said it was helpful for him to pass on to others.

all my children are happy and healthy.

There was no question that i'd raise my son as anything other than vegetarian. He also has no dairy due to allergy. The official advice on soya milk is not to feed to under 2s, though other soya products can be used from 12 months (the evidence for there being a problem is a long way from conclusive, but that is the advice). There are some pretty good recipe books for vegetarian babies and children - the Carol Timperley one has been the most useful one i bought (goes from weaning to toddler), and as others have said there is good advice on the Vegetarian Society (and Vegan Society) websites.

DH & I are vegan. DCS eat cheese, milk & fish. Over time we will phase that out but while they are little it gives them good fats & oils, but we're vegan for health reasons so that is why we'll phase it out when they get to toddlers.

I don't think you can be vegetarian for ethical reasons because diary cows are treated far worse than cows that are destined for steak dinners. Ethically you would be better off eating a big juicy steak than drinking a pint of milk. If you're doing it for ethical reasons you should be vegan. I'm always a bit when a vegetarian tells me they are doing it for ethical reason because is bollocks. That aside, I think it's fine to raise children vegan or vegetarian as long as you have a healthy balanced diet. Just make sure there are plenty of quinoa, legumes and such in your diet.

Plenty of other milk options, quinoa and oat milks are good.

I was brought up veggie so have never eaten meat. Perfectly happy with that, I'm 5'10" and have always been a healthy weight.

DD eats meat, but then so does DH. If we were both veggies we'd be bringing her up veggie as well. FWIW, all my family now eat meat, I'm the only one who doesn't.

My parents used to live above an slaughterhouse in the 70s...kind of put them off for ages!

My family are all vegetarian, which is why I chose to bring DS up as vegetarian.

I occasionally eat meat because DP does but it is only maybe once a year as I have trouble digesting meat, and it usually gives me quite an upset stomach.
the first time I ate meat was when I was 17 I thought I had food poisoning I was so ill, but it just turned out that because I had never eaten it my digestive system had never produced the enzyme required to digest meat.

If I wanted to be a meat eater I could force my body to produce the enzyme, but I don't see the point really.
I'm allergic to dairy so I eat a pretty good vegan diet.

And I don't believe meat is at all beneficial to a person.

I do however think fish can be beneficial, which is why I allow DS to eat it.

I don't think you're being unreasonable, but as someone who was vegetarian from birth to mid-20s, I would never raise my own children as vegetarians. I'm absolutely convinced that meat and fish are necessary for optimal health.

PurpleBananas - whilst I take your point about the treatment of animals in the dairy industry I think you were a little harsh when you said that being a vegetarian for ethical reasons was bollocks (or words to that effect)
I guess everyone draws their own line in the sand (is that the right expression ?) on these things.

Maybe, I didn't mean it to come across as harsh. I have a friend who is forever going on about how he is veggie because he hates the mistreatment of animals and frequently posts on fb links about the poor animals yet he wears leather shoes and belt. Eats loads of diary, sweets containing gelatin etc, I just can't take him seriously. If he said it was for health reasons then fair enough I can understand that. I just find the whole thing a bit hypocritical.