To think this is child abuse

[Shelvesoutofbooks]

Warning as this is controversial.
Someone who I know (will try to keep it vague so I wouldn't out myself) has a child who recently ended up in a&e for passing out. This is the 4th time this happened in last 2 weeks but the child has had a fever so has been brought in to a&e. Said child is 3year old and weighs 8.5 kilo and is strictly fed an organic vegan diet. Child attends nursery 5 mornings a week for 3 hrs a day and has lunch there. A vegetarian nursery that has been given the instructions not to give the DC any dairy.

The DC is happy to eat meat and other animal products as when I saw the child at gatherings/parties it has eaten anything with the child's mother not saying anything. But still 98% of the time the child has an extremely healthy diet. (I am very certain of this as)

When the child was brought to a&e and the doctor questioned why the DC was underweight so much the mother simply claimed the child was a fussy eater and refuses to eat. When asked what kind of diet the child has she said everything and that the child is an omnivore.

Now, this was a lie. I was gobsmacked when I heard her say it but didn't want to ask why she was lying.

So far they diagnosed the child with anemia and the child is undergoing dozens of other test to find out "why it refuses to eat". When given some food in the hospital by nurser child happily ate anything it was given.

Ainu to think it's basically child abuse? The poor child is anemic and is passing out because it's not fed properly. I wanted to tell the doctor the mother was lying but my DH said it'd be best to leave it.

I've tried talking to her before how she should be forcing a vegan diet on a child that small but her response was that "meat eaters force their kids to eat meat and other unhealthy stuff, so she can make her kids eat vegan food if she wants to".

I know a woman with a son in my DD's class. DD is 9. This lady claims the child is allergic to everything and he's also a vegan. He's TINY and when he came to mine for a sleepover one day (for 24 hours as the Mum buggered off for longer than she said!) he ate everything he could get his hands on.

I asked him when I saw him with a biscuit "Are you sure you can eat that! It's got dairy and gluten in it" and he said "My Nan lets me all the time and I'm ok. Mummy says I can't that's all"

I don't know what to do about that. He seems happy but thin and what he said made me think that his Gran is aware the diet is bullshit.

That's really interesting, VIOLET - thank you. I had no idea that iodine wasn't included in children's vitamin supplements, as I thought it was a known issue for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians (e.g. iodised salt is the norm in North America to address this) but I just checked ours and you are completely right.

I know so many people going vegan, mainly mothers and often bf ing, this has begun to make me wonder if there will be some health/ development implications as a direct result, unless wisely supplementing.

I noticed oatley contains iodised salt, Ive not personally seen any others.

We supplement with iodised salt

I am sorry, but you said that the child's diet was 'healthy' in your OP. The diet you have just posted is woefully inadequate in calories and fat. Not only NOT healthy, but positively dangerous.

Do you also have food issues? Is this why you did not speak up at the hospital?

I think the U.K. Iodine group have debated/ are considering recommending adding iodine to some foods as they do in America.

Lots of info in the British thyroid foundation newsletters. I'm not sure it's going to happen soon though.

My DC2 was about 20lbs at 3rd birthday. But they had a serious condition and was very ill.

Beached, do you know rda if the salt to get rda of iodine? Does it give guidelines (genuine question)? Often the issue there is the actual salt for a child.

It's an issue amongst teen girls as they often cut back on dairy.

By the way, I found a boots chewable daily vitamin for over 3s containing iirc around half the rda. Complete multivitamin.

I agree that it is child abuse and I would tell a health visitor/doctor etc. Poor kid

Thanks VIOLET, I will have a look for it. This conversation has been very helpful!

OP, I wonder if you might have better results with your friend if you tried to direct her to some good information about healthy vegan diets for children? For example: www.vegansociety.com/resources/nutrition-and-health/vegan-diet-kids-teens-and-pregnancy

violet www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/Iodine.pdf

My SIL is (very helpfully) a paediatric dietitian, so we all eat a lot of sea vegetables 😄

I buy iodised salt too, apparently organic milk has less iodine in it than standard because iodine based disinfectant is not used to wash cow's udders on organic farms. ( I buy organic milk for animal welfare, antibiotic resistance reasons).

I agree that the mum lying about the child's diet is very worrying.

If a parent genuinely believed that they were feeding their child a good, healthy diet, then what possible motive would they have to lie about their child's diet?

It's that rather than the veganism that bothers me, given that it's possible to provide a healthy vegan diet for children (if the parents are properly educated in what a healthy vegan diet for children is).

I had a friend like this. She fed her kids a raw food diet, like the one she followed herself. They were always hungry and cried for something to eat. She only saw sense when a family member (who is a GP) told her, bluntly, that she was killing her kids. They now eat cooked food, and she includes chicken and a limited amount of dairy (goat) in their diet. They have grown significantly and no longer look tiny and malnourished, although their diet is still quite limited.

There is very little fat, carbohydrates and limited protein in the foods listed.

One of my children had food allergies including milk and eggs. It was difficult to keep a balanced diet with enough fats and proteins. Because of the scale of the restrictions of his diet, we worked with dieticians until we were able to wean back on to a broader range of foods. His height and weight was regularly checked and during that phase he was proportionately smaller than his pre-weaning centiles and he seems to have caught up since.

The weight described by OP is incredibly low. My DCs were around that weight at about 6-9 months old. My lean 3-4 year old is nearly double that.

Please report it. A sporadic helping of party food is not going to balance out a heavily restrictive diet more suited to slimming into a party dress ASAP. The child's dietary needs are not being met to the detriment of their health.

Report this please, OP. If the diet is putting the DC's health at risk it can't be ignored.

The food list has made me so for this kid.
Very glad you're going to report it.

I think OP meant 98% 'extremely healthy' as in excessively 'healthy'. So like the menu she posted. Not actually healthy.

OP clarified drip fed that, as I've only just said. She said she meant it was healthy for an adult with supplements, not a child. Not healthy for adult or child unless they're hoping to achieve significant weight loss.

I do hope this isn't, in fact, the DM, as somebody mentioned. I'm sure they wouldn't have so obviously blundered the back story...actually

leave the vegan part out and start from there. If child is anaemic why are they not giving injections or tablets? Anyone can be anaemic even those who eat meat.

Sorry OP but it's total bullshit that you were in the room at the hospital when that child was undergoing tests.

I think you are at best, gossiping, or at worst, a fake poster.

"Example of child's daily meals
Breakfast - chia seeds in water with banana
Snack - apple
Lunch (if at home) - rice with cucumber, celery and peas
Snack- plain biscuits/ nuts
Dinner - bread with jam or hummus, salad and tofu/vegan cheese"

Holy f###ing crap.
Please report to both doctors and SS.

Is the mum a member of some close knit religious community?