To say she can’t become a vegan yet

[funnyfairy360]

So my 10yr old DD has announced that she does not believe it is Ok to use animal products any more and from now on will not be eating/wearing/using anything made from animals or produced by animals. She does not even want to be ‘forced’ to sit on our leather couch. Now don’t get me wrong I’m all for her finding her own way in life but this is not just becoming vegetarian or going goth, becoming vegan is life changing and to be honest too inconvenient and expensive for me to make happen for her right now. She said she has the right to choose I say yes when she can pay for the products and cook the food herself .....she wants vegan friendly washing up liquid/shampoo/ soap/ clothes/this list could go on and on. None of the rest of us have any desire to go vegan.

If a 10 year old decided they supported revolutionary socialism, you wouldn't get the whole family attending rallies and selling newspapers on the street.

Maybe not but you wouldn't force them to read Milton Friedman because mummy and daddy worshipped at the alter of neo liberalism either would you?

So why get family life to revolve around one child's new dietary preferences?

It wouldn't it would simply require mummy or daddy to think outside the box and use the supermarket freezer labelled "vegetarian".

It wouldn't it would simply require mummy or daddy to think outside the box and use the supermarket freezer labelled "vegetarian".

Except lots of veggie stuff isn't vegan. It's actually really hard to give a growing kid the right nutrients in a vegan diet without significant planning, which if you are vegan yourself you are happy to do. But the family aren't vegan and don't want to be.

This isn't cooking the occasional meal for a vegan friend, this is taking on a dietary change full time for a 10yo. It's a big responsibility and one OP doesn't feel able to take on.

"Towing the line" is the wrong message to give to a child unless you want them to become a drone.

Absolutely disagree with that. Me & my siblings are far from drones, yet we did what we were told, when we were told. Fads were not pandered to, my parents would never have allowed it.

Coop sells vegan friendly cheap products. They all have a label saying vegan.
Beans are cheap.

Fads were not pandered to, my parents would never have allowed it.

When is a fad not a fad? If a child wishes to take up a musical instrument do the parents refuse because that is also a fad? By refusing requests you a stifling a childs development and critical thinking.

Except lots of veggie stuff isn't vegan

There are far more vegan products available today than there was 5 years ago. Most big supermarkets stock these products.

This thread has been a real eye opener to me. The MN ethos seems to be completely child focussed yet when a child shows signs of developing an admirable moral compass which is a bit inconvenient it's written off as a fad or whim and all the draconian parents pile in.

I suspect this is more to do with vegan bashing rather than a childs development. Veganism has become very popular in the last few years and I've noted more vegan threads on MN, in which posters are very dismissive.

I've been veggie for nearly 40 years and despite being "mainstream" you'd be surprized how many people look at me funny when they find out my dietary preferences.

This is all about insecurity, challenging social norms and people wanting to remain ignorant to the truths of the meat and dairy industry.

I see it more about teaching kids that choices have consequences, and if your choice makes more work for someone else you get off your bum and assist. if parents arent teaching that then no wonder we have a generation of molly coddled litter droppers.

if she is really committed she wont mind.

It's great that she cares enough about animals to want to make lots of sacrifices at such a young age. However there are benefits to kids of eating some animal products such as fish, eggs and milk (vitamin B12, iron, amino acids) that are quite difficult to compensate for with nuts, veggie proteins and seeds.

You could suggest she eats fish, dairy and veggies until she's a teenager and can cook for herself but allow her to avoid red meat and chicken. She could have some vegan friendly household products but not for shared things.

JennaRotersy The NHS disagrees with you, but I assume you are a medical expert? Personally Ive read a lot about B12 deficiency as I am on B12 injections for life. Not diet related in my case, probably due to drugs given to me in pregnancy. But I warn people about it now.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamin-b12-or-folate-deficiency-anaemia/#causes-of-a-vitamin-b12-or-folate-deficiency

My DD became vegetarian at around 9 and then vegan at 13.

I say good for your DD for having her own views and I think you should support her. However, she needs to do her bit too.

Vegan food isn't as hard as I first thought when DD became vegan. Staples for her were fairly simple things like jacket potato and beans, cereal with soy milk, beans on toast or bean toasties, veggie curries with rice, bagels with peanut butter, pasta in tomato sauce - none of this is expensive or hard work.

If she feels strongly about being vegan then there is no reason why she can't prepare most of these foods. Why don't you suggest it?

You have a lovely daughter, OP, who has learned at a very early age it is good to be kind to the planet and to animals. The vegan society have lots of resources that might help her. If you buy the "Bosh" cookery book you could all eat vegan and enjoy the best food you have ever had. If you don't want to cook vegan for everyone there is now a good range of Quorn vegan items and Frys has always been vegan.

I'll add to this that I did take her to a nutritionist and we got a diet plan to make sure she had enough nutrients. She did also take a supplement for iron and vitamin B12.

There are far more vegan products available today than there was 5 years ago. Most big supermarkets stock these products.

You said veggie in your original post which I was picking up on.

But also substituting for example a beef burger with a vegan burger only substitutes the visual issue, not the nutrional. So swapping the meat product for a vegan one will not take in to consideration the nutrional make up of the meal, making it a much bigger deal.

I think the OPs DD sounds wonderful, the fact she's identified something she connects with so strongly at such a young age is great, and I think parents should accomodate it as much as they can, but a full time vegan diet takes effort to ensure it is nutritionally complete. It's fine if you do that for yourself, but to ask someone else to do it for you is unreasonable.

You can be an extremely healthly veggie or vegan but it does take work not to just eat rubbish.
Heam iron and various vitamins and minerals are just easier to get via meat.
I would say you will cook vegetarian and vegan 2-3 days per week and it might be healthier anyway for everyone.
I do think in the UK kids seem to rule the place. Only here do you hear of people talking about teens with privacy and specific dietary habits.

You would be surprised at that you already eat that is vegan. Vegan milk can be long life and cheap dependant on where you buy. There are also loads of varieties.

Let her go vegan but allow her to buy her own personal products eg shampoo etc. Solid bar shampoos are relatively cheap and last way longer than regular shampoos. same goes for solid conditioner.

If it turns out she does not want to continue fine.

I’m going to offend here, but where did she get all this bollocks from in the first place?

My DD9 goes to school, her clubs, plays out and eats what she’s given. Ten year olds wanting a particular lifestyle and diet? I thought that was the preserve of opinionated teenagers finding politics. I’m gobsmacked.

It would be a no from me. Imagine the carry on when you all go on holiday?!

So swapping the meat product for a vegan one will not take in to consideration the nutrional make up of the meal, making it a much bigger deal.

What nutrional shortcomings do you think there are in vegan burgers given that some are advertised as being high in protein?

So a social conscience is bollocks? I rest my case.

My son manages to go on holiday and even eats while he's away. It may come as a shock but all the mainstream pizza outlets actually make vegan pizzas now.

The child is 10 FFS. Since when did 10 year olds get to decide what’s on the menu, other than if it’s a health issue? Don’t us parents have enough to manage, without pandering to this? Fine if the whole family is at it.

If she wants to become vegan then insist she goes the whole hog, so to speak. That means:

• no bread (contains insect fragments)
• no car journeys (tyres contain animal byproducts)
• no bus journeys, or owning a bicycle for the same reason
• any five or ten pound notes in her possession must be given to you (contains animal byproducts)

Almost everything contains or has used animal matter in its production or transport. Technically a vegan should not buy anything that has been transported by lorry, for example, because of the tyre issue.

Unless she only wants to be a "vegan" when it's convenient for her?

Since when did 10 year olds get to decide what’s on the menu, other than if it’s a health issue? Don’t us parents have enough to manage, without pandering to this?

When they got treated as human beings and respected. Perhaps we shouldn't pander to birthdays, christmases, holidays or school given its oh so unmanageable.

Meat burgers: zinc, heme iron, vitamin B12, selenium, niacin, B6, magnesium, lots of omega 3 essential fatty acids (if grass fed), vitamin K2, the full complement of essential amino acids in the human diet, choline, taurine etc

Well I’m on holiday in Italy at the moment and I would not be traipsing round in this heat looking for a vegan menu for a child without special needs. I haven’t noticed a single place bleating the vegan agenda.