Raising your kids vegetarian.

[whatdoyouthinkaboutit]

Raising vegetarian children. It's something I feel strongly on. I'd like a more balanced view, hearing others' opinions. Discuss.

There's nothing to debate. It's a perfectly healthy, balanced diet which meets all nutritional requirements.

Eh? What is there to debate about?

It’s surely not in anyway controversial

Well “discuss” is a bit rude but there’s nothing wrong with children being vegetarian. Millions of people manage to do it all over the world every day.

Not fair on the children, but at least as a veggie they can eat milk, eggs and cheese. (What happens if, when they're older, they decide they want to eat bacon sarnies, sausages and roast chicken?)

We all raise our kids with our own dietary habits. Parents who eat meat tend to feed their children meat. Parents who eat halal or kosher food tend to feed their kids halal or kosher food. Parents who avoid eating beef probably avoid giving it to their children. Parents who avoid dog or snake meat probably avoid giving it to their children. And vegetarians tend to raise their kids as vegetarians too.

As long as children are well-nourished, it's surely just a matter of personal choice, no?

When they start school and go to birthday parties they will eat whst they like but its good to have them eating plenty of vegetables and pulses at home.

Not fair on the children, but at least as a veggie they can eat milk, eggs and cheese. (What happens if, when they're older, they decide they want to eat bacon sarnies, sausages and roast chicken?)

What do you mean, what happens? Surely they just eat the bacon sarnies, sausages or whatever?

Nothing wrong with veggie or vegan. Just as healthy and it's no more 'forcing' your kid than raising them as a meat eater is.

Do you hover over them at kids' party buffetd, imploring them not to scarf the sausage rolls and micro managing their plateful?

At least it’s not as cruel as indoctrinating them into being vegans.

Why is it any less fair than raising your children to eat meat?! In both cases you're making a choice for your kids, why is one worse than the other?

I'm a vegetarian and when I have kids I certainly won't be cooking meat for them at home. They can choose what they eat in restaurants or at parties and they can spend their pocket money on sausage rolls if they like - that's their choice. But they'll eat vegetarian at home, simply because that's what I will cook for them.

French put it much better and more patiently than I could. I’m vegetarian. My husband is vegetarian. So my daughter is vegetarian. If she wants to eat meat when she’s responsible for getting meals herself then that’s up to her. Surely it’s no different from parents that eat meat giving meat to their children?

Why would you need to hover over them at parties? My daughter isn't stupid and has been aware from the age at which she would be picking her own food. She's been raised a vegetarian and has never felt the desire to 'scarf the sausage rolls'.

There always seem to be a lot of projection about vegetarian diets on these threads.

Are you planning to hover, indeed?

I don't understand the big deal... I would have done this if it suited me (but it didn't). I imagine if they were out of house they could try what they liked, even when would not ever buy & cook meat for them.

MNers make food so complicated.

MNers make vegetarianism sound like religion.

I was a vegetarian from the age of 4 until last year. Now I eat mainly plant based, with one or two meat meals a week for health reasons as I was nutrient deficient in a few areas and it was the most natural way of resolving these.
Before I'm accused of being traitorous - all meat I eat is organic, grass/corn fed from either mine or my neighbours smallholdings. I wouldn't touch factory farmed meat but respect people who choose to eat it.
I give my children meat because it's the most complete form of protein and has a far superior amino acid profile to meat free alternatives, with the exception, perhaps, of eggs. We are omnivores, we can survive without meat but I truly don't believe it's ideal from a dietary standpoint - even if ethically I'd rather we didn't have to.
I'm also conscious of the xenoestrogens in soy and similar products - I have elevated oestrogen, and cutting out soy has improved my symptoms drastically.
I had very early onset puberty, and do sometimes wonder if it was down to all the xenoestrogens in my diet as a child, although the hormones in factory farmed meat are, I suspect, as bad if not worse.

As for children being made to follow a vegetarian diet, I gave mine meat as the norm from the start.
My oldest daughter recently expressed a desire to follow a vegetarian diet, which I said was fine as long as she met her nutritional requirements. We looked through what she needed to eat every day in place of meat, and she decided she'd rather have meat then loads of beans and pulses! (She has a nut allergy, so a whole protein source is gone). I did suspect this might be the case, as they all say my meat-free meals look "gross", but I would never force her into eating meat. I just won't allow her to cut out a food group without adequately replacing it.

I guess my actions have also been swayed by the actions of a few vegetarian parents forcing it on their children. I remember one birthday party, as a child, where the mother came in all guns blazing at two of my friends because they'd chosen to eat chicken nuggets at the party.
Just last week, I saw a mother call her son "cruel" and say she was disappointed in the shops for trying to pick a chicken pizza when she told him to choose one!

Vegetarian is absolutely fine. Vegan I'd want to seek expert advice from a dietitian just to make sure I was getting the balance right as there are differences between adult and child needs in terms of diet.

The one important thing you need to do as a parent is respect your child when they are of an age to make their own choices, even if those do not follow what you do. My DD1 is a vegetarian - DD2 and I are not. It isn't a problem. We all eat healthily. I make a point of sourcing vegetarian Haribos, for instance. The switch isn't a difficult one. And yes, some of the things I cook and we all enjoy are vegan.

I am vegetarian, i cook vegetarian food for them, out of the house they can choose what they want to eat

Well it's something that DH and I are doing, so obviously I'm for it. Our children are happy and healthy, are deprived of nothing, and get all the nutrients they need.

Yes it requires planning, to ensure they get all the nutrients they need, but surely the same applies to any kind of diet. Children who are raised on an omnivore diet, aren't automatically getting everything they need from their diet, especially if it's full of junk and processed foods.

When DS1 was born, the first health visitor I saw, almost keeled over when I said he'd be raised on a vegetarian diet. I reported her for her comments, as she basically said it was 'a form of child abuse', and that he'd be very unhealthy. Well he's 15 now (16 in December), only ever had one day off school sick, and yes, he's still eating a vegetarian diet (by his own choice now, as he's old enough to decide for himself).

As for the question above, about what happens when they're older, and decide to eat bacon sarnies etc. Well that's their choice. DH and I have been very clear to our children, that when they're old enough, they can decide for themselves. However, our only rule would be, no eating meat in our home. Until they moved out, they'd be free to eat meat at other places (like a friend's home), or at a restaurant, but again, not in our home.

As it stands right now though, that's not an issue, as DS1 (15), DD1 (13), and DD2 (10) are already a self-declared vegetarians. DS2 (also 10) is currently deciding whether he wants to try meat, and we've told him that when he makes a decision, and if he wants to try meat, we'll take him to a restaurant. DD3 (7) and DS3 (4) are too young to decide for themselves at the moment.

I think it’s exceptionally unfair on the children and you’re forcing them into it.

I brought two daughters up vegetarian. Now grown up they still eat mainly vegetarian, are good cooks and quite adventurous in their tastes.

And they tell me they are pleased about the choice I made for them. Feeding meat is also 'forcing' your choices.

My DS is vegetarian through choice. He was 6 when he flirted with the idea without actually knowing what vegetarianism is and decided to just after his 7th birthday. It's fine, the only times he really notices a difference is when kids bring in haribo sweets for all the class on birthdays. Other than that, his diet is accounted for pretty much everywhere and he's perfectly healthy.

My only gripe is his public announcements about how eating 'dead animals' (his term) is disgusting. People immediately assume this is parental influence but both me and his dad eat meat!

I was raised vegetarian and still am at 32 as my mum was vegetarian. My brother was raised the same but at 14 decided he wanted to eat meat. He ate meat outside the house but vegetarian at home as that was what was cooked. Me and my husband are both vegetarian. We are due our first DD in a few weeks. She will also be raised vegetarian and can chose not to be when she is old enough to buy her own food. I don't know how to cook meat etc and also don't believe in it ethically. I'm not sure why two vegetarian parents wouldn't raise vegetarian children? (Although my MIL does find it a bit surprising....)

My daughter isn't stupid and has been aware from the age at which she would be picking her own food. She's been raised a vegetarian and has never felt the desire to 'scarf the sausage rolls'.

See now that’s exactly where the problems arise with people who raise their children vegetarian. Of course it is a valid and healthy choice and parents who choose to offer their children veggie food only are totally within their rights to do so.

But when you start bringing a moral aspect into it, saying she was raised in that way and has never and will never try anything else. Well that’s just imposing your values and it’s obvious you would be disappointed if she didn’t follow suit.

People raise their children as all sorts of things: Christians, Muslims, Communists, environmentalists, hoorays, hippies. Just because you raise your child in a particular way doesn’t mean they will always blindly follow suit.