Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think vegetarian mums are selfish?

349 replies

lisabd345 · 02/10/2018 16:23

There's a woman on my Facebook who has a son 6 years old.
She's a vegetarian and she's made sure her son is too.
She's just posted that her son is suffering from iron deficiency and GP has said it's probably due to his diet and the fact he doesn't eat meat....and the GP has gave him medication to take every day and he is crying about it ..so she's asking what to feed him to bring iron levels up.
Aibu to think he should make a decision when he's older if he wants to be vegetarian and not have it forced upon him?

OP posts:
Charlie97 · 04/10/2018 19:13

Are vegetarian dads selfish......this is the most goady thread ever!!!

pennydrew · 04/10/2018 19:20

LydiaLunch9 🙄 however you raise your children, you’re effectively indoctrinating them then, using your logic. People are raising their children they way they think is a good way to live, according to their own morals. Saying that’s ‘indoctrination’ just because they’re different morals to yours, is extremely intolerant.

LydiaLunch9 · 04/10/2018 19:24

Lol penny I copied and pasted a PP and replaced meat with chocolate. Think it went right over your head.

ivykaty44 · 04/10/2018 19:27

So if a carnivore mother has a child with iron deficiency is she also selfish for feeding her dc a crap diet?

LydiaLunch9 · 04/10/2018 19:28

So if a carnivore mother has a child with iron deficiency is she also selfish for feeding her dc a crap diet?

Yes, but actually not just her but ALL people who feed their kids a diet that includes meat.

pennydrew · 04/10/2018 20:27

LydiaLunch9 Right over my head! I thought you were the other lady 🤦🏽‍♀️

SherbrookeFosterer · 04/10/2018 23:23

I am not a fan of anyone who omits a food group from their diet.

But I draw the line at any so called vegetarian who does not soak beans and pulses overnight and know how to make them into varied, nutritious & enjoyable meals, especially if they impose their food fetish on dependents.

AssassinatedBeauty · 04/10/2018 23:44

Yet again, vegetarians do not cut out a whole food group from their diet. And it isn't a bloody food fetish, no more than meat eating is. And every set of parents imposes their food choices on their dependants.

Also no need to soak beans and pulses overnight. You can buy them in cans.

Tantrumschmantrum · 04/10/2018 23:57

There's iron in loads of things non meat. Potatoes, green veg, on fortified cereal in certain bread. It's not about being veggie, it's about learning what makes a rounded diet and fills any gaps that not eating meat would leave.

PillowOfSociety · 05/10/2018 00:02

Sherbrooke, do you omit insects from your diet? The grubs and locusts common in the diet of many countries? Is insects a food group you omit?

Or is the ‘food group’ protein included in other items?

PillowOfSociety · 05/10/2018 00:03

“Also no need to soak beans and pulses overnight. You can buy them in cans.”

Or frozen, or fresh.

ivykaty44 · 05/10/2018 06:01

There are a whole lot of parents that never feed there children pulses and deprive them of a whole food group in the process

SoyDora · 05/10/2018 07:21

Some of the people on this thread need to sit in a corner and write 100 times in their best handwriting:

Meat is not a food group

ivykaty44 · 05/10/2018 10:32

Soydora 😂😅😂😅

HeckyPeck · 05/10/2018 10:36

Some of the people on this thread need to sit in a corner and write 100 times in their best handwriting:

Meat is not a food group

🤣

Charlie97 · 05/10/2018 18:56

@SoyDora GrinGrinGrinGrinWinkWinkWink

Ladyflop · 06/10/2018 01:26

Sorry you lost me at a doctor giving nutritional advice.
You sound a bit thick and very narrow minded actually.

Benandhollysmum · 06/10/2018 01:52

Touchy subject this

Did you know humans were never supposed to eat meat, our teeth aren’t made for ripping into it and our stomachs don’t digest it like other meat eaters..we evolved for some reason a few million years ago some humanoid decided they fancied a steak and that’s why we eat now. But technically we are meant to be Berry and veg eaters
We are omnivores we can eat both meat and veg
So it don’t matter what we will get what we need from what we eat..

So u worry about your burger and chips (as example)and let her worry about her nuts and broccoli smoothies (as example)
All kids will be fine with full bellies and loving home

Gettingstronger2 · 06/10/2018 02:16

One thing I would like to say is that I can understand why her son was crying about the medication. My Daughter when having iron supplements had extreme stomach pains. The pains were horrendous. I really hope he gets off that supplement soon. My Daughter had a terrible diet and we as parents knew why but ‘professionals’ would not believe us until it got to such a serious stage that eventually between diagnosis and the op she needed was only 5 days! There can be more going on in background than just a particular type of diet. Which I hope in this case there isn’t, but one should never judge.

OkPedro · 06/10/2018 02:58

Sorry to derail but I've just discovered that vegetarian's eat dairy products but not animal meat. Why is it ok to use the milk from cows and the eggs from hens? If I was a veggie because I cared about the animals then I'd be vegan

Charlie97 · 06/10/2018 07:53

Sorry to derail but I've just discovered that vegetarian's eat dairy products but not animal meat. Why is it ok to use the milk from cows and the eggs from hens? If I was a veggie because I cared about the animals then I'd be vegan

You e just discovered that vegetarians eat dairy.... WTF!

You'd be vegan if you cared about animals? Well go you!!

I'm not a vegetarian so won't answer your questions but to tell vegetarians they are wrong for eating dairy but not meat is remarkable from a meat eater!

silentseas · 06/10/2018 08:25

Sorry to return to this thread so late.
@pennydrew my choices were not made for ethical reasons so I don't necessarily see what I feed my children in this light. My emphasis for them is to not limit their choices, we eat vegan and vegetarian meals as well as ones containing fish and meat (for them). I feel it is my responsibility to introduce them to as broad a range of flavours and foods as possible so they are making a choice. This does not involve letting them eat whatever they want - quite the opposite. Children are very capable of limiting themselves given half a chance and mine both definitely try to! I just keep making them eat a small amount of whatever it is they claim to hate (carrots for eldest, peas for youngest as an example). I don't disagree with vegan or vegetarian parents feeding their children the same diet as them just for me my choice was not to impose this limit. I never once said I thought it was selfish to bring a child up as vegetarian just that for a personality such as mine it would be the same as imposing a lifelong diet on me as I would most likely not branch out from that.

Blueorredpill · 07/10/2018 17:23

No their not!

ksa103 · 07/10/2018 17:31

YABU.
I think the parents being selfish are the ones who force meat and dairy onto their kids. Particularly processed meats which are known to be carcinogenic. The parents who think it is OK to teach their kids that abusing animals is fine and normal.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.