To think vegetarian mums are selfish?

[lisabd345]

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?

So now all vegetarian mum's are selfish? Utter bollocks and very judgemental.

Yes because all meat eating parents (fathers too) feed their children a 100% healthy balanced nutrient-rich diet don't they?

YABU, kids on all sorts of diets can get deficiencies! She isn't being selfish, just needs to sort out her meals better

Cant imagine any decent person with a conscience eating meat personally. The child will be o.k he just needs some spinach,lentils etc.
Sounds like she needs to google "foods with iron in".

I know several people who eat well and can still have an iron problem.

Stop judging and get a hobby

Yes I know a vegan & gluten free child, totally controlling behaviour. Means the kid can't have school dinners and go to parties. Just why would you do it? I go on restrictive diets but I always have everything from crisps, chocolates, full fruit bowl and meals just to heat up. My parents went on restrictive diets and didn't buy any nice stuff. The only cheese was cottage, skimmed milk, apples and no treats. It wasn't a health kick they both smoked and drank plenty. All my pocket money went on food. It's totally selfish not to think of what the child would like or benefit from and verges on narcissism.

A vegetarian diet is on average healthier than a meat one. Any poor diet will leave kids badly nourished. And if we're talking about selfishness, there's overwhelming evidence that it is us meat eaters causing climate change, because the single biggest contributor is meat production. We should all eat less of it.

And you and I are actively choosing to feed our kids meat, too. That's not a baseline position and all others are wrong, just because it's our own, and what most people do. In other cultures nobody eats meat much, or at all.

Parents who feed their kids unbalanced diets without cause are shit parents. But that would apply to a diet of nothing but daily beefburgers and chips, too.

The only cheese was cottage, skimmed milk, apples and no treats.

In isolation this sounds totally fine and healthy?

Starfishsandwich it was awful!

@Neweternal can I ask why you're saying that all vegetarian parents are selfish/verging on narcissism, based on your experience of a vegan, a gluten-free child and your own upbringing?

Also, can you explain why you feel a vegetarian diet is restrictive?

Assiniatedbeauty our of curiosity when do you allow your child to choose what it's diet is? If children can now decide what gender they are surely they can decide to have pork sausages and mash for school dinners? Or a Big Mac at a kids party? Why is it your choice?

He's probably better getting iron from healthy vegetarian sources that red meat, which isn't necessarily healthy just because it's high in iron.

There are plenty of iron rich vegetarian foods, he just needs more of them in his diet.

I’m vegetarian and my kids eat meat. So yes yabu to call all veg mums selfish.

Yabu for lumping all vegetarian mums together and assuming that vegetarian mum = vegetarian child. I am a vegetarian but my toddler son isn’t. It’s a choice I made and I’d rather leave that choice to him when he is older. If I was raising vegetarian children I would make sure they were getting all the right nutrients just like I am now. Don’t see how that is selfish.

Neweternal it's my (and my partner's) choice exactly as it's your choice what you feed your child. When they are babies and young children parents have to choose what to feed them. As they get older and become more independent then they start to make choices for themselves.

I don't have a particular age, it would depend on the child and their level of understanding.

It isn't at all selfish or narcissistic to feed your children your family food.

Yabu - most vegetarians are pretty good at managing a balanced diet for themselves and veggie DC.

Anaemia is rarely due to diet but many GP's are as prejudiced and ignorant as you are. I've had GP's try to blame all sorts of things on my being vegetarian including conditions that pre-date me becoming veggie and which are clearly NOTHING to do with vegetarianism.

Omnivore parents are just as capable of not giving their child a balanced diet.

I've been veggie over 30 years never been anaemic due to diet. Was slightly anaemic after dds birth during which I lost a lot of blood, soon rectified without supplements, without eating meat.

Iron rich veggie foods include dark green leafy veg, legumes (beans, peas, lentils inc tofu made from soy beans), nuts and seeds, quinoa, dark chocolate, egg yolks, fortified breakfast cereals... Tons of ways for a veggie to get enough iron. To enhance absorption vitamin c rich foods taken at the same time helps and not having caffeine which blocks absorption. And this is just as true for omnivores as veggies! My mother - very much an omnivore - has been anaemic several times, won't listen when she's told to cut down on the copious cups of strong tea she drinks daily!

Personally I think the nhs is woefully ill informed on the problems caffeine causes.

"Even if the doctor did say it was a result of not eating red meat (unlikely)" not unlikely in my experience, it's gradually getting better but I've certainly had GP's say that I "should" be eating meat - when pressed it emerges they have little knowledge on vegetarianism! Ie they're talking out their arse!

But I agree it's possible op has made an assumption.

And yes to all those talking about "cutting out a food group" meat is not a food group!

And it's not "rubbish" glintandglide it's entirely possible starzig has only experienced ethical vegetarians - like me!

I don't buy or use leather, silk or wool.

I dont understand this 'forced the decision on them' vegan / vegetarian bollocks, if you let your child eat meat, you are doing the exact same thing. Just because it is the same thing the majority do, doesn't make it any different.

I myself am not a vegan / vegetarian but I can understand why some people choose to be and it makes sense they would encourage their children to be also. YABU

YANBU

Forcing your food preferences on a child is unethical in my opinion, and you can't equate it to a traditional meat eating diet as one limits while the other does not. I would let them decide for themselves, it's their body after all.

Too many people have jumped on the vegan and vegetarian fad without really understanding their implications.

The simple fact is that it IS HARDER to maintain a healthy diet when only eating vegan or vegetarian produce, and if you need to take supplements then that surely means the diet isn't healthy

For example B12 is extremely hard to come by without eating excess amounts of plants. Of course there are certain people who seem to do fine on these diets, but I suspect these are the people with genes that are more efficient at converting the required B12 and other hard to come by vitamins and nutrients.

I think it is borderline neglectful that the poor child has ended up with an iron deficiency.

most vegetarians are pretty good at managing a balanced diet

In my experience most vegetarians are really switched on about food and eating healthily - much more so than many meat eaters

"In my experience most vegetarians are really switched on about food and eating healthily - much more so than many meat eaters"

Yep that's been my experience too. Not only as a veggie myself but as a nurse too.

Got enough for your article now op?

Unreasonable. I was vegetarian (and quite healthy) til I was 16, then chose to eat meat. I’m a better and more creative cook and eat way more fresh fruit and veg than lots of my friends - it doesn’t matter whether you grow up a meat-eater or not, but what the attitude to food/cooking/eating is like in your household.

Poorly balanced diet is a separate issue to being veggie.

Yawn .....

Typical Click bait post ... OP posts a stupid generalised statement, throws in a mixture of judginess, misconception and runs ...

Too familiar and a hairy tale if you get me

Many people , including a large proportion of the Indian population are vegetarian for religious reasons. Are they selfish? Sounds like poor diet which is typical of toddlers anyway and needs supplements until the diet becomes more varied.

So what age do these parent decide, it's up to the child? To have a Big Mac with their friends or Nando chicken or sausages and mash for school dinners? Earlier post said "when child is ready". So could that mean 4,5,6,7,8,9 or even older? Do you tell your child "your a veggie so you can't order x y z of the menu?". I have no issue with vegetarian or vegan it imposing your diet on your child that I feel uncomfortable with. I know several vegans who cook meat for their children and other guests. The ones who impose this on their children are controlling. It's your choice to have this limiting diet.