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?

Isn't the diet supposed to include spinach and liver?!

Not sure what this has to do with vegetarianism. The mother is feeding her DC crap food. She just needs to change her sons diet to include more iron.

I know plenty of meat eaters who feed their children crap diets.

NO, vegetarian mums are NOT selfish. EVERYONE imposes his/her values on their children. Presumably the non vegetarians give their children meat? That’s imposing your meat eating on them then. Does that 3 year old know it’s eating Daisy the cow, or part of Peppa pig? I think not.
My family is all vegetarian. Both DCs have had blood tests and both have had perfect iron levels. My DCs eat a much healthier diet than most of their peers, but Idon’t go posting questions like ‘Are meat eating parents selfish?’. Some children of meat eaters are overweight because they eat rubbish food - not because they eat meat. Same with vegetarians. Some kids will not be fed a healthy diet whether vegetarian, pescatarian, vegan or meat eater.
I find it ridiculous that a parent of a child of that age is asking what food is iron rich. By then they should know. Yes YABVU

Neweternal when do you let your children make choices about what food they eat?

For example B12 is extremely hard to come by without eating excess amounts of plants.

B12 is pretty hard to come by in general these days tbh. That's why livestock have their feed supplemented with B12.

YABU. If her child is iron deficient that's about poor nutrition, not vegetarianism.

DS2 stopped eating meat aged 3. He didn't like the texture / was too lazy to chew! By the time he started school he understood the ethics and was telling people that it's wrong to eat animals. No one else in our family is vegetarian. He's very healthy. I'm anemic.

Veggie mum here. My kids are learning to care for all animals as a default, and not to exploit them or harm them. Why would you have a problem with that?
My kids are in no way deficient and eat a huge variety of foods. I will not stop them from choosing to eat animal products in the future. If they were iron deficient I would be takings doctors advice.

She’s not selfish—some vegetarians (like myself) can’t stand handling meat or the smell of cooking meat. It turns my stomach. I wouldn’t be able to cook meat for children. The iron deficiency is a separate issue. I’ve been a vegetarian for 10 years and never been iron deficient. She needs to learn more about nutrition. It’s easy to get everything you need from a vegetarian diet if it’s varied enough.

I eat meat and I'm am anemic. At first I was told this was my diet however after arguing that it wasn't and having to complete my own food diary to show the dr, he agreed that I was probably anemic rather than just iron deficient. Took me forever to adjust my levels (and still be able to poop comfortably, damn those iron tablets!)

I'm vegan. My son is vegan. Neither of us have any problems. So please do eff off with you're judgement. I doubt her child can cook his own steaks and she's well within her rights not to. So be a decent human and tell her spinach in everything

I'm vegetarian. My kids are not.

I'm vegetarian. My kids are not.

I'm vegan and my son is vegetarian and i find your post ignorant and offensive and offer you ODFOD.

Does that 3 year old know it’s eating Daisy the cow, or part of Peppa pig? I think not.

Most children know where meat come from. Even my 2 year old is aware he’s eating cow or lamb.

My 4 and 3 year olds are both fully aware of where meat comes from.

My lot all know where meat comes from.
I’m veggie, they’re not.

Where did the op go? Anyone think she’s sneaking a cheeseburger to the child?

No matter what the child eats it parents job to make sure they have a varied diet.
We're a vegan household and our dc are in perfect health with a very varied diet.

And as for the child being 'forced' to eat vegetarian, every child eats what their parents provide for them. I was fed meat as a child, I wish I hadn't have been, but it's what's my parents fed me. I was a child, I didn't have a choice. That's just how that goes.

I'm here! I don't impose eating meat on my child. At any age he could say to me what he fancies, if he want to be a vegetarian (like many other in my family) fine! I ask him what he wants to eat we don't eat the same stuff as I only eat protein bars for breakfast and lunch. He eats a huge amount of fruit and likes baked potatoes, chicken nuggets, fillet steak (rare), mussels, smoked salmon etc. I told him from a young age that's a cow your eating or take him down the petting farm for the day when he was pre school and tell him you're eating one of those piggies/cow/chicken/calf, his response is "I don't care". I also tell him a egg is a hens period it makes no difference he enjoys meat. His choice!

Most children know where meat come from
MN is not typical of the country as a whole.

I'm here!

Are you the op? I’m confused.

"At any age". Really? He was asking for steak at 6 months? Wow.

No, I'm really grateful I was brought up vegetarian as I have always been slim and healthy, and I have always known how to cook and eat well. Same could go for a healthy meat eating family I suppose, but most people don't eat healthily.

I have never been anaemic other than as a meat eating pregnant woman!

Meat doesn't equal decent iron levels BTW. Anyone with access to google and half a brain cell can eat a veggie diet and have good iron levels too.

Also, who are these mums who post their kids illnesses on Facebook?

This is possibly one of the most ignorant posts I've seen on Mumsnet so far. Have a read up on nutrition and come back to us after with a lovely apology.