Discourage 8yo from becoming vegetarian?

[beeyourself]

I've been a vegetarian for a couple of years. Occasionally try to be vegan but never last long.

DP and children still carnivores, although will eat meals I cook with meat substitutes (quorn etc), but they're all awful about eating vegetables- it's like I'm trying to poison them - veg soup is the only time they'll happily eat veg.

Now my 8yo wants to be vegetarian- I don't want to dissuade him but have told him he'll need to eat a lot more vegetables if he gives up meat.

AIBU to say this?

He's told me that he's like to be the opposite of a pescatarian - eat some meat but no fish

They will mostly eat veg if I hide it, but the dishes I've made which are mostly veg, they refuse to eat.

I may try to increase the veg uptake somehow first before he cuts out meat altogether.

My 9yo DD has just gone pescatarian. I'm veggie and DH doesn't eat a lot of meat. The issue with her is not that she doesn't eat vegetables (although her range is small and all yellow/orange) but protein. She will eat eggs and cheese all day, plus a couple of processed fish options but she's tricky on what I'd think of as proper fish and I don't cook fish well so DH is in charge there. I've tried introducing lentils, tofu etc but it's no go. I'll have to keep battling!

My dd decided to go veggie aged 8 (now 10). So we sat down and discussed meals and protein sources. I cooked a variety of foods based on lentils, beans etc according to her tastes. I was a veggie for 20 years. I went out/lived with a vegan for 3 years. My sister and mum are veggie as are a good chunk of my close friends. And I’m a good cook so I can put together a good variety of meals. I generally still eat veggie if I eat without my hubby.

She lasted 3 days!! If she wants to try again I’m more than happy to help but I refuse to let her live on cheese and meat substitutes (eg processed Quorn/soya burgers). She has to have a balanced diet with plenty of pulses. She will eat lentils etc but does love her meat! Her best friend is Hindu so she does get the guilt factor occasionally.

Personally I think moving everyone’s diet towards a more flexible diet (less animal protein) is probably the healthiest for us all.

Just try it on the basis of him having to eat healthily and not just stuff himself on cheese, bread and potatoes. If he's serious he will. My 7yo daughter has been veggie since birth and has loads of energy, my 8yo nephew went veggie recently and does loads of sport.

It's not a problem unless they don't have a balanced diet, but if you're veggie already you can help him with that.

DH and DD are veggie and we eat all veggie family meals but no meat substitute stuff like Quorn, it’s very nutritionally devoid so not really suitable for a growing child I think.

I would certainly get him to eat more veg before he can think about giving up meat or fish. Pasta sauces, curries etc.

Why would being a vegetarian automatically mean he has to eat more veg? Vegetarians don't replace meat with vegetables, they replace it with other protein sources.

YABU to call them carnivores....

And no, you shouldn't discourage him.

Weeping many meat substitutes are soya based which is a bean rich in protein, others contain tofu which is a good source of iron and Quorn is a good source of protein and fibre. If you don’t want to, don’t eat them but it’s a bit silly to call them ‘nutritionally devoid’.

I don't think you need to talk to him that much about it.

It doesn't have to be a lifelong decision - it's very easy to go back/be less strict at the drop of a hat if he wants to.

My mum who was always veggie was worried when I wanted to go veggie at 14 as I was a really fussy eater. Turns out I was only fussy about meat haha. Turned veggie (then eventually vegan at 28) and suddenly would eat everything in front of me.

@Weepingwillowweepingwino I don't actually like quorn (or other meat substitutes) but what you've said is complete rubbish. Just look at the back of the packets....

I would let him - my DD went vegetarian at 9 and then vegan at 13ish. She was (is) a very fussy eater but we managed to find things that worked:

lentil spag bol (you can replace mince in most dishes with lentils and it's surprisingly hard to detect if well seasoned)
peanut curry
banana curry
bean & cheese toasties
Omelettes with salad
Basil & Tomato soup with rolls or a cheese toastie
Jacket Potatoes
Veggie Laksa/Veggie Korma
Veggie Nachos
Vegetarian sausages in toad in the hole
Dahl

DD won't eat mushrooms or peas and many other things, but mushroom risotto, pea and ham quiche, mushroom stroganoff, felafel and hummus, egg and avocado on toast, cheesy mushrooms on toast (or croissant) are all great too and really easy. There are many more things to try too. Having dealt with veganism for a long time, I would say go for it with the vegetarian options, they are super easy in comparison.

It will save money and there are some great choices that don't scream "boiled broccoli and carrots" plus your son will know you have listed to him. Expect him to help out with food prep and shopping and also some recipe suggestions that he wants to try.

I agree with PP's about a compromise... I wanted to become veggie@ 10yr old, my parents agreed on pesceterian until I was 16. I am mid 30's and still happily pesceterian & very healthy. Try getting him involved in growing & cooking weekly- pride makes things taste awesome!

I’ve been vegetarian for years as has my DH.
Neither of us have a huge amount of vegetables in our evening meals. Well, we don’t have vegetables as a thing on their own, like as a side, we tend to have them in curries, pasta etc with other proteins like beans.

Op, my daughter has a vegetarian phase for about 5 months last year. She was 11 then. Her diet during her vegetarian phase was horrendous! She was a vegetarian who didn't eat vegetables. Like your son, she doesn't eat veggies unless they are well hidden. She doesn't like seafood either, so going pescatarian was not an option. I discussed it with her several times but couldn't make her see reason. She's still bad with veg now but luckily started eating meat again. I call her the only vegetarian in the world who doesn't eat vegetables!

Does he like raw veg? Just asking because my ds8 is not a fan of cooked veg so when I can I just replace with raw.

So last night I did a stir fry, when I was chopping veg I kept a pile to the side for Ds and he had a bowl of noodles, stir fry quorn with Chinese 5spice and raw veg.

If we have pasta, I tend to do a smooth sauce or a quick separate one for him with raw veg.

It sounds a faff but it really is quite quick and easy.

No good if he hates it raw too .

Thing is, I’m so chuffed he has decided to be veggie and has done so well that I’m just trying to encourage him.

The thing is that he already eats a lot of veggie food without realising - I make Bolognaise with veggie mince, any nuggets/fish fingers are the meat-free variety. Also we have pasta with meat-free sauces.

But if he starts to actively reject meat at school/when out, he'll end up eating very little. At after school club they offered pitta bread with a range of vegetables and he just ate dry pitta 🙄

I'm pleased he's considering it (for environmental reasons) but would like him to eat more healthily before he starts.

I told dd the same. If you are vegetarian you can't turn down what I offer is my rule (I eat meat) everyone in my house is only allowed 5 dislikes which I adhere to.

What the matter with eating a pitta as an after school snack?

Yes yabu. Being vegetarian is the logical choice for better health and social responsibility, and ethically.

Changing our diet to remove meat (and eggs and dairy if possible) is the single best thing anyone can do for the environment.

He said he was still hungry! He's refusing veg and eating dry pitta.

I'm aware that being a vegetarian is a great choice, that's why I am one! And I've been introducing non-meat products wherever I can at home.

But I'm concerned that his diet will be limited even further if he does the same, especially as he currently refuses many vegetables (& fruit). And at times when I'm not around to encourage him, this will be worse.

Why does he want to be veggie? If it’s for health, ethical or environmental reasons, I would encourage it. (Unlike myself who became veggie at similar age after my DB told me ham was ‘lions meat’ 🤔😂) 40 years on....

My DD is 8 and has gone off all meat except beef, and even that’s starting to be a struggle. I’ve been veggie since 12, both my sisters since 9 and mum always. Apart from me, the others all just didn’t like meat so I do wonder if there’s some weird genetic component.

You’ve got a good foundation if you’re already vegetarian. I’m making sure DD understands that it doesn’t have to be forever but that if she doesn’t want to eat meat she needs to have the same meals as me for a month and then we’ll go from there. I’m getting her involved in cooking a lot more and letting her choose recipes she likes the sound of.

She’s pretty good with most veg though so I don’t have that worry. Whenever she does get fussy I ask her what’s the worst thing that can happen from eating it and that seems to get her to at least try something new. 9 times out of 10 she likes it.

Well, I’d let him be hungry, he’s not going to starve and it’s the simplest way to get him to realise he needs to broaden his palate.

Mind you, I give DD her own snack (a goodies bar or similar) for after school club, she doesn’t like a lot of their snacks and is very unlikely to eat raw veg as provided by the school.