To think it’s not right to bring a baby up as a vegetarian?

[veggiesup]

Surely a baby/child should have all food available until they can make their own decisions?

As long as the baby is getting all its nutritional needs met, I see no problem with it. Vegetarianism is far better for the planet too.

ugh god this again.

all parents make choices for their kids. as someone who went vegetarian very young and has been all my life (now vegan) I felt upset that I had been fed meat without my knowledge of what I was eating.

its absolutely none of your business how other parents choose to feed their children. As long as they’re fed and healthy that’s all that matters.

I think it’s fine, as long the child is healthy. It doesn’t mean the child won’t eat meat when they are old enough to make the decision for themselves.

I think it’s wrong to bring up a baby eating meat. They should be able to decide if they want to eat it when they can make their own decisions.

You do you.

Or look at it differently?

I've been vegetarian since I was 11. Always hating eating meat and the thought it was an animal, my lovely mum really regrets ever giving me meat and was so supportive when I went veggie.

A woman at a toddler group (publicly) had a huge go at me because I was raising my dc as vegetarians and told me that I would 'stunt their growth'
Dd is 5ft 9 and ds is 6ft 3!
They are both adults now and still veggie.

Just as possible to have a good, nutritious, varied diet as a vegetarian child as it is as a meat-eater. (Conversely, also just as possible to live on beige, processed crap.) But, done properly, far better for the planet, leaving aside animal-related ethics.

As someone raising two vegetarians, our “rule” has been you eat what we eat at home (because I’m not running a restaurant and am not cooking multiple meals each night) but if they’re eating out and someone else is paying/they’re buying their own food, they can eat whatever they want. Both have tried meat a couple of times but not been interested in eating it more often than that. All parents make dietary choices for their children, especially when they’re young. As long as they’re not being fed shite, it shouldn’t matter to anyone else.

If the parents are vegetarian are you seriously suggesting they cook meat for their child? The reason a lot of people are vegan/vegetarian is because they don’t want animals to die.
the child will be able to try eating meat later in life when they start socialising with heat eating friends, it’s not like they “loose out” forever.

Vegetarian not unreasonable....plenty of sources of good nutrition available however I would be concerned about a baby being offered a vegan diet as it takes a much better knowledge of nutrition and how to combine foods to get the best from them

“All food available” is really very broad though isn’t it. I personally don’t eat all food available- it’s influenced a lot by my culture, family upbringing, affordability, personal preferences. I never buy aubergine. It just doesn’t really go into any of my go-to recipes. I don’t see why meat would be any different. As long as the child has a range of food that provides all the nutrients needed, it really isn’t an issue.

I’m a meat-eater by the way. I just think veggies should be able to parent their children free from judgement and criticism.

Are you a parent? In which case I assume your children eat snails, whale, fermented eggs, durian, if not why are you preventing your child from eating all foods available?

It's no more or less ethical than raising a child on meat without giving them a choice Why do you assume eating meat is the default?

I know plenty of kids who would be far healthier eating my vegetarian meals than the shaped, breaded/battered chicken parts they're regularly served.

I agree. I'm a vegetarian and I raised my children to eat whatever as children are often fussy by nature anyway and I didn't want to deny them anything.

I also didn't want to make them 'different' from other children. An example being at a party of a friends toddler from my daughter playgroup and another mum having to wrestle her screaming toddler away from the Buffett table as the child was picking up cocktail sausages and chicken items and the mum was raising the child as a vegetarian.

The child was so distressed as she just wanted what the other children were eating. I wouldn't have put my children through that.

You do know that in some cultures and religions vegetarianism is a thing? People and babies have been surviving for thousands of years with this way of life!!

You could say this about any parenting decision - say religion - surely parents shouldn’t impose their belief or view of the world on their children so they can decide for themselves when they are adults? Except that’s not how it works - if you genuinely believe in a god or gods, and that following a religion is the only way to be happy / saved / whatever - how could you not share that with your kids?

if you are a vegetarian because you think it’s better for your health or animals or the environment then that’s pretty fundamental and you would want your kids to have the same benefits as you. How could you have a good relationship if it wasn’t based on how you see the world?

im not vegetarian (or religious) but I make parental decisions made on my only ethical and moral stance and my own understanding of the world

I don't eat meat. My son doesn't eat meat. I am raising him to understand where meat and animal products come from and have asked him now he can understand whether he would like to eat meat or not and he says no. I've also told him that it's his choice, so if he wants to eat meat he can. He is 4 and choosing not to. He is healthy, had a well rounded diet and takes children's supplements so he's getting the right vitamins and whatnot. What is the problem with that?

How many parents whose children eat meat are are actually just feeding them shite processed stuff, rather then decent meat? Ours started out pescatarian. One of the dc eats meat. But by that, they mean pepperoni or chicken on pizza, ham on sandwiches and nuggets if we're out. I wouldn't say eating meat, for them, is any more healthy than not eating it.

But surely that works both ways? You shouldn’t feed your child meet unless they ethically agree with it, so you should wait until they are older? All parents will bring their child up how they see fit, as long as they are healthy I do not see the issue. With a varied diet and multivitamins (which are recommended for most young children anyway) they will be fine

Interesting that you think eating meat is the default. I would think historically that very much depends on where, when and with how much money you lived.

My DC can choose to eat meat when or if they want to

As long as the child is getting a full range of essential nutrition, dies it matter if they get the protein from a vegetable source rather than an animal source?

We have a rule on Scout camp... we will provide vegetarian options for anyone that asks beforehand. However we won't refuse to serve them meat if the child asks for it. (For the younger children we will make sure they definitely know it is meat!) Unless there is a medical reason to refuse the child a certain food item.

We have never had a vegetarian child refuse a marshmallow for example... and yes we do say they contain animal products.

Yabu and slightly bonkers. Children need protein, not meat. It's completely up to the parents to decide which form they serve it in.

Well.im.not vegetarian so.its not something I would do.but as long as a child is getting a balanced diet then how parents choose to.feed their own kids is up.to.them.

I'm not vegetarian so my kids eat meat same as we do. If I was vegetarian then I wouldn't be feeding them meat. If when they are older they don't want to eat meat then I will support their choice.
As long as a baby not being fed meat is still getting everything they need in their diet then I don't really see that it's a problem or any of my business.

I dont get this argument. Why can't they chose to eat meat later if they wish? Why do the meat first? I have 1 dd who is vegetarian she has been for 10 years now was her choice the rest of us are meat eaters she made a choice. My friend is vegetarian 2 of her 4 are meat eaters 1 is veggie 1 vegan. They all made up their own mind.

What's your reasoning? Lots of people across the world are vegetarian from birth. It's the default in southern India, for example. Dch will likely be interested in meat when they're older but once they realise it means dead animals they may decide it's not what they want. Most of us felt like that, didn't we? But carried on with meat because we'd been brought up to think it was the norm. My dch were exposed to meat although I was vegetarian. Both are plant-based adults now - one is vegan and one eats fish although his meals are based on veg. So you're being silly. Some of us can be very narrow-minded when it comes to food.