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?

All of this.

Why milk from another animal that isn’t even made for us would be apparently so pivotal to our health is beyond me. The industries feed everyone lies to make money.

My two usually have a fresh smoothie with breakfast, which sets them up for the day. Bananas always, soya milk, then various berries, sometimes a block of frozen spinach, some chia seeds, a sprinkling of some power powder (acai, superfood type stuff - varies daily), blitz and serve.
They usually have cereal or porridge for breakfast, with another banana chopped into it.

They both love fruit, snacks are usually strawberries, blueberries, grapes, melon.

They will occasionally have a cheese toasty, but go through phases of liking them then going totally off them.
If they aren't having them, they might have pitta with houmous. They have avocado toast once, or occasionally twice a week.

Main meals are:

• Pasta with Beyond Meat mince (a favourite, probably have this twice a week). Will chuck a block or two of frozen spinach in too, plus a tomato pasta sauce. Usually a whole bulb of garlic, plus a pepper.
• Burgers (not often, maybe once every ten days. Not against them for health reasons, they just don't fancy them often)
• curry (varies between Indian and Thai) usually chickpeas or lentils plus veg
• roast dinner every other Sunday (I only have them EOW, I don't know what their father gives them on his weekends, but he's vegan too, so will be something healthy and vegan). I don't usually bother with a fake meat "joint" or nut roast - they mainly just like the roast potatoes and roasted carrots, plus broccoli, peas etc. And loads of gravy.
• home made soup (usually tomato)
• pizza (once a month-ish treat out at Pizza Express or Hut, or extra if I have vouchers)
• falafel
• fajitas
• jacket potatoes with baked beans

We don't use much replica meat apart from the mince for pasta, and the occasional burger.

Sorry, meant to add, they do occasionally have biscuits and crisps and co-op donuts, it's not all pure health.

Both are really sporty and choose not to indulge much, as they both prefer to be as fit as possible for their sports.

With tofu - you can blend a silken block then stir it into curry or pasta sauces. It adds protein.

Ramens are good. Fill with noodles, veg and protein like edamame (we fry off tofu coated with corn flour).

Bean chillis are great.

Op didn’t come back then? 😂

I remember getting a lot of abuse when mine were younger (vegetarian) for forcing my beliefs onto them but this was usually said by people who fed their children chicken nuggets, Billy bear ham and loads of other bizarre foods that have no nutritional value. It was meat so they must have it because that’s just what you do.

Out of 4 now adult dc one does now eat meat and that’s their choice. They are all happy and healthy despite their cruel mother forcing them into being vegetarian.

I think it is unfair to bring up a child as a vegetarian. They should have a varied balance diet, until they are able to make up their own minds.

And again, despite it having been said on repeat on this thread, why is meat eating the default until a child gets to decide if they want to eat meat or not? It's no more valid to hold off until that choice is available to them than to feed them meat.

Hint: there is no reason at all.

Do some medical research

Your username says it all!
Such limited thinking

@Brexiteermorons a vegetarian or vegan diet can absolutely be a varied and balanced diet.

There are many health warning against veganism for babies.

I have three friends, two vegetarian and one vegan. All three feed their babies a diet with meat and animal products. They all say it is up to their children, to make their own decisions, when they are old enough and not for them to inflict their views on them. Resorting to insults says a lot

Raised as a veggie since birth I am absolutely happy that my parents never inflicted meat on me, in fact I have gone on to become mostly plant based way beyond vegetarianism. I am so glad that I have never been forced to eat meat.

It works both ways.

Who from? The dairy industry?!

You can have a perfectly varied and balanced diet as a vegetarian. What nutrients do you think are missing?

Having a child eat meat is inflicting their views on their child, as their view is that children should eat meat.

And I think that it is up to my children to make their own decisions, when they are old enough.

Me deciding where in the world to live is inflicting my views on my children.

Me deciding on where we holiday is inflicting my views on my children.

Me deciding what pets we have is inflicting my views on my children.

I get to decide what I food I buy, cook and serve because I am the adult.

Mine are now grown and as I’ve already said, one decided to eat meat which was their choice. Why is your (and your friends) decision about what you feed your children superior to what I decided to feed mine?

A) this thread was about vegetarianism not veganism

B) whilst a lot harder and not something I would choose, any warnings are about how careful you need to be. There is no warning that it is not possible to raise a healthy vegan child.

Your three friends choices are no more and no less than the choices of three people. And provide no evidence relevant to this discussion.

@Otherland Thank you so much for the food and recipe ideas! Sounds so delicious and healthy. I will try a few of these ideas out on my 3, they will definitely go for the smoothies x

My dad’s side of the extended family are all strict vegetarians. They all ended up fine !!

BUT a child should not be made to eat food they do not want to eat. Full stop. End of.

I was in foster care for ages & different families over that time.
One lady insisted I eat dried apricots 'to help me go to the toilet'. So three times a day, dried bloody apricots for over two bloody years. About age 7 to almost 10.

They weren't veggie but did have some odd food ideas. Good fosterers overall but just strange with toilet stuff, wearing non cotton clothing (no shellsuits etc) and some TV things (no cop shows or James Bond).

To this day I can't look at dried fruit or not dried apricots, plums, nectarines etc.
Can eat tinned peaches and other normal fruit.
Luckily next family were Afro-Carribbean and ate wide variety of dishes and you could eat what you wanted so long as you ate a good portion. Also lead to me loving spiced stuff.

Kids past the age of five or so should be given option of choosing non vegetarian foods.

Being forced to eat apricots every day is child abuse, eating a huge, varied vegetarian diet in all its splendour is pure common sense and sound informed choices for health reasons as much as anything else. A veggie diet is mow enriching and so diverse and certainly not a hardship!

I can see why you might feel sensitive to any restrictions though, given what had happened to you.

Thanks. My childhood was a bit of nightmare and extended into my 20s with various issues.

I am so sorry for that, it sounds horrendous and understandable that you need to have full food choices. I wish you the best 💐 and hope your future is much happier.