Family is against me for not feeding baby meat

[Foxtails]

Sorry if this has been brought up before, but could do with some advice please.

8 month old baby, stopped breastfeeding at 6 months. So far I have not fed anything with meat in it and do not plan to. I am vegetarian and have been for 8 years. DH is not veggie but does eat veggie meals in the house with me (his choice). For now, while my son has no way to make his own decisions, I won’t be feeding him meat. Once he is old enough to decide for himself, he can choose. We will always have vegetarian meals in the house but if he wants to eat it outside of the house that’s up to him and there will be no judgement from me.

It seems like absolutely none of my family members can accept this. My mum, dad, grandparents and also DHs parents have expressed to me how they think this is wrong. I have told them that as long as he is fed and is healthy then there really is no problem, and it’s up to me how I do this. It’s got to the point where it’s being brought up almost every time I see anyone because they are so so against it. I feel attacked. They are telling me not to force my views upon my child, but isn’t that what all parents do?! People parent their children how they think is best and in line with what they agree with. Everyone does this.

I am feeling upset and overwhelmed and feeling like i can’t go and see anyone without them starting this argument with me and I worry that they will feed him meat behind my back. Please could I have some advice on what to do and how to handle this? Has anyone been in this position?

As someone who is raising their two children vegan, I know it's hard when you have people doubting you - but keep strong to your ethics. I want my boys to grow up knowing that we don't have to hurt and kill animals for food. It's hard when the world seems so detached from the horrors of the animal farming industry (as you can see from this thread) but know that you are raising a child with kindness and compassion. Thank you, hopefully this is the future

My boys eat tofu, lentils, beans, spinach, ect - probably a lot healthier than some meat eaters. And we do have some 'junk food' meals too with fake meats and chips. It's about balance. I'm not perfect but I do consciously think about the different food groups and how to provide them

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_in_Sikhism#:~:text=Followers%20of%20Sikhism%20do%20not,it%20is%20not%20Kutha%20meat).

To be honest I would be worried too - children have different nutritional needs to adults - if the human body was not meant to eat meat we would not have the processes to digest it. No issue with an older child making their own decision to go veggie - you deciding to restrict a growing babies diet is not fair on them in my opinion.

You will never know what happens when u aren’t watching. So, better keep child with you at all times.

Neither would I

Oh FFS. I have been vegetarian for a decade and am currently pregnant so having regular blood tests to check my iron stores and they’re always perfect.

Isn’t it amazing how dairy only seems to prevent the absorption of iron from vegetarian sources without apparently affecting any of the millions of people who eat both meat and dairy?

It is incredibly easy to meet your iron needs on a vegetarian diet. Women need on average 8mg of iron a day. There is 6.6mg of iron in a single cup of cooked lentils, 2.7mg in a can of chickpeas, 5mg in a cup of mixed nuts, 2.7mg in 100g raw spinach, 4.6mg in a cup of dried apricots, and 11.9mg in 100g of dark chocolate. Then there are fortified breads and cereals, other leafy green vegetables, seeds, soya, etc.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_in_Hinduism#:~:text=Lacto%2Dvegetarianism%20is%20favoured%20by,but%20excludes%20meat%20and%20eggs.

Tenner says the majority of babies munching sausages rolls are not tucking into delicious home made ones and have instead had a detour via Greggs.

It’s weird isn’t it that feeding them a dead animal is commonly seen as an okay choice to make for a child but not feeding them a dead animal isn’t okay? Very odd.

But this isn’t the case because it’s coming from OP’s side of the family too, not just her husband’s. People are desperately trying to see the husband as not agreeing with OP’s choice, and will use any excuse. Some people are just plain weird about vegetarians and want everyone to be a meat eater.

@Foxtails I'm horrified that a massive 43% of voters think you are being unreasonable.

I'm not vegetarian, but I understand nutrition, and it looks like your baby is being fed a nutritional diet.

I think the 43% need to educate themselves about nutrition.

Probably but each to their own. Homemade ones are so much better and tastier

There seems to be perhaps a genetic thing where we struggle to get iron from food a bit on my side of the family. Mine was too low to give blood last time in spite of eating meat, fish, eggs, pulses and plenty green veg and iron rich food generally, and taking Floradix, and DD1 (veggie) has been anaemic and has to take supplements.

@teatoast8 yes of course. My point being how many of those berating @Foxtails would be happy to feed their child mass produced shite?

Yep, every one I see inevitably has the bakery bag wrapped around the bottom for the child to hold. And to be honest, even home made sausage rolls are still massively high in fat if they’re made with commercially produced sausages and puff pastry.

It's very possible that they all see the husband would.never agree to this and any support he gives OP is mere lip service. They may feel as if they are supporting him by exposing that. If James was as vocal as OP, it is very unlikely this would be the issue it is. I'd go as far as suspecting he makes it clear it is "her thing" that he has gone with.

No mine are done properly.

No. Because there is a difference between parents and grandparents and their right to make decisions about a child.

Have a gold star. Most are not.

I doubt they’re one offs to be honest.

I had this from my in laws who are from a Germanic culture. I was told I was damaging my children, would stunt their growth and was "inflicting my neuroses on my children." 🤣🤣🤣

I ignored them. Both my kids are now healthy, well adjusted young adults and neither are stunted with DD being 5ft 9 and DS 6ft 7.

So with your own home made sausagement and pastry ? Well done you.

It's interesting to see what other cultures use in baby foods. A Mexican friend told me mashed avocado is common there, and I see lentil porridge is fed in India.

Thanks

Most is not under 50%