Vegan baby

[Expecteddeclathon]

In your opinion, is it ok for a baby to be vegan from weaning (6 months)?

So you don’t think for a second that your child should be allowed their own choice? I’m vegetarian (21 years). DD (14) was never brought up that way. Wasn’t my choice to make. She wasn’t baptised either, again not my choice to make. Why can’t you allow your child the freedom of their own choices when they’re old enough to understand instead of making it for them? I buy and cook meat for my DD, on different oven trays and plates. I don’t think a baby can possibly understand the issues that you have. As an individual person give them everything and let them make their own choices. Wasn’t difficult for me to do, but then again I don’t shove any beliefs I have down people’s necks, or impose them on someone who can’t consent. It’s not up to you to determine what your child can and can’t eat. That’s ridiculous. You are choosing for them and that’s not fair.

Pay no attention to them, human breastmilk is absolutely NOT classified as dairy.

The clever dick posters thinking they have some kind of gotcha by saying that human breastmilk is a dairy product are being really pathetic.

Breastfeeding is generally considered vegan because it's produced by a consenting woman and given freely to the baby for whom it's designed.

That's totally different from exploiting non human animals and robbing them of their young in order to take the milk which their bodies produce to feed their own babies.

You could make the same argument in reverse - why feed a baby dairy/meat before they're old enough to decide for themselves?

Why is meat the default for you and avoiding it is 'shoving beliefs down people's necks', but opting out of religion is OK?

My child is 6 months old, it quite literally is entirely up to me to choose what they eat. I’m vegan, therefore I’m not going to buy and prepare meat and dairy products am I, defeats the whole point of being vegan because I’d still be supporting those industries with my money

But you did choose for your child; you chose to give them meat. When they were very young, they would have eaten it unquestioningly.

As parents, we make choices for our children all the time until they are old enough to make decisions for themselves.

Giving children meat, dairy and/or eggs is imposing dietary choices just as much as bringing up children as vegetarian or vegan is imposing a dietary choice.

Classified by who? Of course it's dairy, it's milk.
I'm really not trying to make an anti vegan point btw. I think veganism is good and I also think a breastfed baby is vegan for the same reason others said - human milk is for humans.
But breastmilk is dairy because it's milk. Dairy isn't a word for industrial farming practices. For example my niece has PKU so can't safely have a number of food groups without a supplement. One is dairy and that includes breast milk.

Also OPs breast milk isn't vegan because she's vegan - otherwise a cow's milk would be vegan! It's vegan to feed it to her own baby because it's ethically compatible with veganism, imo.

Because that is the norm for humans. Vegetarianism isn’t. There are many healthy things my child can eat that I can’t. You see a problem here? As for opting out of religion, I give her her own choice when she’s old enough to make decisions for herself. What’s wrong with that?

Of course, I wouldn't expect a vegan/vegetarian to raise a baby outwith their own diet

Humans are animals not plants

Meat is not the norm for all humans and there's no reason it should be.

I don't think there's anything wrong with your choices by the way. I was pointing out your hypocrisy in applying the notion of choice/consent vs 'shoving down throats' when you are clearly very opinionated yourself and have acknowledged that you have made choices for your child. As we all do.

But by the same token you made a decision for your DD that she would eat meat? I don’t think the OP ever said that they would be opposed to their child eating meat when they could make the decision for themselves? So how is OP’s decision any different than yours?

I chose to give her all of the options. As opposed to restricting any. Health wise as well. Yeah, this vegan child in question will eat what they’re given unquestioningly too.
“Giving children meat, dairy and/or eggs is imposing dietary choices just as much as bringing up children as vegetarian or vegan is imposing a dietary choice.”
Now that’s ridiculous. You could throw that at any parent who lets their child eat any given example, completely missing the point! The point being let them be old enough to choose. You think that’s so bad?
I mean I could have fed her exclusively on leaves from the back garden if I wanted to, to impose on her choices. Again the point you missed was giving her a choice, and now at the age of 14, knowing her own mind and preferences she’s more than happy to continue eating meat, she’ll eat my vegetarian cooking just as much. My point, again, let the child choose when they are old enough to understand. Is that so hard to process? 😂

Don’t be ridiculous. Babies need dairy. Let your child make the decision for themselves when they’re old enough!!!

An awful lot of babies are allergic to dairy.
Afterall, cow milk wasn't designed for humans.

No I don’t think a vegan diet is healthy for a baby/child

Your duty is first and foremost to your baby's nutrition and well-being. You need to ensure she gets the protein, fats, iron, choline, all the things she needs in order to thrive.

Your views on the environment or animal cruelty take a back seat.

You might be in the minority of vegans who cook well and healthy and balanced and I really really hope you are that person, for the sake of that defenceless baby.

I know a few vegans and their diet is absolutely dire. All carbs and processed shit.

It’s fine, just pay particular attention to b12 and iron. Ignore the people saying breast milk is dairy 🙄

Yes, my child is allergic to dairy. But he gets eggs, meat and fish.

You really don't seem to understand that you imposed your choices on your child just as I imposed my choices on my child.

My dd was vegan from birth. When she was 7, I told her that she was old enough to choose for herself.

When your dd was a baby or toddler, she wasn't able to choose to be a vegetarian or vegan any more than my dd could decide to be an omnivore. You gave her meat and she ate what she was given.

That's fine. I don't think that you were wrong to bring your dd up like that. Parents make decisions on behalf of our children all the time. It's an essential part of parenting.

But I really wish you would stop pretending that you didn't make choices as a parent and then impose those choices on your dd.

Oh dear.

I'm puzzled because I thought all babies were made out of meat. 🤔

It’s definitely possible (my nephew has been vegan since he started solids), but you really need expert nutritional advice. B12, iron and vitamin D need to be supplemented, otherwise there’s a chance of lowered bone density (higher risk of fracture). My nephew has been absolutely fine and is very healthy, but it took a lot of research and planning.

Yes to calves.

Thinking logically, s human is mammal so breast milk would obviously be dairy.

Wouldn’t it?