for everyone to accept my son is a healthy 2yr old VEGETARIAN??? [angry]

[MrsKat]

Why can't ANYONE in my husband's family accept that our 2yr old is being brought up as a vegetarian? And that whenever he has a runny nose, it DOESN'T mean he isn't healthy because he doesn't eat meat.
Is there anyone else out there who is veggie but their husband and entire family aren't?

Sorry about typing errors.

why do people assume vegetarians are 'controlling' their children, any more than omnivores are 'controlling' theirs?

why not let your child eat any and every type of healthy food. He can make his own mind up as an adult if he chooses to be a veggie.

My DS gets offered all options, and if he doesn't want it then that's fine. No fuss made. As he gets older he can choose what avenue he wants to go down in regards to his eating habits.

YABU. A little bit of meat now and again won't do your son any harm, honestly!

what's a pescatarian pls?

Canttouchthis, would you tell a Jewish or Muslim parent 'don't worry about the odd bit of bacon'?

If not, do you think you could extend the same respect to moral and ethical beliefs that happen not to be based on religion?

bonny - someone who eats fish but not meat.

is the OP Jewish or Muslim??? I wouldn't say that to anyone of a particular faith, but to those who have no real need to be stopping their DC from having a variety of foods, why do that? they can make their own mind up as they get older if they want to be a vegetarian.

oh I was one of those then and didn't even know my proper categorisation! I only ate fish and veg for 20 years until last week when I decided to eat chicken again. My husband and children have always eaten everything.

Why are ethical objections less valid than beliefs based on faith?

Ha Ha Ha, it's very sad that some people think that a religious belief is more important than an ethical one. Religious beliefs are generally based on ....well belief not hard evidence, ethic beliefs are based on facts. So if a Muslim or a Jewish person decided not to give their child bacon then thats okay is it? So people who are religious can put faith and eating restrictions on their kids but veggies can't. Piddle Off you ignorant idiot.

of course you're NBU - good for you I say. Just make sure your DS is getting his b12 & complete protein (which I am very sure you are)

I think some of us must be pro-meat eaters here

I couldn't do without a huge bit of steak every once in a while. Mmmmm, heaven!

I eat meat but believe that it's fine to raise one's children as vegetarians until they are old enough to decide.

If your pro-meat, then fine, you have your huge bit of steak every once in a while. Bully for you

But evidence shows that kids brought up vegetarian are just as healthy as omnivores. When I first got pregnant I spoke to my doctor about my diet, she said that everyone has to eat a balanced diet while pregnant and all parents should offer a balanced healthy diet to their kids. She said she see's more ill meat eating kids than veggie ones because veggies tend to be more aware of whats in their food and aware that their kids need a good balance.

OP, I know what you mean. I now tend to say things like, "DD gets her 5 fruit and veg every day, do you?" Most people don't. If they're pushy I list what dd has had to eat in the previous week, saying what has protein in it, what has iron, b12, etc... It's funny because when you ask them to do the same they can't, they skirt around and say they have a healthy diet, but find it hard to say if they've got enough iron etc...

'why do people assume vegetarians are 'controlling' their children, any more than omnivores are 'controlling' theirs? '

Because they do try and control outside the home. You will find them at parties making sure their DC doesn't have a sausage, they will be making sure that they have the vegetarian option in school dinners or that Grandma doesn't offer bacon and eggs. This is all very well if the DC has come to that decision, but very often it is the parent-the DC isn't a vegetarian-merely the DC of a vegetarian.
I think it is counter productive-as in my friends the vegans-vegan son from birth now eats all sorts of junk, not even a healthy diet because it was denied early on. Had they given him the choice I expect he wouldn't have had such a reaction against it.
I agree entirely on following the diet of the parents at home but outside it should be free choice-not a 'helicopter' parent.
I disagree with the idea that once you have a DC you control what they think.

A vegetarian diet for a DC is perfectly healthy-probably even healthier than having meat.

just out of curiosity, do vegetarian parents follow their DC around to make sure they aren't eating meat or meat products when not in the home? just wondering how that works? how do you control it?

My dd eats veggie food at nursery. At birthday parties and such, she also eats veggie food. My parents and IL's respect our choice for dd and don't offer her meat. When she goes to school I will choose the veggie option or provide her with a packed lunch.

My 8yo niece turned veggie last year, it had nothing to do with me or dh. She decided she didn't want anything to die for her. My B&SIL tried to get her to change her mind, they tried to sneak her meat. They had to give up in the end because she'd made up her mind.

If my dd starts asking me about meat from the age of about 6 or 7, then as long as she understands, I won't stop her eating it if she wants to.

It's not about Controlling, it's about giving your child the best upbringing you think you can. As a mother, I will be in control of my dd's options until she is old enough to choose herself.

I want to know how a parent is meant to explain thats not okay for them to eat a dead animal but they're quite happy to feed it to their child. I think it's a double standard. In some countries they eat raw hourse, chicken claws, even cats. If this type of food was offered to your child would you say no? If you did, would that be controlling or your way of being the best parent you knew how to be?

I really do find it striking that so many people are quite so hostile to vegetarians.

Why? Are you uncomfortable because it challenges your beliefs and assumptions? No-one's suggesting YOU give up meat, or criticising what you feed your child - what makes you so worked up about our diets?

'You will find them at parties making sure their DC doesn't have a sausage, they will be making sure that they have the vegetarian option in school dinners or that Grandma doesn't offer bacon and eggs.'

So Pisces, you've met the majority of vegetarian parents in this country, have you?

And what's wrong with any of that anyway? Choosing the veggie option for school dinners is wrong in what way, exactly? Have you not seen the endless threads on her from people complaining about what their parents or ILs feed the kids?

And do you object to Muslim or Jewish parents making sure their kids don't eat pork at school or at parties, or is it only veggies who aren't allowed to bring up their children as they see fit?

to the op.
this isnt a vegetarian versus nonveg issue. its an inlaws issue.

I have been threatened with 'holding you down and shoving steak down your throat'. It has always amazed me how angry people can get about veggetarianism. Its not like I am a radical or anything. I just decline meat and fish.

This is enough to drive people to want to force feed me meat. Which is odd IMO.

If people want to bring their kids up as veggies why the hell shouldnt they? There are endless judgy posts on MNs about people giving their kids sausage rolls and junk food. Isnt it better for a child to be fed a wonderful variety of fresh fruit and veg, nuts pulses and pastas etc?

I am sure there are some unhealthy veggie kids but I am pretty sure they dont outnumber the meat eating ones.

My children are not veggies. I wasnt confident I could do it properly as I dont like cooking much and my kids love meat (as does my OH). A cop out but hey.

I am often asked when people find out I am a veggie 'your kids arnt though are they?'

A large section of DS's school is veggie because of their religious beliefs. I dont believe our school has a higher rate of illness or legume induced trauma than any other.

'legume induced trauma'

OMG it's stalking me! (Sorry, couldn't resist...)

'I really do find it striking that so many people are quite so hostile to vegetarians.

I am not at all hostile to vegetarians, I have many vegetarian friends and I would say that my diet is half vegetarian-it is the way that I afford meat from my local farm shop. I eat less meat but I know that it is humanely produced.
I am not against it at all-I am against parents thinking they can police what their DCs think. A child is a free spirit-they can ultimately make up their own mind, and they will.
I dislike emotive talk about 'disgusting, dead flesh' when people are so far removed from food production that they don't actually know how it is produced. Those against eating animals because it is cruel, and animals have rights,often happily eat and drink dairy products because they don't understand how the milk is produced. If I were to give up for cruelty reasons I would happily eat meat but stop having milk in any form.
I think that vegetarians who quietly get on with it and allow DCs to taste anything they want to taste will be the ones who get their DC to follow their lead. Those who prevent them having a sausage roll at a party or a geletine sweet at nursery or talk emotively about 'dead flesh' are the ones who are making it into a big issue. There is only one thing to do if things are a big issue, and that is rebel (or at least it is if you have a personality like mine!).

I always quote this poem which I firmly believe in-you let them have all opinions and make up their own minds-they are not blank sheets for you to write on.

On Children
Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

s'ok edam twas supposed to be funny

Another thing all veggies are supposed to lack (apart from iron) is a sense of humour.