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?

I know, I was trying to be funny back!

(And I used to write comedy - plenty of comedy writers and stand ups were veggie at the time.)

Not that it was necessarily terribly good comedy... but audiences did laugh. A bit!

Pisces, why assume vegetarians are any more or less forceful about their opinions than any other group of parents? I don't go around telling people who are omnivores 'ooh, you must let your children Make Up Their Own Minds'. I assume they will, one day. Certainly their kids will, as will mine!

All our children are bound to tell us exactly where we went wrong, in mind-numbing detail, at some stage... whether we are veggie/Roman Catholic/Tory/keen environmentalists/railway enthusiasts/Rotarians/ - whatever our lifestyles. Although ds is Not Allowed to turn into an, um... will think of something and come back to you!

You were funny edam promise i laughed

Was worried for a moment there you thought I'd been taking you terribly seriously...

LOL at how us veggies worry so much about offending each other . Its because we are so weak, what with the lack of steak and all

My son would chooses broccoli over all other foods at the moment. He is not that fussed either way about meat. However, he loves fish. Maybe this is a good compromise for your situation

yeah, that's why I'm up and MNing busy while meat-loving dh has gone back to bed 'because I'm tired...'

'I don't go around telling people who are omnivores 'ooh, you must let your children Make Up Their Own Minds''

The difference is that they have a free choice from a young age-I find that the meat eaters often have the vegetarian option on the school menu-it is just another choice-they don't have a parent telling them they can't have it.

I am a vegetarian but my children are not. I think it is fine to bring children up as vegetarians if you are great at meal planning and have children who would eat everything you put in front of them. I am not that parent, and I do not think it would be healthy for my children to be vegetarian.

I have been surprised, when sharing accommodation, that some people eat red meat twice a day, every day. It seems very excessive. It is usually these people who are alarmed by vegetarians, as they never eat vegetarian food themselves.

I'm vegan, DH vegetarian (used to be vegan) DD being brought up as vegetarian. I would not and could not cook, prepare meat. Those are my beliefs and ones which (for ethical reasons) I share with my DD. When she is old enough to cook for herself, go out and eat and she wants to try meat - thats fine as it would be her informed choice.
As parents you just try to do the best for your children whatever your beliefs and wishes

The boy needs sausage and you know it

Yeah, the meat eaters scoff all the veggie food and when an actual veggie comes along, it's run out. Grrrrrr.

No child has totally free choice in every area of their life - as parents, we decide what they eat, where they live, which bedroom they have, what clothes they wear, where they can go, on and on and on, giving them more and more freedom to choose for themselves as they grow older.

No idea why the particular lifestyle choices of vegetarian families annoy you so much, Pisces, especially as they aren't imposing them on you.

My ds has more freedom than many children in some regards - he's free to play out in our street, while some of his schoolfriends can only play in their own gardens, for instance. I don't pounce on threads about allowing children out and condemn parents who do things differently to me.

Have already said, further down, ds isn't actually vegetarian - we had a choice, and I went with dh's views, for once. But I object to being told that if we'd made the opposite choice it would have been somehow worse. Both are equally valid. Both are the result of the parents' decisions.

I just hate children being expected to fall in with what their parents believe edam without being exposed to other views-as in there is no God because mummy says so or you are a Catholic because mummy is a Catholic. Mummy thinks eating animals is vile, therefore eating animals is vile. The oracle has spoken and the DC is expected to fall in line!
Of course a parent brings up a DC to follow their own beliefs, culture, morals etc and they hope they will follow, but their DC should be exposed to other views and make up their own mind.
If a DC has the school menu, even at 5yrs they should be free to pick the meal of their choice. I don't think a single meat eating parent would say 'you can't have the tomato pasta bake'and yet a vegetarian parent is quite likely to say 'you can't have the chicken pasta bake'.
I think it is all counter productive and the wise parent quietly leads life they way they are happy with and the DC follows-the controlling, 'thought police' parent is probably in for a shock later! They can't have rigid control for ever. Letting a DC have a sausage at a party isn't important-they will probably find they don't like it anyway.

sorry -lives life not leads.

Yes but presumably the meat eating parents have no ethical concerns about the treatment of the tomatoes used in the pasta bake.

Actually I would worry a lot about the tomatoes! I have just had a very long conversation with my vegan friends about food production (friendly, non heated and interesting!)-I don't think that I will be able to buy a non organic cucumber again and I certainly wouldn't give to a young DC. I am able to gloss over strawberry, cherry, tomato and lettuce production because they didn't go into it in such graphic detail! I haven't bought a non organic carrot since my farming cousin told me about 5 yrs ago that she would never eat a raw carrot-she knows too much about it. We are very ignorant about a lot of our food production and I am coming to the conclusion ,in my case, that it may be a good thing!

well yes, of course a parent who is bringing their child up to be a vegetarian would object to the chicken - that's kind of the point... and you know, other people are allowed to make their own decisions about their own children.

If you are going to campaign against children being made to fall in line with their parents' beliefs, why not start with one of the larger organised religions, rather than picking on the veggies? Not eating meat won't do anyone any harm, while organised religion has done an awful lot of very real harm to children.

Not that I'd choose to pick on religious people, personally, but since you seem to have a swarm of bees in your bonnet, it seems a bit off to pick on a relatively mild and powerless group to harangue. Go for the big guys, I'm sure the Pope can handle himself...

I do argue long and hard on here on the religious point of view. Children can debate these matters and come to their own conclusions and it is a lot more interesting and enlightening than the closed subject of 'because mummy says so'!

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

THAT'S SOOOOO NOT THE POINT!!!!

'Catholics: a little bit of devil worship now and again won't do your child any harm!'

Can't see it working as a slogan, tbh.

ach, you never know, it might catch on!
cheer up folks, it might never happen.

Mrs Kat, why would it be letting him down? And is it really a battle?

I think you have a right to make whatever decisions you want to make about your child's diet - as long as your partner is in agreement.

On the other hand, I think seeing it as a win/lose 'battle' is BU.