Veggie kids

[Jonesey1972]

What do people think about bringing children up as vegetarians?

Where do you stand on (sigh) chicken and fish, then gelatine, stock, etc? Think about your rules now so that you aren't caught out by a pack of haribos.

To those who said there isn't an issue. I don't think there's a problem with nutrition at all with being vegetarian.

The problem my veggie DH have with bringing up strict veggie is the inevitable good/bad food discussion you'll have to have if you want to stop them eating meat at school and at parties.

HeadDreamer- we have discussions with DC about what foods we eat and what we don't eat, but don't term it 'good' and 'bad' foods. We have discussed wit our DC from quite a young age the fact that we as a family have our beliefs (including not eating meat/fish) but that it's fine for others to have their own, different, beliefs.

Our DC know exactly what they can and can't eat at parties/school and have never had any problem with this. They even know what ingredients to look out for in sweets so now they can read they check sweet packs etc themselves.

Unless I know the parents very well I do usually mention their diet before they go to parties but usually something like 'chunky DC is vegetarian- he knows what he can eat at the usual party tea but if there's any problem just let me know and I'll bring him something different'.

I'm a vegetarian and my husband is a meat eater so our daughter eats meat. I will let her decide when she is old enough.

I don't call meat bad, I call it meat. Explaining that meat is made of animals and that's why I don't want us to eat it is simple enough.

None of those things are veggie so I don't eat them. But equally I don't want to turn the poor boy into a pariah. I think I'll judge situations as they come...

Bloody Haribo. Every week a pack comes home from school. We go and choose something else at the shop. The kids don't eat them whilst they're actually at school so my DD doesn't have any need to feel excluded.

I don't have a problem with DS saying whatever he wants but gelatine does make me go 'eughhhhh'. Boiled bones and skin, yuk. For some reason 'fish gelatine' sounds worse to me.

Eating not saying.

Why is meat eating the default? I think it's really weird to give your kids meat when you don't eat it yourself, unless there's a good (health) reason.

We are pescetarian (although only eat fish v rarely and DH almost never) but if 3 year old DS wants to eat meat at a friend's house or party etc I won't try to stop him.

He's asked why we don't have ham, I told him that we don't eat it. When he asked why, I said because ham is made from pigs and we don't eat pigs. Purely factual and non judgemental.

He eats almost everything, loads of veg, pulses, good fats like nut butter and avocado, and he probably has a much more balanced diet than most toddlers tbh.

I think meat is the default because then the child is raised eating every food group and experiencing everything, then they can make their own choice not to eat it. Plus I heard that eating meat if you've never eaten it before can make you quite ill.

Meat is the default in the uk, but not globally.

I have often been told that there are no vegetarian sources of vitamin b12, not sure why this myth persists?! But here is the vegetarian society's list marmite is my fave

B12 is only an issue for vegans, not vegetarians.

I plan on raising any eventual DC veggie. When they're old enough to make an informed choice then it'll be up to them. I don't think I'd prepare meat meals for them though if they chose to eat it; handling meat & the smell of meat turns my stomach.

Food trends are turning more towards plant based diets & meat being a special treat so I think it'll increasingly become the norm

"Meat" is not a food group, it is one type of food in a food group. Vegetarians eat food from all the food groups, it's not a restrictive diet.

SpeakNoWords- Totally agree.

Personally I think bringing them up veggie is fine but actually telling them they can't eat meat seems wrong. I would think it would be quite difficult for a vegetarian to raise their child eating lots of different meat anyway unless you're going to cook them a different meal to you every other day. I'm not keen on meat so my DS probably won't eat it that much but I'm happy to cook him meat if that's what he wants.

We don't label ourselves vegetarian but we're a meat free household for various reasons but we sometimes choose to eat meat outside the house. My DS eats meat at nursery but it's not something he would ever specifically ask for (yet).

When he's older I will explain to him that we don't buy meat because it's a special treat - we care about the environment and animal welfare.

I'm veggie, dh isn't, ds1 gets a choice of meal when we eat. He can have meat like daddy or mummys veggie meal. When he's old enough he can make the choice to be veggie if he wants.

Veggie with a bit of físh here. Dd wont go near meat, DS occasionally has a bit, but very limited to organic burger, or organic bacon (that's all he fancies). I don't really let it be knòwn thàt he has the odd bit so family don't offer him shite from Gregg's or nuggety crap. Dd will eat anything non meaty and is very adventurous for her age, DS has sensory issues so is quite limited in his choices and it's a constant worry. For me it's about quality, environment and welfare, so if he has meat it's the best in the shop. When I see cheap chicken meals and sarnies it proper makes me boak.

I was veggie for a long time before I weaned DC1, when I realised I didn't want to bring her up veggie. And, that being the case, perhaps I wasn't passionate enough about the reasons behind my own vegetarianism to justify it.

I am keen for us to all eat together and to be served up the same food, to not label foods 'good' and 'bad', but to offer a balanced diet and encourage a love of lots of different food. I do still go for the highest welfare meat I can get and serve plenty of veggie meals as well, though. So my husband (who has always eaten lots of meat) and I have both made changes to our diet and we're probably both much healthier as a result.

I know plenty of people who have brought up their children as veggie or vegan, though, and they are perfectly healthy. It can take a bit more effort to achieve a balanced diet, but the veggies I know mostly seem to be fairly well versed in nutrition.

I was brought up as a vegetarian with my whole family being veggies. I however succumbed to the peer pressures of McDonalds and BK as shit as they are along with other influences as a child, so I ultimately made the choice to eat meat. As an adult I still eat meat, but I don't eat/cook red meat so my husbands screwed when it comes to a nice roast lamb or a medium/rare steak! We eat a lot of veggie meals as a family and white meat and I wouldn't deter my girls from wanting red meat or to be a vegetarian when they're grown. It'll be their choice, but as long as I'm buying the food and cooking their meals they'll get what they're given! 😉

Surely if we don't want to force a lifestyle choice onto our children we should all be bringing them up as vegetarians until they have a choice?

None vegetarians can and mostly do eat everything a vegetarian eats and then eat meat also so if they chose to become meat eaters then their choice hasn't been compromised. If that makes sense?

We're not vegetarians and our kid eats meat but I have always thought this when people are saying it's wrong to bring a child up as a vegetarian.

I would never choose veggie for myself or my kids. Being veggie should be a personal choice not something forced on you by someone else. Children need the fat soluble vitamins contained in animal fats for proper brain development & vitamin B12 is found only in those.
Humans have incisors for ripping and tearing flesh & our eyes are in the front of our heads for the purpose of judging distances when hunting prey.
I think healthy meat choices should be offered.
Fact: Most veggos when drunk will crave pepperoni pizza & Hamburgers.
My ex DH had a mate whose wife ran a rigid veggo household, their DD would throw her Tofu, Burgul & Tabuli lunch in the bin & buy ham & chicken sandwiches with her pocket money from the canteen. HE used to go "Surfing" with my DH on Sundays, all you can eat Pizza Hut on the beach surfing, where he would consume 3 large pizzas worth of BBQ Meat lovers, Pepperoni & seafood Marinara.