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Original poster

veggie children?

21 replies

AimeesMum · 25/07/2002 10:13

Hi. I'm vegetarian, my dh is not, however he only eats meat, usually white meat, of we're out. Meat and fish are never in our house. We mad the decision to raise our dd and future children as vegetarians until they are of an age that they can make their own decisions. Even then it would be a case of eating it outside of the home, as I don't like to smell meat cooking.
I was just wondering if anyone esle has got a fussy eater child? Dd is 21 months old, and loves quorn,pizza,potato,yoghurt,rice,pasta,cheese..and that's about it! Occassionally she will eat vegetables in a stir-fry. Does anyone else worry about their childs iron intake? Dd is full of energy, so don't think she's lacking it, but I would like to make sure she has a varied enough diet.

OP posts:

pupuce · 25/07/2002 10:50

Aimeesmum - I am not a vegetarian but I don't eat much animal proetin anyway. However your post is of interest to me.... I was chatting with a friend about parents who raise their toddlers as veggies... both my friend and I have very close to us a toddler raised as a veggie and we have the same observations about those 2 kids... and we did wonder if at such a young age depriving them of small quantities of animal protein is good for their development. Please don't get me wrong I am not having a go at veggies but i am concerened for both these kids.
Just to explain, the child that I am worried about is 18 months old and is IMO (and other friends' opinion) very hypo tonic (not very tonic), he is weak, did not stand on his leg (put no weight on them) until was way past 14 months old... he is JUST starting to walk not out of "lazyness" or lack of interest but simpe ability. At 1, all he did was sit aided with cushions and he could not - if he fell- pull himself up. He eats pureed food (refuses to swallow a lump!), he says only mama (I know plenty of children who hardly speak at 2 so that in itself is not worrying) but the combination of all of these.... well I am worried !

BTW I have a vegan friend who is very well versed in nutrition and she has always given a bit of chicken or fish to her kids on a weekly basis (not much) but it did surprise me. She didn't think they had a balanced enough diet without it (also as children are...they could be fussy with some vegan food).

I have been thinking of contacting the Vegetarian society to see what they do recommend for babies actually... have you done that yourself ?

WideWebWitch · 25/07/2002 10:51

Aimees mum, just typed a long message for you and my machine crashed, how annoying! Anyway, my ds is nearly 5 and has been veggie all his life.

Iron is in: dried peaches, egg yolks, nuts (but your dd is too young), asparagus, oatmeal, blackstrap molasses (which I think is vile), parsley, figs, cherries, bananas, avocados, brown rice, potatoes, green peas, prunes, sunflower seeds, raisins, mushrooms, kale, brocolli. You need vit c for optimum iron absorption so try to give any of the above with something rich in vit c.

Other ones to watch for in a veggie diet are B6 and B12. B6 is in wheatgerm, bran, cantaloupes, cabbages, milk, b. molasses, egg yolks, kale, leeks (quite sweet, might be good) and B12 is in eggs milk and cheese.

Just taken this from Suzanne Olivers' "What should I feed my baby" which is ok but not veggie. My ds eats eggs and nuts and brocolli so I don't worry about these vits too much. Recommend carol timperleys veggie baby book, will see if I can find a link for you. HTH.

WideWebWitch · 25/07/2002 10:54

The Carol Timperley book I used should be here

pupuce · 25/07/2002 10:57

I have to add in light of what WWW wrote, the child I am worried about did not have eggs until he was 1 (and it's 1 a week) and was on soya formula and almond milk (not cows) from 6 months onwards...

Bozza · 25/07/2002 11:01

I agree with Pupuce that there is some cause for concern with some (but not all) vegetarian children - that they are not getting the nutrients they need. So if you are going to bring DD up veggie I would try to ensure that she is getting all the nutrients she needs.

Your problem that she is not eating much fruit/veg though would be common to a meat-eating child. Have you tried adding them to the food that is eaten - extra veggies on pizza, fruit in yoghurt, veg mushed up in a jacket potato is v easy.

WideWebWitch · 25/07/2002 11:10

Pupuce, it is perfectly possible to get a completely balanced and nutritious diet without eating meat or fish. If these veggie children are not getting proper nutrition they will not be healthy and developing normally. Do you think this is the case with your friends' veggie toddlers? Plenty of veggies live on pizza and chips and of course this is inadequate. My ds walked at 9 months, talked early and is happy, healthy and bonny in every way! The vegetarian Society agree and so do some insurers who offer lower life insurance premiums for veggies. I'm really not interested in converting people to vegetarianism, honestly, but I did have to deal with a bit of prejudice about bringing up my son this way and so I've got used to defending my decision! The veggie soc view is here

pupuce · 25/07/2002 11:35

Thanks WWW - the toddler I know eats a lot of veggies and fruits and grains (quinoa, millet, ota, barley,...) - he can't have anything else he doesn't like lumps and pieces !!! SO he has never had pasta, rice, pizza,...
I'll have a look at the site.
Thanks

Bozza · 25/07/2002 11:54

Pupuce that diet sounds almost vegan, especially with milk from veg sources. I would have reservations about a vegan child. Even without lumps the child could manage yoghurt, cheese sauce etc.

Bozza · 25/07/2002 12:04

Pupuce that diet sounds almost vegan, especially with milk from veg sources. I would have reservations about a vegan child. Even without lumps the child could manage yoghurt, cheese sauce etc.

pupuce · 25/07/2002 12:57

He does get yogourt (actually goat milk yogourt or soja yogourt). I don't think he has cheese.

Bozza · 25/07/2002 14:22

i would have thought cheese was potentially quite an important part of a veggie baby's diet. Or eggs.

WideWebWitch · 25/07/2002 14:27

Bozza, Agree, I'd say both are.

Bozza · 25/07/2002 14:31

Pleased about that WWW because you seem quite up on nutrition and although DS isn't veggie as a baby he wasn't keen on meat (texture, I think) so I tried to up the cheese and eggs.

Original poster

AimeesMum · 26/07/2002 10:37

Well, dd loves fruit, I forgot to mention it in first posting..and will eat lots of apples and loves raisans. She is also a lover of all things dairy, and would eat scrambled eggs with cheese on top everyday if I would let her, and is always in the fridge getting a yoghurt (those danone follow on milk ones). However she does not like cows milk, and will not drink it. She has soya milk on her breakfast, which she adores,so I'm quite happy with that.
DD was walking at 9-10 months old, and is always full of energy (sleeps 8:30pm-8am then awake all day.

OP posts:

WideWebWitch · 26/07/2002 10:48

There you go, you should be OK then!

ScummyMummy · 26/07/2002 10:54

Just as a word of warning for any 1st time Mums out there... quinoa is not very tasty! I know this since I got ludicrously carried away when mine were babas and lovingly prepared them (among other delights) a nectarine and quinoa puree... yes, honestly. And it was not well received! In fact, I had to put faces on the chart I had made to track their food likes and dislikes. I find it hilarious to remember this type of activity! What on earth was I thinking?!

I find this hilarious too... (turn your sound on)

pupuce · 26/07/2002 10:59

Scummy my son and my nephew love it - DD is not so keen... so it may be worth trying... one never know and it is better than other grains.

Aimeesmum.... Don't want to put a damper on the yogourts.... but you realise that they are a marketing ploy designed you to spend more money than necessary with the added pleasure of giving your DD lots of sugar (I haven't seen them but I suspect there is plenty of sugar... know Danone to well !)

Marina · 26/07/2002 11:08

Pupuce, you might be surprised to know, that to my palate at least, the Danone ones are not as sweet as Yeo Valley's fromage frais for children. We find Rachel's Dairy fruit yogurts the least sweetened but ds will not eat some of the more tart fruit flavours as a result!

susanmt · 26/07/2002 12:05

I have just never given my kids any sweetened yoghurt - bad mother! I eat lots of natural yoghurt and they both love it too - dh screws up his face when he sees us all slurping away at it!

WideWebWitch · 26/07/2002 13:29

Pupuce is right about yoghurts: read the labels on most of them and the main ingredient (i.e the one listed first) is usually sugar. The ones aimed specifically at kids are the worst offenders IME. You could try natural yoghurt with fruit puree mixed in instead, especially as your dd won't have developed an opinion yet about which ones she wants! I admit to buying petit filou which aren't much better than mr elephant or whatever they're called sugary enumbered kids ones though.

zebra · 27/07/2002 05:37

SusanT: why "bad mother?" We eat buckets of unsweetened yogurt in our house. My kids get so much sugar; bickes at Mum+Tots group being the usual vector... last thing I'm going to do is get them used to sweetened yogurt.

AimeesMum: I worry about iron intake because we have lead paint in the house.... but the kids love brocoli and breakfast cereals (almost all iron fortified nowadays). I've bought Floradix sometimes, too.

ScummyMummy: Actually... my kids like quinoa; I love the stuff. Try it with miso or marmite.

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