3 year old vegetarian?

[Kismetjayn]

I've never exactly hidden where meat comes from, but my 3 year old has just realised chicken is chicken. She has become extremely upset because chickens are her friends and she doesn't want to eat animals. We talked about why some animals need to eat other animals to live- she has said she would rather they die than eat another animal! (She knows what death is.)

I have said she can become a vegetarian if she wants- her DF and I were vegetarian until I got pregnant- on the condition that she eats everything she needs to, to get enough nutrition (lentils, beans etc).

Is she too young for this? How would you deal with it? I want to respect her opinion but worried about how it might affect her, given she's always been picky about beans of the non-baked variety.

Plenty of children are vegetarians from birth. It's fine.

There are entire countries where the majority of children are raised vegetarian - she'll be fine :)

I agree with her.

Let her go veggie, she’ll be fine as long as you feed her a balanced diet.

My DC have been vegetarian since birth, and one of them has never knowingly eaten a bean. They are both thriving despite also being typically a bit fussy over food. They are now 9 and 6 :)

Thank you all for the speedy reassurance!
I'd been planning on going back to vegetarianism anyway, having a lot of meat guilt. So may be fortuitous. I always wanted her to have her options open and not be pushed into anything- I guess she's making up her mind sooner than I expected!

Does anyone have any good child-friendly recipes?

I was raised as a vegetarian, I did try meat when I was school aged, which my mum was fine with, although I could probably count on one hand the things I actually tried. I'm almost 30 and been vegan for about 6 years. I have my bloods checked every few years and I've never been anaemic or had any other issues from being veggie. It's pretty hard these days to be deficient in the important things as most food staples are fortified!

Her own decisions. Seems quite early to be alert to the situation but fair play to her.

Just saw your question about child friendly recipes, my mum just used to make normal meals and replace the meat with veggie options. She made an amazing toad in the hole with quorn sausages, Shepard's pie and lasagna with soy mince were some of my favourites!

How does she feel about fish? I know it’s not proper vegetarianism but it could help make nutrition easier...

DS was veggie from birth until about 8, when we both started eating fish. He was always a non-fussy child though and liked all kinds of beans, cheese and eggs as well as meat substitutes like Quorn.

If she'll eat baked beans, you could always try those tins of mixed beans in tomato sauce to expand her repertoire a bit! But honestly, ordinary baked beans on toast with a bit of grated cheese on top is a very heathy meal for a child as well as being bloody lovely!

Do a bit of research as to what her nutritional needs are at this age and just check that you are meeting them. I did it from time to time with DS and it was always fine - he was getting what he needed from eating a fairly standard diet (cereal/toast/eggs for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, pasta/curries/stews/whatever for dinner) just without the meat. I didn't like to give him too much Quorn etc when he was younger as it's high fibre and can be difficult to digest, so we only had it once or twice a week. Otherwise, meals are based around pulses, veg or cheese. Neither of us is very keen on tofu but that's always an option too!

Favourite meals include macaroni cheese, stir fry with cashew nuts, egg fried rice, vegetable lasagne as well as the beans on toast!

Rose Elliot does some very good cookbooks. I have a big one called something like "The Complete Vegetarian" which has lots of family/child friendly recipes.

I asked her how she felt about eating fish- she said 'ooh, fish, I like it.' then looked horrified and said 'but fish are my friends!' so I guess that's off the menu too.

Thank you for the suggestions, I'll check out her nutritional needs and have a think of some dinner ideas.

dd was vegan from birth, decided to go veggie at seven, went back to veganism in her teens and has now been vegan for a few years. She's always been healthy. You're obviously well aware of the need for a balanced diet so your dd will be fine.

I used this book and found lots of recipes that dd liked.

www.amazon.co.uk/Baby-Child-Vegetarian-Recipes-Delicious/dp/0091853001/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=vegetarian+childrens+cookbook&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1543533771&sr=8-6

You could push back a bit on this you know. A brief wobble when they realise fish is fish is normal. I respect your own principles - especially with meat, but a cheerful "Are fish your friends though? Really? Do they ever come for a playdate?" would probably be enough.

She has pet fish and has named them all. She was inconsolable the whole day when one of them died, so I don't think I could get away with saying her fish aren't her friends!

I could push back but feel ethically compromised about it. She's clearly managed to comprehend death & the reality of meat- whether she can put that in perspective so it means something to her more personally... I don't know.

I've been feeding her vegetarian since that day but have left it open so if she wants to change her mind, she can.

I borrowed this book from the library and ended up buying it. The courgette orzo was a big hit with the dc for a while!

Ah - well if you have fish in the house my suggestion really won’t work!

Things my veggie 3 year old will wolf down:
Toad in the hole with Quorn sausages
Mild thai green curry with tofu
Pumpkin and ricotta gnocchi
Spanakopita
Lasagne
DIY pizza
Fried rice
Burritos with beans and halloumi

Both mine have been vegetarian since birth, and are both thriving. The eldest is 6 and occasionally chooses meat when out of the home, but that's fine and up to him.

I give both of mine daily vitamins just as an insurance against any fussiness, but they both eat pretty much everything I cook thankfully.

Favourites are egg fried rice with tofu, spaghetti bolognaise with vegetarian mince, homemade vegetable soup with lentils, enchiladas with beans, rice, veggies etc

My entire family are vegetarians. It's no big deal my dc have been veggie from birth and don't know any different.

Regular popular meals are chickpea tagine, lentil or quorn Bolognese, eggs in various forms, macaroni cheese with spinach, pasta with tomato sauce, pea korma.
As a treat I buy vegan nuggets which they love. They taste a lot like chicken nuggets which makes me worry what's in an actual chicken nugget tbh!!