Raising toddler vegan / advice on milk substitutes

[Josie0909]

Me and my husband are both quite recently vegan (in the last year) but have been vegetarian most of our lives. My vegan nutrition knowledge isn’t as up to scratch..I have a 17 month old who I’m still breastfeeding but I’d like to stop soon due to a second pregnancy and I don’t wish to tandem feed. We’d like to raise her vegan while she’s this age but obviously would not deny her when she’s old enough to ask for what she wants if it’s meat / fish etc. At the moment obviously because my personal view is vegan is healthier I wouldn’t give her the less healthy version...

After the age of 12 months none breastfed babies are typically transferred from formula to cows milk as a main drink. I’ve read contradictory advice some saying oat and almond milks are fine but others saying these are not a suitable replacement for under 2s because of the low fat content. My daughter eats food really well and is a thriving on the 95th centile but I’m just a bit apprehensive and don’t want to get it wrong. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Not vegan but my DC has a dairy allergy and there is a lot of information about toddler dietary requirements for cow milk protein allergy. We use Oatly barista oatmilk as the main milk drink as it is the highest fat and has added calcium. However my DC eat meat and eggs so I have no concern with their overall intake of fat and protein.

My dd's 18 and I raised her vegan. I breastfed until she was 2 and then gave her soya milk. Back then, there weren't the variety of plant milks that you get now.

I vaguely remember getting info from Viva about vegan nutrition for babies and children. That was in the pre-internet so I had a leaflet or booklet. There's probably a section on their website now.

Alpro do a kids soy milk that's recommended for vegan toddlers. It has a giraffe on the bottle.

The vegan parents I know have used it for their toddlers and my kids love it

www.alpro.com/uk/products/drinks/growing-up/soya-growing-up-drink-1-3/

This ^

My DS struggles with cow's milk, he's had Oatly Barista since 12 months on recommendation of the HV.

We eat eggs and very occasional fish and meat but not dairy because of allergies. I stopped breastfeeding my eldest just before he was 2 and use oat milk - most is calcium enriched but some isn't so worth checking. He eats really well and is on a higher centile for weight than height so I'm not worried about the fat. I don't know so much about protein since we do eat eggs but presumably with lots of pulses it you can get enough.

As a previous poster, we're not vegan but had a daughter with a dairy allergy. The advice is to use dairy free formula / breastfeed until 2, but otherwise to use either soya milk or oatly barista. As well as calcium, there's research that says you need to watch out for iodine levels as well www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5650045/ . Some alternative mills are iodine fortified, others aren't. It's also worth checking calcium carefully, as growing kids need a lot, and although the milks are calcium fortified, things like the dairy free cheeses and yoghurts often aren't.

www.srnutrition.co.uk/2020/01/comparing-plant-based-milk-alternatives-for-children/

this is a really good comparison and also she has an Instagram page which usually covers vegan options. we have a 17m old currently breastfed with a vegan diet.

If you want your children to be vegan then you have to worker harder than omni parents on nutrition. There are lots of helpful Facebook pages out there.

Either Oatley barista or Alpro growing up milk are good alternatives. At this age he needs 350mg of calcium a day.

Can I, very very respectfully, suggest that you have a word with an accredited nutritionist rather than a HV or GP.
www.ucl.ac.uk/child-health/news/2021/jun/vegan-diets-children-may-bring-heart-benefits-pose-growth-risks

Thanks everyone and thanks @ThedaBara for the link to the article. I had considered speaking to my HV but to be honest was a bit worried Id get flamed or knowledge on vegan diets in children wouldn’t be present. A nutritionist would be a good idea I think..I’ve ordered some oatly barista and soya yoghurts fortified with calcium.

It’s been a hard decision to make as although I believe it will be healthiest decision for her I don’t want her to feel excluded as she gets older if she has different meals from other children when she starts preschool etc. That’s a separate topic but I’m not sure how to approach that one yet!

@Josie0909 the biggest problem isn't preschool where they bring their own food or even school lunches where at least you can see the menu in advance and send in a packed lunch if needed - it's children's birthday parties! Unless you had an understanding host I can't imagine she'd be able to eat any of it - it's crisps (many of which have milk protein in), sandwiches (with cheese or ham or possibly jam but then you'd have to gamble on it being a dairy free spread), cocktail sausages and all that sort of stuff, followed by chocolate with milk in in in the party bags.......

Anyone can declare themselves a nutritionalist but a dietitian is medical professional. You should see a dietitian. Your GP maybe able to refer you.

My dd was fine at birthday parties when she was small. There were usually things like grapes, cucumber, carrot sticks and hula hoops which she could help herself to. Then I would send a lunchbox with sandwiches and some treats that she wouldn't usually have at home.

Her year group had a culture of parents staying at parties so I could see that she was happy with the party food which she had.

Although she was the only vegan, loads of children these days have special dietary requirements because of allergies or religious beliefs so neither adults nor other children made a big deal of her taking her own food.

This is a really good resource static1.squarespace.com/static/59f75004f09ca48694070f3b/t/5e56fa31f3d6f227ed61362c/1582758484838/Eating_well_Vegans-Feb_2020_forweb.pdf

My son is dairy free and we use alpro soya growing up milk. This was recommended by our dietician.

As for when she starts preschool etc. At my sons school they are only allowed to have fruit or vegetables as their snack and his school seems to be all about the healthy eating. I doubt she will notice much difference between her food and everyone else's