11 year old pescatarian wants to go vegan

[Chingchok]

Hi all

Having decided to stop eating meat at age 9, my son now wants to stop eating fish and dairy. He has never been able to eat eggs because of allergy, but now he has switched to oat or almond milk, and doesn’t want to eat fish anymore.

We support him, however I feel really torn and anxious about his nutrition. He already has an iron deficiency (he was always on the edge of it before stopping meat), vit D deficiency and he has suspected ADHD. I’ve tried vegan fish oils (Nothing Fishy) which are almost impossible to get him to take. He takes an iron supplement and vitamin D but I also worry about b12, EFAs…

A lot of vegan ready-made foods are relatively processed, and we are both allergic to several preservatives, so I make almost everything myself. Nut cheese, chickpea tofu, miso, a wide varieties of lentils, beans, nut butters and seed dips and oils. We almost completely stopped eating meat when he did, and so I already cooked 90 per cent vegetarian foods at home. When he has to eat out, ie on a school trip, fish has often been the only option available to him.

Oh and his school is nut-free. So no almond milk, cashew nut cheese.

I would really welcome concrete advice on how to make this switch, how to make sure he gets enough of specific nutrients, how not to spend my entire life in the kitchen…

Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences!

Interesting how the aggressive anti-vegans appear so entirely uniformed about nutrition.

I say that as a non-vegan

*Interesting how the aggressive anti-vegans appear so entirely uniformed about nutrition.

I say that as a non-vegan*

I don't find it surprising eating meat is the no-thought default option. I am shocked that people don't know about vitamin D supplementation though, especially over the last year...

i would say no to veganism
unless you can afford the vegan products?
when he is buying his own food he can go vegan

Veganism is cheap, have you seen the price of meat ? Lentils and beans are pennies.

It is most interesting how vegans are advocating multiple health benefits of a vegan diet for a child.. Also at 11 ethical beliefs are good thing but not exactly set in stone and for any parent it would be good to have ability to have a discussion on this or in fact any subject to make sure he is aware that this choice is some people's view of what is ethical and doesn't constitute the absolute truth

apart frm the diet how is he?
is this some sort of control issue?

veganism products such as vegan cheese, nut milk, etc, that is expensive isnt it?

Gram for gram quorn is less than even the cheapest beef mince

obviously i know lentils are cheaper than meat.

@WaltzingBetty

Interesting how the aggressive anti-vegans appear so entirely uniformed about nutrition.

I say that as a non-vegan

Oh Jesus. 'Aggressive'? Really? Calm down. An 11 year old wants to go vegan, and he is lacking nutrients. To most it's quite clear that this wouldn't be a great option.

How come vegans never seem to consider people's rights? Cashews are unethical and almond milk is terrible for the environment, especially for those living near the farms.

and fair enough if he doesnt want fish.

i dont believe his school doesnt have a vegetarian option

You don't need to eat "vegan products".
Fruit, pulses, nuts and vegetables are a healthy diet.
I do like Oat milk, personally, but it's not an essential ingredient in my diet.

Meat eating is appalling for the environment, that isn't a belief it is a fact. Diary is a by product of the meat industry, that is also a fact. These aren't opinions or beliefs as I say I eat meat. Doesn't mean I am blind to these realities

How come vegans never seem to consider people's rights? Cashews are unethical and almond milk is terrible for the environment, especially for those living near the farms

True however tree nuts have a positive environmental impact.

eatforum.org/learn-and-discover/the-planetary-health-diet/

This, also most beans have a positive effect

I would say that some of the vegan websites such as Viva provide really good and useful (and up to date!) information. They can also direct you to resources and books for child vegans etc. Personally I think good on your DS wanting to something so direct and positive, and good on you for supporting him.

viva.org.uk/

It's been ages since I looked at the Viva website. I might have a little pootle... (DH is vegetarian wanting to go vegan and I am open to going the whole hog so to speak).

so you are using the nut butters already?

Why don’t you suggest a gradual approach? Maybe going vegetarian first and seeing how that works?

@Dentistlakes

Why don’t you suggest a gradual approach? Maybe going vegetarian first and seeing how that works?

i agree

To be completely honest I really don't know what to think when I read posts like this. Maybe how glad I am to be living somewhere where children, yes here 11 is still a child, just don't come out with this kind of thing. Anyway, to answer your question. First and foremost I believe as parents we have the responsibility to give children a healthy diet. If you, as parents feel you are capable, and willing to sacrifice time and money to enable this choice of diet for your child, and that you will also be able to make sure any supplements needed are taken, then it's an option if you so wish. If you can't, for whatever reason, then you shouldn't let your child make the changes to their diet. They are too young to take responsibility for their nutrition. Say you will rethink in say 3 years time, when they are older and more able to contribute to the actual work that is needed to feed multiple people varying diets.
Ideally families work together, to try and establish the best for everyone, not just one member, and that means give and take from everyone . You have already made dietary changes and your child also has deficiencies, that needs to be addressed before anything else

eggs are good and nutritious

Making a child eat every last mouthful is child abuse. Sending a child to bed because they’ve got a face on because they refuse to eat anything you’ve lovingly prepared for them is not.

If he can eat soya products that will help.
Soya milk is high in protein and most brands (such as Alpro) are enriched with vitamin B12.

Marmite is also high in B12. Nutritional yeast is high in protein and many brands are fortified.

He should definitely be taking a supplement that contains B12, iron, D and zinc.

Speaking as someone who became vegetarian at age 12, I would not try to force him to eat fish or dairy. That's not going to have a positive outcome for anybody. At the same time he should be taking a more active role in researching nutrition, meal planning, and food preparation.

oh sorry, i see he has an egg allergy