Should baby be vegan

[Confusedmaa]

My daughter is vegan and currently pregnant. What do other vegans do in terms of bringing up their children. Should the baby be strict vegan or would being brought up with mainly plant based diet but some non vegan elements be ok. Would the baby need extra vitamins once fully weaned? Would intolerances build up if they aren't introduced to all food groups? I feel that she should explore all of the options. On more of a social point, I had a vegan friend growing up and they were never invited to parties or to anyone's house for tea. They always seemed so upset when treats were offered at school or birthday cake shared out as they weren't allowed any. This was in the 80s so not much understanding back then. I know that's not the end of the world and I really don't want to come across as ignorant but I'd just feel like I want to hear peoples experiences.

No I wouldn’t. If the only choice is eating a dog/cat or starving you’re close to death anyway. I could not eat one.

I live in Puglia in the South of Italy. Horse is very popular here. I don't think I could tell horse from cow, once cooked.

Our vegan friends are raising their kids vegetarian. The reason for this is that of course you can meet your nutritional requirements as a vegan but young children are naturally a bit fussy and don't tend to eat perfectly balanced diets so vegetarian was the compromise of their values and their children's health and development.

I have a teenage daughter who isn't vegan and whilst the boys show an interest in what she is eating when she offers them meat (to irritate me) they don't want it. If things change as they get older than obviously I will have to hone my meat cooking skills, hopefully that won't be the case but I'm not going to impose my views on them.

"My children have a varied diet - it just doesn't include animal flesh or bodily secretions"

That's put me right off my fried egg on toast

Your daughter will be very clued up on nutrition. Baby will be healthier than most I'd say.

Fair enough.
It was just a thought.
Children often try things in school that they wouldn't try at home.

Why?
Why would a vegan automatically be ore clued up on nutrition or have a healthier diet? A baby's diet requires a different approach than an adult one.

That's what some vegans try to do.
Enjoy your egg.

@BillyJeans I think you’ll find that peoples perception of certain lifestyles has more of an impact on the way they think than you realise. I do not think eating animals as wrong and I never shall, the kind of people that bandy around that are usually those who act like they’re in a cult.

Sometimes it's OK if they don't have underlying conditions but vegan diets are usually very heavy in things like gluten so if they happen to have a sensitivity or bigger problem there then they'll feel it very badly and it will hinder development especially neurological development. Also children under 5 need a diet higher in fat which without dairy can be hard to do. You'll often be relying on overprocessed things like coconut oil which can be quite bad for you.

No, I couldn't until they asked if I'd ever eaten horse before
I've also been offered donkey sausages (in Australia, bought from the Italian butcher).

😫

Your ethics would over ride your primal instincts to survive?

As with all things parenting, it's a good idea to have an open mind and be flexible. Ensure your sister has plenty of breastfeeding support and knows how to access local face to face groups as there are no vegan formulas.

Then when it comes to weaning, some children are fussier than others. If you have a fussy eater, you may end up chucking all your ideals aside just so they eat something!

Vegetarianism and veganism isn't unusual these days, so most families will be happy to cater at play dates and parties. School dinners usually have a vegetarian option, but not always vegan, so she may have to be prepared to do packed lunches.

As the child gains independence though she may fancy trying food her friends eat.

Put me off my coffee too

My children are vegan and I never understand the outrage some people seem to have over the concept. Not harming animals is a good thing 🤷‍♀️

Ha well breast milk isn’t vegan, it’s from an animal, so obviously no a baby shouldn't be vegan. I would seriously consider making an exception for milk for a couple of years, if she isn’t able to continue longer term breast feeding. It's such a good source of fat and calcium and it’s clear that babies specifically are designed to drink animal (ideally human) milk.

But excluding that, as the child gets older, your suggestion sounds sensible to me OP. As long as the parents are careful to ensure a properly balanced diet and enough of all the right vitamins etc (a few things are quite rare outside of meat, I believe? I’m no expert) then seems fine to make vegan the default. In my experience, most vegans are more aware and proactive about a balanced diet than most meat eaters, but might need extra thought for a little one.

As they grow up, I’d let the child choose. I’d see it on a similar way to raising a child in a religion or with inherited culture different from the prevailing: by all means share your beliefs and traditions with your kids, but let them choose their own way as they grow and understand.

This is the vegan board. It's for advice on being vegan. If you want to post more generally about being against veganism, then make a thread in another board. This one is for tips and advice on being vegan. It's usually a friendly, helpful board and not for debating whether veganism is good or bad.

Hi everyone,

thanks for all the contributions so far. We’d like to
remind everyone of our talk guidelines and to
post with these mind.

We would also like to encourage everyone to post with OP’s thread in mind, which asks for the experiences of other vegans around the diet their children follow/followed and how they navigate/navigated this.

Thanks!

Advice on being vegan can surely include whether or not to be vegan?
I take it vegans are reporting non-vegans for having views, hence the MN comment. 🫣

Is your daughter not very confident about it?

I've been vegan for almost 30 years so didn't even think to not bring my children up as vegan. I did speak to a friend who is dietician, but tbh, I probably knew more than her having eaten a healthy vegan diet for 10 years before having a child.

A healthy vegan diet is fine for children but your daughter should make sure that she is well read on vegan nutrition.

I breast fed until my children were 2. They're adults and teens now, fit and healthy, and very glad they've never eaten animal products.

I'm glad mumsnet have commented on this thread. As a pp said, this is the vegan board for advice about being vegan. If you want views from meat eaters, they'll be more than happy to share them elsewhere.

Her health visitor will be able to advise and she could also seen a nutritionist that specialises in vegan diet. It can be done and will need proper planning. The thing about being socially accepted I wouldn't worry about in 2024. Veganism is so common i never have problems with being catered for.

I’m not a vegan or vegetarian but as long as the child is given sufficient nutrition (which I would hope they will with vegan parents) surely it’s fine? Parents bring their children up according to their own values in all sorts of ways. I also expect preparing non vegan foods might be quite upsetting to vegan parents so why would they want to do that?

Do vegans think breast milk is vegan or not?
Genuine question.