Is a vegan diet ok for children aged 5+

[wantTobeVegan]

I decided to become Vegan 2 weeks ago, dh agreed with the reasons and joined me. Now we want to transition the dc (youngest is 5).

They already drink soya not cows milk . Is it just B12 we need to supplement with ?

Is there anything else we need to check as I know for babies and toddlers it can be tricky but for 5+ is it quite straightforward?

I actually think it's bordering on abusive to do so now. Let them make their own choices.

Sorry, just quoting you to draw OP’s attention!

This is what you need @wantTobeVegan, a dietitian, ie a highly qualified person. Not a nutritionist as mentioned above. Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. My youngest has been seeing a dietitian due to restrictive eating and the advice has been extremely helpful.

Yes, wondering what school they went to. Their uncle's farm?

Luckily they are all good eaters. Not fussy at all. They already like a lot of things that are vegan eg houmous,nut butters , etc . They ate lentil and chickpea bolognese today happily in place of beef bolognese. I think they will be fine with the changes I just want to make sure they get optimal nutrition

Tomorrow we are having stir fry - usually this would be chicken but I’m going to try organic tofu and make a peanut based sauce instead of the usual sweet chilli one. I’m trying to look up vegan recipes to get ideas . I will also try them on quinoa as it has a lot of goodness

Agree. and scary at that. Yet another whim with no basis or logic or understanding.

I think in terms of B12 and omegas that’s where I need to be careful? I will have to check what supplements ? Can anyone recommend good ones as I’ve seen mentioned algae based ones and I’d also add chia seeds to their breakfast .

My children were raised vegan and they are both super-healthy. They rarely get sick and DS played basketball through high school and now works in a physically demanding job.

It is well known that a plant based diet is the healthiest. As for B12, it doesn’t come from the animal itself, it comes from the dirt they eat. You can add a vegan multivitamin to your diet to supplement this, or eat fortified Marmite.

Good luck OP, you’re doing a great thing for yourself and your DC’s health.

The basis of my decision is I’m now aware of the cruelty and suffering in certain industries and I’m not prepared to support that .

The logic is that we can survive and be healthy on a vegan diet.

Im here trying to ask for advice to gain an understanding of how to support my dc nutritional needs.

Thankyou this is really helpful and supportive I’m honestly quite surprised at some of the replies even one saying it’s bordering on abusive .

Yes but you as an adult are able to consider and decide based on that moral issue. The children aren't. If you really can't have meat in your life I feel vegetarian is as restricted as you should go for them until they can make informed decisions of their own.

I have been a veggie for almost 20 years and whilst my DC are not veggie they are given veggie food at home.
My DD’s best friend is vegan and it is very restrictive. She often feels left out being the one at parties with a Tupperware box and she will often ask her friends to share their food with her on the sly.
Personally I would leave a decision like that to the child as they become older rather than forcing it upon them.
Alternatively being vegetarian is a good halfway house unto they are old enough to make the decision themselves.

Well then I would have to explain to them that animals get hurt and harmed to be food for humans. I suppose no different to when I’ve taught them we don’t hurt the dog or cat and to treat them kindly and gently . Maybe I need to explain in a gentle way that meat especially causes hurt to the animal

Yeah, I just read that “bordering on abusive” post 😂. As if the poster is allowing their own DC to “make their own choices” by imposing an unhealthy meat-based diet on them.

You’re planning on telling them that 95% of the UK population is morally equivalent to someone who kicks cats for fun? I’d have a rethink on that if I were you.

How is it different . Now that I know the realities and have seen some documentaries about the horrors of the meat industry it’s no different to animal abuse / exploitation of any kind to any type of animal. I want no part in it. I teach them to be kind to pets as my parents have 2 dogs and 3 cats and when dc were little very often I had to remind them to be kind, be gentle , that we don’t hurt animals. How can I now say with the knowledge I have ‘we don’t hurt animals’ then eat meat knowing I would be financially supporting those who harm animals ? As I said before just as I wouldn’t buy a puppy from a puppy farm where dogs are harmed and exploited . To me it’s suddenly very clear .

And it’s not always the case that the majority is right.

are you taking this moral stance on everything?
how are you accessing mumsnet? Have you thought about the human cost and exploitation of the manufacturing and usage of your device?
absolutely hope your vegan diet is only that of locally sourced and grown food! No air miles etc!

To not harm exploit or kill animals yes

I really just want to make sure my dc nutrition needs are met and it seems with supplements and careful planning they can be. I’ve been googling and there’s no issue about treats and party food like so many said there would be it’s really easily available to get vegan party food (to be honest they don’t go to huge amounts of parties and we don’t like them to have lots of junk anyway and parties we’ve been too seem to have fruit platters and then just send home some cake). It seems manageable and safe I just need to do some more reading , maybe have a one off appt with a nutritionist. I’m not here to cause controversy I’m here for dietary and supplement advice .

So you’re happy to exploit humans and damage the environment to make your moral stance?

My children were brought vegan, but I had been vegan for years so knew a lot about it. I also spoke to a private dietician before weaning them to make sure I hadn’t overlooked anything. I wouldn’t open up the discussion to mumsnet, but do speak to a dietician.

Not a nutritionist, they can be anyone! You need a registered dietician.

Actually we do try to be conscious of the environment. We have never flown anywhere. We have bikes and use public transport. We don’t use things like chat gpt. We try to be recycle all
we can and not be wasteful. It’s a process obviously and I’d like to do more.

Thankyou you see that’s actually really helpful as I didn’t know that so I will make sure it’s a dietician