Vegetarian raising meat eating children

[Jlm1977]

I don't have kids yet, but plan to in the near future, and just wondered if anyone had advice, as I am pescatarian (eat fish) and my other half is a meat eater. I want to raise kids eating meat, and my approach had been that we would eat fish, or meals where I can have alternatives, however other half is adamant that he wants meat daily and thinks that this approach will mean any children have food issues! Does anyone have any advise or books etc that I can look at for tips on how to handle the issues of why mummy doesn't eat meat! ( planning ahead I know but it is worrying me now,..)

I wouldn't worry too much about it. As a family we're meat eaters but DD decided at am early age that meat wasn't for her but she will eat fish.
Your partner sounds pretty unreasonable.
It doesn't have to be complicated.

I'm pescatarian, dh is a meat eater as are our 2 dc.

There aren't too many issues, although I suspect the dc are a bit fussier about what they will and won't eat because they see what I eat.

We have all sorts of things. Sometimes we're all veggie, sometimes they all have a meaty version and I have the veggie (the freezer is your friend - batch cook for yourself and freeze), sometimes we'll all have fish.

As for questions, well, why don't you eat certain things? I don't eat chicken, beef, lamb, pork etc because I don't like it, so that is fairly easy to explain. If you have ethical concerns then you obviously have to phrase things in and age appropriate way. It's a lot easier than it sounds!

To be honest, the fact that I'm pescatarian causes less problems at mealtimes than then fact that dh won't have anything with gravy!

Well I am a strict veggie with 2 meat and fish eating children. No probs I just adapt the meal. I probably lose out more but we eat veggie several nights a week too. But they have a balance of fish, meat and veggie. No issue and not fussy!

My mum was veggie and we were bought up without meat even though my dad was a meat eater and have no food issues (apart from chocolate weakness!). I would say that being veggie as a hold made me think about food and where it came from so more conscious as an adult about the process from field to plate. I eat meat now btw, started as a teenager.

Well, you do eat meat - fish meat, ....speaking as a lacto-ovo vegetarian.

Anyway, regarding your question. What happens with cooking/meal planning at the moment? Who does the cooking? If you do the cooking, do you currently cook meat for your partner? Who will be responsible for cooking when you have a child?

I do all cooking at home, so as I'm vegetarian, I cook exclusively vegetarian food. My DP is not vegetarian, but he is happy to be cooked for! If he wants meat he cooks it himself or has it when we go out. As I'm responsible for feeding my DS he is also vegetarian. He can decide to eat meat when he is old enough to understand and ask to.

Other than the practicalities of who cooks, there is also the issue of the reasons why you are a pescetarian. If it is for reasons that are important to you then I would assume you would want any child to have the same values.

Your DH is being a dick about this, IMO. "He wants meat every day"!! Are you his personal chef? A paid employee? Tell him if he wants to eat meat he can cook it for himself. I would be worried about other aspects of child rearing if he's being so controlling about this.

Oh and children raised as vegetarian obviously don't have issues with food. Large swathes of India amongst other places are wholly vegetarian, and they do just fine on it!

Thanks all these posts have really helped, I knew that I wasn't alone in this and just needed to have some validation that this could work... Currently I do most if the cooking, mainly because of his hours, and initially he had more fish but now seems to be wanting more meat, which I am buying and cooking, which having been a veggie for 25 years is a big deal, and I don't want or feel the need to eat meat, it is a combination of dislike if mass produced meats, but now as it has been so long is more actually I don't want to or like the idea of it, so don't want to change from being pescatarian and am happy to explain to kids as and when that I don't like it..

I'm pescatarian - DP eats well, anything, lol.

I fed/feed the children meat, but I don't cook or handle anything actually meaty, so the odd burger or sausages, but no chickens or lumps of stuff.

If DP wants meat he sorts it out himself, DS is 17 and he does the same DD stooped eating meat at about 11 years old.

Other than that no food issues with either of the DC.

Why are you cooking food you won't eat? And why does he expect you to cook things for him that you wouldn't eat?

Tbh, don't think your dc will notice/care for a while that you and dp eat differently - they'll probably enjoy trying both .

I'm not veggie, but like everyone to be included when we host at ours (there are some horror stories on MN where veggies have awful experiences eating at family/friends). A book I love is 'meat and 2veg' by Sharon Buthlay. It works on the principal you cook one basic dish, then at some point divide it in two, add veggie extras to One, and meat To the other.