Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My daughter was raised as a vegetarian from about the age of 2 or so (up until that time we lived on a coast and still ate fresh seafood).
Pediatricians: Never had a problem. I suppose as long as she was within the guidelines for height and weight they saw no reason to worry?
Day-Care/School: We were in Austin TX, which was (is?) very veggie friendly. Never had a problem with veggie options. Even in public school, a simple PBJ was available to kids who didn't want the main entree if it contained meat. Eventually the thrill of cafeteria food wore off and she started taking lunches frome home.
Family: So this is the dicey part. You know how Grandmothers can be. What I did (and it may not float if you are militantly vegetarian) is....I let my daughter make her own decisions. Yep. When it came down to visiting the grandparents (or friends) she was fee to eat meat if that was on the menu. As a young kid she got to try pot roast and hot dogs and all that...crap. Eventually, around Jr. High she became a vegetarian by choice. It was very cool to see her come to that POV on her own. More gratifing for me, as the parent, than if I had shoved it down her throat.
She's now an adult in her mid 20s. She's had a few years of being a strict vegan, although she found that difficult to maintain in college. In fact she had to drop out of her dorm meal plan and eventually move into a house (with a kitchen) to really do a vegetarian diet "correctly". I noticed the last time she came to visit that she has added shellfish to her diet. I was slightly surprised, maybe even a bit disappointed (?), but she's an adult now and gets to make her own decisions.
Good luck and best wishes. Parenting is one of the hardest jobs out there!
We are raising our boys vegetarian. They are 7 and 3 years old. We have moved several times, so we have experienced preceptions of friends, strangers, daycare/school (and of course family) across five states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, the UP of Michigan, New Hampshire, and Arizona. We are currently living in a very isolated ranching community.
We have never had a doctor be concern about our diet. They first seem a little serious and ask if we are vegans. Once I tell them no, then they relax and have no problems because the boys are healthy physically and emotionally. (Even if we were vegan, it seemed that they were more prepared to discuss what we eat to see where we may be lacking in nutrients for the boys--it never seemed like they would try to talk us out of it or worse, but of course I don't really know) They have discussed nutrients I needed to pay close attention to while pregnant, but never in an accusing tone; instead it was a discussion of diet and ways to ensure I got what the baby needed.
We have never had any problems with strangers or new friends. Most people are curious about our diet and want recipes. And they are all impressed with how healthy my boys eat. The closest naysayer we have had is a woman in our current location. She hasn't said anything, but I get the feeling that I am being judged in a negative way. But she is a bossy know-it-all that doesn't know much, so I don't really care.
For the most part, our families have been supportive. I think both of our parents were a little concerned when I was pregnant with our first, but they knew enough to just sit back and wait and see. And what they see is that my children will eat almost anything under the sun while their other grandchildren and friends' grandchildren won't eat anything. I have had my Thanksgiving entree devoured by my uncles before. They are all curious and supportive. My MIL prefers my cooking, even.
The schools have never cared, although sometimes they have seemed not to want to be as helpful as one would care. However, my son is only one student, so I don't blame them. All of the fellow parents have been very supportive.
The only real issue is that sometimes it feels lonely for my oldest (my youngest is too young to realize anything yet). Food is a big way we share our lives and no one eats like he does. Last school, the nurse was a vegetarian, so that was nice for him to see. And his best friend (we now live apart but try to seem them every couple months) is allergic to eggs, nuts and soy, so they both had exclusionary diets in common.
Lately, he has been getting some flack from a friend and once or twice on the bus, but it seems like he has been handling it well. I've discussed it with the friend's mother and she seems supportive and understanding--at least to my face.
Unlike Plaidmom, we are enforcing our vegetarian diet on them. Our stance is that we have chosen the diet we believe best for our family and that when they become teenagers (16 or so), they can choose how they want to eat. BUT they will have to learn how to prepare and cook it. I also would like them to go hunting if they decide to eat meat (and the opposite: if they want to go hunting, they will have to eat what they kill) so that they can see the connection. We just don't want them to be mindless consumers.
We enjoy having people over to eat. Besides just liking to entertain, it allows the boys to see "meat eaters" enjoying our food, as well bringing awareness to others how incredibly delicious food can be even without the meat.
Anyone raise or raising their children vegetarian? If so, how was it received by ped's, day care, family, etc.
JJingle,
I have three sons, 19, 5, and 3. My first son was a vegetarian up until about 1 year ago. I am a vegetarian and his father, although not a huge meat eater, is not. I guess you could say I "raised" him vegetarian. There was never a time when I said "NO, you can't have that because it is not vegetarian" but I cooked that way at home and he never choose otherwise.
When I remarried I had two more children. My husband is a chef and a meat eater. Since both types of food would be cooked on a daily basis we planned to let the children make their own choices. That plan was never put into action because shortly after our middle child was born my husband suffered a massive heart attack at age 36. Since he lost his brother to a heart attack at that same young age, we knew that the best way to help prevent this from being an issue for our sons in the future was to make them accustom to eating a vegetarian diet.
I think in most cases there are always going to be some family members who are not on the same page as you. In my experience though it was never much of a big deal. As for the doctors, I only recall one incident with a pediatrician we used briefly. She asked me if the reason my son was on soy milk, as opposed to dairy, was because of allergies. I responded "no". She then asked "well then why wouldn't you give him regular milk?" and I politely replied "because he isn't a baby cow" .... we never had a problem after that.
I'm the only person in my various 'circles' (work, family, neighborhood, close friends, etc) that doesn't follow the Standard American Diet. It's reassuring to know that my decisions for my child won't hit a bump in the road at every turn.
i know quite a few people who have raised kids vegetarian and vegan and as far as i know none of them have gotten flak from their pediatricians for it.
some have gotten it from their families; i think i'd probably be in that category if i have kids.
if people give you trouble, you can always point out that the american dietetic association (the world's largest organization of dietitians) says that vegetarian and vegan diets, when properly planned, are healthy for people at all stages of life.
if i do have kids, i plan to raise them vegan but at some point (not sure exactly when) i will let them make their own decisions about what they eat, especially outside of the house. it does suck that food is such a big part of a lot of social events, and i'd hate to exclude my kid from things like birthday parties, school events, etc because of their diet. but i'll figure all that out when and if i get to it.
Don't worry Groar--they won't be excluded. You do have to relax a little once they get to school age and remind yourself that one cup of red sugar water will not kill them. We are vegetarians, so birthday cakes and such are not a problem for us. However, our friends' daughter (the one allergic to eggs, nuts and soy) often can't eat at functions either. Many times, her mom will just make her own tiny cake to bring with.
The most important thing is to make friends with people who are understanding. For instance, at my son's birthdays, I now make allergy-free cake and provide allergy-free snacks because of his friend. We have been to so many parties that are meat-free or almost meat-free because they knew my son didn't eat meat. Also, be involved in the school and PTA (if you can stand it) and there is a good chance that school events will have options for you. If you are not, then your child is just another face; if you get involved, then you become a friend (or at least an acquaintance) and they begin to know your child more and care about him/her.
I was raised as a meat eater and became a vegetarian in my early 20's. It was rough because my family disapproved of my choice and gave me tons of lectures on how I couldn't be healthy as a vegetarian, blah, blah, blah. In college, people would look at my plate and make weirdly negative remarks at how healthy I ate (scrunching up their faces, etc). For years I ate as a vegetarian when on my own, but when I went to visit family I ate chicken out of "politeness." Finally I announced I would no longer do that. I've been a vegetarian for 25+ years.
I raised my son as a vegetarian and my family was not supportive. I found my father carving the Thanksgiving turkey and handing slices to my son who didn't know what it was. My husband is not a vegetarian but he respects my choice because he is from India and was mostly raised as a vegetarian (meat maybe once a week). I chose to raise my son as a vegetarian until I felt he was old enough to understand what it is and where it comes from. He chose to eat meat. It makes me sad but that's his choice, his life, his path.
I didn't discuss his diet with his pediatrician because MD's spend very little in their training on diet and nutrition so honestly I didn't think he was qualified to have a medical opinion of what I feed my son. Plus it's my choice what my son eats and it's none of anyone's business, including doctors. My son has always been very healthy and so they had no reason to criticize me for what he eats (or doesn't eat) I breastfed my son for more than 2 years and that was also nobody's business. I'm the one who has to live with the outcome of my own decisions and so if I or my son suffered in some way for being a vegetarian, I was willing to live with that. (Sorry for sounding defensive but that's the years and years of hearing the same argument over and over again, now there's the frickin paleo diet and I get to hear it all AGAIN!)
At school there really wasn't a hassle. My son took his lunch for years because there wasn't a cafeteria. When he went to a public school, he had already decided to eat meat and at that point I felt it was his decision.
One of my vegan friends just gave birth to a healthy 8 pound baby boy. Her doctor fully supported her with her vegan diet throughout her pregnancy. Many of her coworkers criticized her, saying that her baby would be underweight, premature or unhealthy.
Vegan children are raised in vegan families all over the world and are perfectly healthy. Strange how people can send their kids to school with a bologna sandwich, potato chips, snack cakes and a sugary drink and no one bats an eye. But if your child eats a healthy vegan diet people get concerned about them.
Anyone raise or raising their children vegetarian? If so, how was it received by ped's, day care, family, etc.
Yes I did! They are now 19 and 17.
We raised them lacto-ovo vegetarian, but our son, who will now be a Sophomore in college, decided to become a strict vegan in 10 grade. Our daughter remains vegetarian, but eats less dairy than she once did. We are all leaning vegan or vegan at this point.
We had no problems with pediatricians at all fine. None of them were vegetarian or vegan that I knew of. One said "well most of the children around the world eat little or no meat and do just fine". He was Asian.
My children were told why we do not eat meat - ethical and compassionate reasons, but that they were fee to eat meat outside of the house - at a party or at a relative's home.
They never wanted to. They weren't even curious.
Yes we had a relative who thought that they would be scorned by other children - never happened. And another who thought they would be unhealthy or have "stunted growth".
So far from the truth.
My kids avoided many of the coughs, colds, and ear infections that their peers experienced.
They are tall, and have clear skin.
My daughter's onset of puberty was later than many of her friends. I think that could be attributed to the hormones that are consumed in meat that brings on an earlier puberty and shorter stature.
It's worked out well and I have healthy, compassionate, intelligent teens who respect their bodies, the planet, and especially, animals.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What I did (and it may not float if you are militantly vegetarian) is....I let my daughter make her own decisions. Yep. When it came down to visiting the grandparents (or friends) she was fee to eat meat if that was on the menu. As a young kid she got to try pot roast and hot dogs and all that...crap. 
Eventually, around Jr. High she became a vegetarian by choice. It was very cool to see her come to that POV on her own. More gratifing for me, as the parent, than if I had shoved it down her throat.
`
