Is forcing your child to be vegan a form of child abuse?

Question

http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/child_abuse.html
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=41159

Thank you for all your answers..There were very interesting to read...
And I can see that there is quite a divergance of opinion...

In my opinion...Parents have a duty to give children a heathly diet...

For older children in I think it is an interesting debate...because surely know would say that banning your children from drinking alcohol in the house (or until they are 18) is abuse?
So is it the same with animal products??

My oppinion would be you have a right to ban than in the house (It is your home..and moral values) But if your child is old enough to decide..they should be able to have what they want to eat at their friends house etc...

I do think it is possible to eat a healthly diet..as a vegan..but for children ..you must get medical advise (And if there are health problems stop...
Because their heatlh is your responsiblity...

But I think there is a problem with some medical professionals not taking Veganism seriously..or giving vegan help//

Answer 1

Owlwings said it well. I agree with him.

Most people feed their kids the same things that they (the parents) eat. I remember when my youngest was little - all she wanted to eat was yogurt so I added some wheat germ to it thinking that would be good for her. Later I found out that wheat germ was perishable - I didn't handle it properly -- she survived and I don't think it was child abuse.

Child abuse is when you beat your children or you make then eat poop or something unnatural.

Answer 2

I read those articles. In both of them, it was not the Vegan diet as such which was at fault, it was inappropriate treatment. In the case of the New Zealand couple, the child died of a vitamin B12 deficiency which could easily have been prevented, since B12 occurs in yeast which is permitted in a Vegan diet, and the parents neglected proper medical advice which would have helped them treat the child with 'herbal remedies'. In the Parker case, it appears that there was a problem with absorbing protein which was not due to the Vegan diet. It seems that these people also needed medical advice.

I noticed that at the end of the second article it states:
'Karen S. Moses, a registered dietitian at Arizona State University, said it’s possible to raise children on vegan diets successfully.

"People can be very conscientious about how they feed their children and can do a vegan diet without compromising the child’s health. It takes a lot of work. You really have to be conscientious about protein and calcium. You have to be really thinking about nutrients in a way that other people may not." '

I, personally, think that dairy products particularly should not be left out of the diet, though I fully appreciate the aruments for following a Vegan diet.

Answer 3

Giving your child a bad diet is form of child abuse, meat eating or not.
Look at all the obese children out there. I bet almost all are meat eaters with an obvious unbalance diet. In order to be a vegan you have to do your home work. I believe you can get the right amount of protein from non-meat products if you know what you are doing.
When the child is old enough to make it's own decision it will but this comment of "let the child eat what it wants" is not right. You can't let your child eat what it wants or it'll go straight for sweets and junk food. It doesn't know yet about calories, fat and sugar content and all that.

Answer 4

Bringing up your child to be a vegan is not child abuse.

A young child has no concept of what food is good or bad for them, and as long as parents provide an adequate diet they are not guilty of neglect.

If a child was held down and had food forced into them this would be abuse, or if they were not given enough food, or given things to eat which harmed them.

In fact offering a child a vegetarian or vegan diet from birth is an opportunity rather than an abuse. The child has the opportunity to have never harmed another living creature. When the child is old enough to choose their own diet there will be plenty of time for them to eat meat if they want to.

Answer 5

Not necessarily. However, it is very important to work with both a pediatrician and a dietitian when a child is on a vegan diet. It also is important to make sure that your child does not have any conditions that would make it dangerous for them to have a vegan diet. A child on a vegan diet should not be seen just by doctors of alternative medicine. That can put their health at risk. For the majority of children if done right, with guidance from proper health care professionals, is perfectly safe and not a form of child abuse.

Answer 6

I personally think that a lot of the nutrians that are available in meat and dairy that you can't get in veggies and can only get in a few beans/pulses.

Personally I don't think anyone's choice of lifestyle should be forced on a kid. But then surely assuming kids want meat is just as much forcing a dominant food choice on a kid - so what's the difference?!? However I do think that if you exclude meat, then they are missing out on iron and other nutriant - frankly and veggies don't do the job there. As it is, people actually only need to eat meat once a week to get that vitamin kick.

Chat to a nutritionist for the best options.

But if you do go for meat make sure that it is local sourced and organic - none of this mass produced crap from the supermarket. In fact never source your meat from supermarkets it's the worst stuff you can get, you don't know where it comes from or how far it's come, stick to the butchers at least they can tell you where it came from. And the same for veggies in supermarkets as they're nothing but pesticides. It's the quality of the food that's important.

Answer 7

Not if you know what the hell you are doing.

I sincerely believe that they never assumed that her breast milk was not giving him enough B12, most people don't even know where this comes from or why your body needs it. You could eat at McDonald's everyday and not have enough b12 in your diet for your breastfed child.

But I do think it was very very retarded of them to not use all of the great inventions of mankind to make sure your freaking child recovered from it.

I have no explanation for what in the hell the other parents were doing. I know plenty of vegetarian people who are pleasantly plump. How u can try to reason with yourself why it is ok to let your children be so small I have no freaking clue but at least they did the right thing and took her to the hospital when they finally realized they were idiots.

Answer 8

Only in as much as forcing a child to eat meat is a form of abuse. If the diet is balanced and the child is getting all its nutrients, what's the problem?

Answer 9

Developing children need a wide variety of nutrients which they simply will not get as a vegan.

But why impose the parents beliefs on an innocent child? Wait until the child is old enough to form it's own opinions and then respect them.

Answer 10

The problem was not that those children were made to be vegan, it was that they were malnourished and underfed. If you can feed them on a vegan diet without those problems, then you are not committing child abuse. If you can't, then it IS a form of child abuse.

Answer 11

not as long as the child is getting all the right nutrients and vitamins etc.isuggest you speak to your doctor to check the childs diet and perhaps monitor for a while depending on the age this will at least make you feel better as a parent knowing that if the child is happy eating what you give them they are healthy too.