I am a vegetarian but my boyfriend is not. What do you think we should do about our children?

Question

See, to me it is VERY important that my family and I live a cruelty-free life. I want us to be kind to other people and animals, take care of the environment, eat healthily, etc. But he is more the type to let them do whatever they want as long as it is not drugs or something like that. So I made a compromise: they will be vegetarian until they can decide for themselves and understand the issues about animals raised for slaughter, etc. What do you think about this whole issue?Do you think that that is a good compromise? Thanks peoples! :)

Yes, of course I will make sure that their diet is nutritious. Actually, all of the nutrients that are in meat can also be found in a variety of vegetarian foods such as tofu, soy protein, green leafy vegetables, textured vegetable protein, etc. And they will take vitamins/minerals.

To wyohunter and others: No, I don't use leather either. And, milk and cheese are different from meat. Yes, animals that are kept for milk, etc. are not in the best conditions unless you buy organic and cruelty-cage-free products. So just buy those. It is hard to find foods that are completely vegan unless you live in a bigger city. I don't.

Answer 1

Some of these people seem dim witted...they really dont get it, anyhow I understand that you mean when ur married. The point is that it is a privelidge to have a boyfriend that understand your stand point and if he thinks its fine that they are without meat till they can decide for themselves thats great. my boyfriedn and I are both vegetarian and only became this way later in our relationship, so our children wont eat any meat at all.

We understand that meat is the cause for a lot of illnesses and we respect animals deeply. Even tho we are christian and many christians feel that God gave them a right to kill as they please. I have chosen to make a concious effort to make a diffrence and think intelligently about the matter.

I think that relationship will suffer unless partners completely respects eachother.

I dont think you need meat to be healthy at all. The funny thing is that all the protein you need is found in nuts, green leaf produce and every bit of food u eat have a lil bit of protein in it already.

Ironically you need folic acid with your meals or the nutriets wont even be absorbed and most of these people overeat themselves and dont even get the right nutrients because they are not absorbed when they eat them anyway.

You are gonna be ok, stop worrying and just do it...
Ps. Man only started eating meat after the SINFALL so there...if we were meant to eat meat then we would have been like that from the start...God said its fine he didnt say its the only way. People dont like to think outside the box.

Answer 2

Why don't you wait til your married before you have children. When you do have kids, let them decide for themselves. The issues you bring up about animals for slaughter are your opinions and may not be the same opinion of your kids. Obviously, your BF does not agree with you on the subject. Since you don't agree with eating animals raised for slaughter; here is a thought. You shouldn't be allowed to eat cheese or butter or drink milk. Also, no leather for you either. Whether it be your shoes or the seats in your car. As all of these products come from the "animals raised for slaughter".

Answer 3

If you are worried about your children, get married first so they can have stabilty. Then worry about their food and spiritual and educational needs. I would compromise and have meat 3 nights a week at the main meal.Let their father cook on those nights, especially the meat. That way the kids will not see a struggle between parents, everyone will be participating in meal prep as they get older which will help bonding with their parents and each other, and will be well rounded so their choice later will be made on facts and experience and not because they had to do it at a young age.Best wishes. Sometimes a compromise is good for everyone!

Answer 4

People's opinions on the "whole issue" should have nothing to do with your children nor how they will be raised. Your children are your own and should be raised with the values YOU feel are important. If it is that important to you to raise your children completely vegetarian, then you must make the choice to do so.

As far as your compromise is concerned (now that this counts only as opinion): If your children are raised as vegetarian only until they can decide for themselves, how are they going to even know the choice is available to them? I somehow doubt that they'll turn 7-8 years old and you'll throw a steak on their plate.

Many of our habits, likes, dislikes, and emotional reactions are set by the time we're 5 years old. Think about your children's future and what you want to teach them.

Answer 5

First and foremost, the most important issue in regard to your child's diet is that it is healthy and nutritious. Next, who does most of the cooking for your family? If it is you, then that pretty much solves the dilemma, doesn't it? If not, then you will have to come to some sort of compromise. I think it's wonderful that you are discussing this before you have children. If more people did this, there would be less divorce. Good luck!

Answer 6

As long as their diets are balanced and they don't develop any nutrient deficiencies, I think being vegetarian is fine until they can decide for themselves. I don't know if you already have kids or you're pregnant, or just thinking about the future, but infants and toddlers grow alarmingly fast and it's very easy for them to develop nutritional deficiencies, so I imagine they will have to be monitored VERY carefully for their first few years.

My only concern is that when they're older and you're telling them the "pros and cons" of types of diets, you will be biased (like most vegitarians/vegans I know) and show them pictures and videos of slaughter houses, horrible stories about how chickens are treated, etc. I'm not saying you'd do this out of meanness, but I know very few vegans who eat no meat for health reasons--mainly its (like you) for animal cruelty reasons. I think if you showed the kids/told them stories like this, this is sort of unfair to them as it will more than likely scare them and immediately turn them away from meats. While the animals are treated (in some cases) unkindly, treated with medicines, etc., lean meats are very good for you and loaded with certain vitamins, minerals, proteins, etc. that your body needs, and can't really be substituted (or substituted with very well) by eating beans, tofu, etc.

Regardless, I think raising young kids to be vegetarian or vegan is fine until they're older and can decide, as long as you're FAIR when explaining different types of diets. :)

Answer 7

Teach them your values and explain why you believe what you believe, but let them decide for themselves, ultimately. (And if they want to sample other foods now, you should allow them the opportunity -- without judgment! Otherwise it can be quite confusing... when their friends and family members are not vegetarians.) You can still teach them to be kind to people and animals and take care of the environment -- even if they do decide to include meat in their diets.

Answer 8

There are many vegetarians who are very knowledgable and get all their needs without milk and meats, but there are many more vegetarians who are quite ignorant about nutrition and wonder why they themselves are dealing with certain heath issues like thyroid problems, inflammation, diabetes, etc...

Just make sure you are the former and not the latter before putting your kids at risk.

Answer 9

Let them be normal not vegetarian. Set a good example and let them decide for themselves. when they become old enough they can decide whether they want to vegetarian or not. But while their growing they need meat and to be able to go over to friends houses and school without restrictions.

Answer 10

well that is a tough one. when i was a teen i had a pet cow sort of. he belonged to the neigbors but their fence line came to the edge of our property, so i gave him a name, i named him charlie. every morning and afternoon i would go to the fence line and call for charlie and he would always come. when charlie was first born his mom rejected him for some reason, so i use to feed him a big bottle everyday filled with milk when he was a baby, thats how i became attached to him. well anyway one day when i went to the fence to call him, he didnt come, i tried calling him all day. so i went over to the neighbors and asked them where charlie was. know what they said? that he was hauled off to slaughter. i was so heartbroken. i went years with out eating any meat. i went 10 years w/ out meat. im 36 now and ive been eating meat, i just dont eat it very often. now my husband likes meat so i do buy it and cook it for him. i personally think your children should be able to eat meat now, i let my daughter eat meat even after what i went through with charlie when i was a teenager. i understand completely how you feel about animals because im an animal lover myself, sometimes i like animals more than i do people. i just feel compassion for them. but, God did make some animals for us to eat, like deer and cows. some people kill animals they have no business killing and i think that is wrong and terrible. animals are important to me too, no matter what kind they are. it makes me upset when i hear about abused animals. i dont even take my daughter to a circus because i dont believe in caging animals that belong out in the wild. i think its wrong that they get whipped to do tricks. it ticks me off big time.
but let your children try meat, God gave us meat as food. just let them eat the meat that God has provided for us, but not the other meats. even if you let them have some meat once a week, that would be good.