Asking your opinion to come to a conclusion of what is better or what.?

Question

Me and my fiancee are having difficulties. She is vegetarian and I am not. She wants our baby to grow up vegetarian and I am the one that will let them eat whatever they want, but just limiting what they intake to a healthy degree. I just don't know what to do. I cannot deny my kids something that I would sit down and eat also. I just couldn't. That would be hypocritical of me. And It would make me feel like pure crap. But my fiancee wants them to grow up vegetarian. We are both vere passionate on our decisions. We are having trouble reaching a compromise also. She wants them to be vegetarian until 11 or 12 and let them decide if they want to continue that path. I want them to just eat what they like and what, but still monitoring what they intake to a healty diet, and let them decide when they get 11 or 12 years old. Please give me your opinion on this ! ! !

Answer 1

COMPROMISE. Let the kids eat healthy all the time and limit meat intake to 2-3 times a week. As they grow older, they will tell you what they want, and scream and cry and pout.

Answer 2

Wow, that is tough! As the parent you both have the right to raise the child the way you want to, but having 2 different opinions has to be causing a whole lotta arguments between the 2 of you.
Letting him/her decide on their own is a good idea, but waiting until they're 11 or 12 is a little too long. They're going to smell daddy's steak or burger and want some of it long before they get that old.
I don't think kids can understand exactly why someone doesn't eat meat, whatever their reason may be. All they will know is that everybody eats meat except me & mommy.
God gave us some animals for food just as he gave us fruits & veggies. It's terrible that they have to die for us to eat, but that's the way things are suppose to be.
I would talk to a doctor about it. I'm sure a doctor will say that your child will need the protein in meat.
Good Luck!

Answer 3

If people choose to be vegetarian they have to be extremely careful about making sure they get all the right types of protein. I have heard that making sure a child (who needs more and better nutrition than an adult and who may not develop right in his body or brain if he doesn't get the right nutrition) gets what he needs can be trickier.

As someone who had for quite some time been what I call a "borderline vegetarian" what I did with my children was to give them tuna, eggs, cheese, milk, yogurt, occasionally chicken and even more rarely the serving of hamburger helper. I was too concerned about their not getting the right protein to give them a straight vegetarian diet. I knew I didn't know enough about how to get them the right protein on a vegetarian diet; but I also didn't feel positive that even if I knew all the ins and outs of vegetarianism that my children would get what they needed. Because of that uncertainty, I made sure they got protein mostly from dairy products and occasionally from the other things I mentioned.

I always felt that my children had a right to get my best attempt at nutrition (and, as I said, because I wasn't convinced they would without any tuna, chicken or occasional beef); and they could decide when they grew up whether to eat all vegetarian.

If the children's mother would compromise and become an ovo/lacto vegetarian it is likely the children will get the protein they need. That was my main approach to meals for my children most of the time. My kids were all slender, energetic and healthy. They have grown to continue with kind of the same type of "modified" diet.

Child need some fat in their diet in order to be able to concentrate correctly in school and for other reasons as well. Dairy products provide that fat. I continue to rely on soy products as a regular part of my diet, and I serve it to my kids on a regular basis; but I have some reservations about how often to serve that too because there have been some possible health problems associated with plant estrogens and young men in particular.

My opinion is that I am entirely "creeped out" by meat and poultry and most fish for the most part. I hate the fact that animals are used for food. My opinion is if children can get protein (and, yes, animal protein) from eggs, cheese, yogurt, milk, etc. why given them the other type of animal protein. There are serious health concerns with the consumption of meat, fish and sometimes poultry. Obviously, fruits and vegetables and grains are a more wholesome thing to eat. Its just that thing about children needing that certain type of protein.........

I don't think its hypocritical of you to eat something but not let the children have it. You can just establish with them, "Your mother wants you to eat this way. She's not my mother, and this is the way I've always eaten and I just can't get used to eating the way she thinks people should eat. She's your mother, though, and she believes her food preferences are healthiest for you, so that's what we'll go with."

Answer 4

Try this compromise....
the first 6 months the baby is on solid food let the baby eat stricly fruits and veggies...go vegiterian style.
After the first 6 months intoduce meat products or whatever...slowly. Let the baby decide if he/she likes whatever is being intoduced. As the child gets older the child will tell you what he/she wants and likes and does not want or like. Children can be very independent and stuborn. They know what they want and they know what thier bodies need. By the age 4 or 5 your child will know weather he/she wants to eat like a vegiteran or not. And that may change several times of the course of his/her life.

Answer 5

I am a vegetarian and my husband is not. I thought about this alot before we had our first child. My husband was comfortable letting them be raised vegetarian if I wanted, so at least we didn't have arguments about it. I didn't allow them to eat meat until after their first birthdays, and decided to let them eat what they wanted afterwards, but I would encourage them as they got older to consider vegetarianism. My oldest son is 2 1/2 and he does eat fish and chicken occasionally, and although I have never offered him red meats my in-laws have and he just won't eat it. I think it's a good compromise.

Answer 6

As babies they should be able to eat EVERYTHING that is healthy.
Restricting a baby's diet based on the fact the parent is a vegetarian is wrong.
ALl I can say is this. Do you want your child to eat a healthy diet because you feel guilty he's not eating what you're eating or is it because you feel he's not getting the proper nutrients?
If the answer is guilt , don't worry about it, your child isnt going to miss what he/ she has never had.
If its because you truely believe he/she needs a more balanced diet then you need to ask yourself if you should have children with the person.

Answer 7

Don't marry her she is insane. Have a long engagement, and I am sure that other red flags will come up during that time to indicate to you that she would not make a good spouse. Before you get married you are supposed to have broken 3 hearts and have had your heart broken at least 3 times. You didnt say how old you are but you sound young. You are not supposed to date excusively till you are 21. You are supposed to meet many girls with many types of personalities and different interests. If you are under 21, then you two are just fantasizing and playing house. What is your education? What will your future together look like financially? There are bigger fish to fry here (pun intended) then what you will eat. What will you wear? How will you afford it? Where will you live? Can you afford to buy a house and pay the bills? Will you be able to afford a 7 day trip to Hawaii after the wedding? If not, the whole issue is pointless. I was in a class once and one of my profs said "If you are in a relationship with a person who doesnt respect your thoughts feelings beliefs ideas values and judgements, then RUN RUN RUN fast as you can in the opposite direction.

Answer 8

Personally, I'm not for restricting foods to children, but I'm also not a vegetarian and I don't understand how you could possibly meet your child's nutritional needs being vegetarian. If it was researched and your pediatrician doesn't have any proof that it would be detrimental, then maybe I would consider it. First get facts and make an educated decision together.

Answer 9

It's great to hear about being all healthy and what-not
but for growing babies and kids they need the fat and other nutrients from foods for mental and physical development.
Especially for brain development! They need the variety.....
What about buying all organic food then?

Besides when they do grow up they can see the two different eating habits and decide for themselves.......

Was your wife ALWAYS a vegetarian?......I'm assuming at one point in time she ate regular food right?......so she made life choice and your kids will too if they decide......

but you can't do that to a baby.

Answer 10

I would allow my children to eat meat. I don't necessarily eat it myself, but, I feel that kids need the nutrition that they are going to receive from it. I mean of course you could always argue that you can give them something else that would make up for it, but in reality I believe that people never make up for "it". Once your child reaches a certain age they will be able to decide for themselves what path they want to take.