She likes spaghetti and refuses milk but drinks lots of water. Her skin is so clear and her eyesight seems phenominal. But the school nurse says she is underweight and malnourished. My daughter wasnt supposed to live because she was born with a collapsed long. But thatnk god she is alive. Her peditrician gave the school her specific diet. the nurse says I should give her meat. She is strongly opposed to eating animals. She doesnt eat candy. I make her several vegetarian foods. Which she eats with no problems. The pediatrician disagrees with the nurse.
Am I wrong to not feed her meat?
2007-01-18 02:20:06 · 15 answers · asked by Support Breast Cancer Research 4 in Food & Drink ➔ Vegetarian & Vegan
Screw the nurse, good bet she has not had any schooling on nutrition. Listen to your doctor. My son was allergic to milk so he drank none and no dairy (ice cream, cheese) since he was 4 mos old. I am primarily veg so he ate lots of fruit and veges. He is now 6'6" and very healthy. If she is eating as you say good for her! I have a niece who's son is 3yrs and will only drink pedialyte from a bottle and eat cookies and candy and he is still alive.
2007-01-18 02:28:24 · answer #1 · answered by cricket 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Ordinarily, I'd be concerned about the possibility of the nurse putting in a call to your local child welfare organization. But since your pediatrician has given the school a copy of your daughter's diet, there's not much that she can do about it.
You are the best judge of what your daughter can and can't eat. And besides, you really can't force her to eat something that she doesn't want. . .trust me, that is one battle of wills that parents seldom win. As she gets older, you can introduce her to other foods. As long as it's not a battleground between the two of you, she'll probably expand her diet to include other vegetables and types of dishes.
If the pediatrician is satisfied with her health and you think she's doing well, then tell the nurse firmly but diplomatically that the matter is between you and your daughter's doctor. Period, end of subject.
2007-01-18 14:03:18 · answer #2 · answered by Wolfeblayde 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The pediatrician has tons more schooling and (probably) experience than the nurse. Listen to the pediatrician! Also, educate yourself on healthy vegetarian diets for children. There are lots of books out there. Here are a couple I found with a quick search on Amazon that look good; I'm sure you can find lots more.
http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Vegetarian-Children-Health-Harmony/dp/0658021559/ref=pd_sim_b_2/103-2711673-5895806
http://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Child-Lucy-Moli/dp/0399522719/sr=8-2/qid=1169225682/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/103-2711673-5895806?ie=UTF8&s=books
2007-01-19 11:57:22 · answer #3 · answered by TBL 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is nothing wrong with a vegetarian child. If your pediatrician says her weight is within a normal range you should not need to worry. I know a few people who have never eaten meat in their life and they have good health and maintain a good weight.
Some people just think that fatter kids are healthier. This is definitely not true.
According to the study below, your child could have a high IQ.
2007-01-18 13:12:00 · answer #4 · answered by veggie 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If the nurse thinks she knows better than your pediatrician, she isn't a very good nurse. She's obviously letting her personal feelings about the subject get involved. If your doctor says she's fine, and you think she's fine... who's the nurse to say otherwise? If the nurse bothers you about it, give her the number for your pediatrician and have her talk to him. Hopefully that will clear it all up.
2007-01-18 11:45:35 · answer #5 · answered by kittikatti69 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your child is a lot smarter than the health care professionals she is seeing. Doctors can be so ignorant. Feeding your six year old a vegetarian (or better yet, vegan) diet is the best possible thing you could do for you. You are so smart not to take the doctor's word!
2007-01-22 00:35:43 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
She does not need meat, she needs protein. And fat, too. If you have a good pediatrician, as you seem to do, she/he'll give you advice on that. School nurses can be incredibly ignorant, especially if a little older. Search the web, find literature, forget the nurse (I know it can be hard, though...) (If you can get her to eat fish once or twice a week, that wouldn't hurt. Unless she is allergic to fish, that is.)
2007-01-18 10:50:52 · answer #7 · answered by outie 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Tell that nurse to get her head out of her slimy @ss. She has no right to tell YOU what YOUR daughter should eat. Hey I never ate meat ever in my life and I turned out OK. I was underweight until I reached 14 years of age. No big deal. Make sure she eats lots of dried beans and whole grains, not just veggies.
2007-01-18 13:24:41 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
no you are not wrong! eating beans and rice or even better quinoa is a good sourse of protien and eating an orange after helps release iron. or she can drink nettle tea for the iron. for the extra fats pour olive flax or any other good oil on her potatoes rice or whatever!!! the oil will add fats. to get professional advice i would recomend talking to a child nutritionalist who is vegan frindly (vegan smart) our childrens health is important and she may be lacking in fats which is important for brain function as well as other body functions. good luck and be well! no worries and know you can do it the vegan way!
2007-01-18 17:03:19 · answer #9 · answered by carol anne 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, just make sure she gets LOTS of protein from other sources such as beans and nuts. Make a vegeterian chilli and sneak some shredded cheese into it. Start making her peanut butter sandwiches for snacks; those have tons of protien and will replace the protien she doesn't get from meat. It has been scientifically proven that human beings do not need to eat meat to survive. I have no idea what that nurse was thinking but its very out-dated logic
2007-01-18 10:32:23 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋