Wouldnt it make sense to raise your child as a vegetarian if YOU ARE a vegetarian?

Question

me and my friend were talking yesterday about getting married and having kids and stuff like that. i was saying that i'm going to raise my children as vegetarians. and she was like "why? you're gonna force them to not eat meat?" and i said, "i'm not going to force them, i'll raise them to not eat meat. what sense would it make to be a vegetarian yourself and not raise your children the same way?" so she started arguing that i should let my kids make the choice to be vegetarian or not and she wouldnt even give me a chance to explain. so i just made her change the subject.
wouldnt it be weird to raise your children to be meat eaters when you're not? we're only 17, but i was just wondering what other people thought about this.

~health_freak.com

Answer 1

Kid will eat what their parents eat. I don't think you should have to serve meat in your household if you do not eat it. If your child is at another persons house, and they choose to serve meat, then your child can have the option. But you can let your child know that in your household you do not serve meat and explain your reasons. Your child still has the option to grow up and have meat for themselves when they get older. But you are in no way obligated to serve it if you do not eat it. Your child will not suffer, will not be malnourished. Children can thrive very well on a vegetarian/vegan diet, as long as they are getting protein.

Answer 2

The way I look at it is that most children are forced to eat meat while they are growing up and when they get old enough they make their own decision as to whether or not they want to. If children never had meat they wouldn't really know if they were missing anything. If they're introduced to meat when they're older it would be their choice whether or not they wanted it. As long as you're feeding them a balanced diet with the correct amount of protein, then there is no reason to feed kids meat. I feel the same as you, and would raise my children vegetarian. It's a very healthy way to live!

Kim at: http://www.peaceful-organic-planet.com

Answer 3

There is a difference between what you cook for super and groceries you buy and have around the house, and forcing. I mean if you cook vegetarian on a daily basis, that is what you kids would eat. But if you are out in the real world and in a restaurant and your kid wants a hamburger, I wouldn't deny them the chance to try it. The trouble is, they ARE likely to jump right in and want the worst possible stuff which will also be the easiest to get. I'm talking hamburgers and hot dogs.

The caution is, I think back to my youth and there are a lot of foods I love now that we were deprived of growing up. And a lot of foods we always ate that I refuse to buy as an adult.

Edit: I'm not a vegetarian, but I can't believe the number of people all over your lifestyle. I'm sure there's a vegetarian out there that has considered nutrition for families and children and written about it. You have lots of time to figure it out.

Answer 4

It depends on your parenting style and your future spouse. Are you willing to date a guy who eats meat? If so, then your children will probably also. It also depends on your reason for not eating meat, and how that will affect your children.

There are a lot of foods out there that I refuse to eat, and refuse to serve. But it wouldn't be fair to my children to not let them eat something just because I won't. I would be sheltering them from food groups, and when they are not with me, how will they react if served that food?

Also - vegetarians have to be very careful with what they give young children. If you are nursing, then your baby is getting the proper calories and diet. In some cases, soy milk increases the risk of other allergies. You have to make sure that your child will be getting a balanced diet, including proteins. I understand that you can eat beans or tofu, but you have to make sure your child will eat those foods.

I would say your best option would be to feed your children as vegetarians while at home, but not stop them from trying meats when they are out. If they choose to follow you, that's great. Otherwise, they are experiencing many different types of food.

Answer 5

It is natural to feed your children the same foods you eat yourself. A child can be completely healthy on a vegetarian diet, but you would need to educate yourself on nutrition so that you could be sure that the child is getting enough fats, protiens, omega-3 fatty acids, etc etc that may not be abundant in a vegeterian diet. (As you should for yourself anyway.)

In many other cultures, eating vegetarian is the norm. It is not wrong or right, in my opinion. It's just food.

If your child grows up to eat meat then so be it. It doesn't mean you have to offer it to them growing up.

I don't eat a lot of junk food myself. Does that mean I should make a special trip to McDonalds everyday so that my son can experience a greasy hamburger? I don't think so.

Just my 2 cents! (BTW, I'm not a vegetarian.)

Answer 6

I understand where you're coming from, and for a lot of issues it makes sense. But as far as nutrition, I have to agree with your friend. It's been my experience (through friends/family) that it's extremely difficult to raise a strong, healthy infant/toddler on a strictly vegetarian diet, and even harder on a vegan diet. There are entirely too many nutrients in animal products which children need for proper development.

There are excellent reasons for being vegetarian and/or vegan, and you should share those with your child, as well as sharing your religious beliefs, etc. You can help your child make an informed decision about what they think is right when they are capable of making that choice. Hopefully they will understand and respect your choices, and wish to follow your path.

Answer 7

Personally up to a certain point you can raise your children how ever you want and you can have them eat as vegitarians. Once they are old enough to make the decision on their own you cannot get mad at them for wanting meat. It's just in some people. My mom and my sister rarely eat it, its not something they enjoy, yet I am a meat eater. Try as you might they just might not believe as you do. Guess you could always send them to your friends house for a meat fix.

Answer 8

If you plan on raising your kids veg, you're going to want to develop a really close relationship with a pediatrician you trust, do tons and tons of research on balanced nutrition for vegetarians, and have checkups for your children more often than other people. I think it makes perfect sense; just like people in certain religious or ethnic backgrounds raise their children not to eat certain things (pork, etc.) because it's what they believe in, a vegetarian raises their children veg because it's what he or she believes in. Like I said before, the only obstacle is making sure your kids will have a balanced diet so they can grow up strong and healthy. As long as you don't try to raise them vegan, I don't see the big deal. My mother raised my sister and me eating all different sorts of food, but I barely eat meat anymore simply because vegetarian options are healthier, less expensive, and often times taste better to me.

Answer 9

Well, there wouldnt be much harm in doing so, however, younger children should eat meat so that they can grow properly. Meat provides essentials like protein. iron, and zinc, which technically you could get from supplements. Really, it is your descison in the end.

Studies have disagreed over the topic. This site offers a well planned "vegan" diet, which I'm sure you wont mind. http://www.ivu.org/congress/2002/texts/veganinfants.html

Studies have shown eating a lot of meat as a child increases the risk for heart disease, cancer, and stroke as an adult.

This site shows what an average child should eat per day: http://www.lsuagcenter.com/Subjects/eatsmart/prechil3.htm

Hope this helps!

Answer 10

You can start out raising them like that but as they get older they might want to have a choice and I would certainly let them have a choice. Just because you plan on raising them that way doesn't mean they are going to be vegetarian, I certainly wouldn't worry too much if they ended up not being vegetarian because there's much bigger things to worry about.