Children choosing their dietary lifestyle

jesbeth · January 2012

A friend of mine just posted on FB that her daughter, who is about 5 or 6, wants to be an Ovo-Lacto Vegetarian and she's going to let her. My friend doesn't follow any special diet.

Would you allow your child to make this decision for themselves at such a young age? Of if you follow any special diet, would you inflict it on your child?

ImThisBabysMom · January 2012

My primary concern is getting my child all the nutrients she needs however I can. If she doesn't like veggies, she will get stuff in a vitamin form or other foods or PediaSure or something. I don't know that I'd let a small child choose to be vegan or anything like that though.....I assume 5 or 6 is too young to understand the lifestyle exactly.

Jonvic04 · January 2012

I think 5 or 6 is young, but I think it's a great decision to make being a vegetarian myself. I also think it's great that your friend is so supportive. And just so you know lacto-ovo vegetarians eat eggs and milk. The only thing they don't eat is actual meat products.

jesbeth · January 2012

Jonvic04:
I think 5 or 6 is young, but I think it's a great decision to make being a vegetarian myself. I also think it's great that your friend is so supportive. And just so you know lacto-ovo vegetarians eat eggs and milk. The only thing they don't eat is actual meat products.

Ahhhh, thank you for clearing that up! I put that because someone else commented and said it meant that! Confusing.

AmandaLea26 · January 2012

My first thought is, at least it's not one of these moms that lets their kid eat nothing but pizza and chicken nuggets.

Beyond that, I personally wouldn't let my child dictate their diet until they were old enough to understand their options and to tell me why they refused a specific food. That's just a maturity thing, though.

krystalxyz · January 2012

I was about that age when I decided I wanted to be a vegetarian, maybe even around age four. My parents supported me, even though they are big meat eaters. I refused to eat an animal, any animal. My parents have no idea where I got the idea that it was bad to eat animals, it's not something they taught me. They made sure I got enough protein from beans and nuts though, and my pediatrician was never worried. That lasted until about middle school, when I realized bacon, pepperoni, shrimp, and chicken strips were amazing! I still don't eat a lot of meat, and I really dislike beef.

So if my kid feels the same way, I'll go with it.

JFH2010 · January 2012

Ummm, yes, I plan to "inflict" it on him! DH and I are vegetarian, mostly vegan, and we have many friends raising healthy vegan children. I see no reason to make LO eat something that we don't feel comfortable eating. I don't see it as "inflicting" any more than a meat eater is inflicting meat on their child; It's logical that your child eats essentially the same diet you do. If the parents don't know anything about vegetarianism, hopefully they'll do some research to make sure their kid is getting what she needs - but that's true of any diet.

biblionerd · January 2012

DH and I are vegetarians and do not think that we're "inflicting" it on our children. That's a little close-minded wording... Yes, I would let my children decide what diet they would like to choose, whether that was to eat meat or become a vegan if they were at an age where they could explain why.

biblionerd · January 2012

JFH2010:
Ummm, yes, I plan to "inflict" it on him! DH and I are vegetarian, mostly vegan, and we have many friends raising healthy vegan children. I see no reason to make LO eat something that we don't feel comfortable eating. I don't see it as "inflicting" any more than a meat eater is inflicting meat on their child; It's logical that your child eats essentially the same diet you do. If the parents don't know anything about vegetarianism, hopefully they'll do some research to make sure their kid is getting what she needs - but that's true of any diet.

yeah... this. You worded it better than I did. I'm personally amazed how weird people think it that vegetarians raise their children as vegetarians, like I'm expected to shove hamburgers in his face when I wouldn't touch one myself.

Heddarc · January 2012

I think if a child voiced wanting to eat a healthier lifestyle, I would definitely support it within reason. If DH and I are not vegans I would not go out of my way to prepare a vegan meal for my 5-6 year old but I get so annoyed when the opposite occurs. We eat meat in our home but we try to buy only organic, grass-fed, healthier meats and I think that preparing a child early to make healthy eating decisions is so important.

I have a niece who pretty much eats only ramen and canned corn and everyone goes out of their way to prepare it for her. When we were visiting my IL's this past Christmas I was making lunches for the kids and I was making grilled cheese and salads (SS and SD eat whatever we make for them and actually enjoy salads). She pipes up and says "I'll have rice, I don't like grilled cheese or salad". I told her, "I am not going to cook rice just for you" and SIL comes out of her room and says "I'll make it for her, she won't eat anything else". I'm sorry but an 11 year old should not have that much say over her diet, especially when it involves nothing nutritious.

Mamasaurus · January 2012

I am a vegetarian, and I plan to raise LO that way. I don't think of it as "inflicting" anything on her, though!

I set the age for allowing her to meat (if she wants to) at 10, although of course she isn't even born yet and that could change! I feel like many younger kids go through picky phases, and I wouldn't want to make such a major lifestyle change decision based on a picky phase. At 5 or 6, I'd say there'd have to be a really good reason for it, or some sustained interest to show me that next week, she's not going to decide she only wants to eat oranges and toast.

jesbeth · January 2012

I could think of no better word than inflict, and the reason I chose it was not to discriminate against anyone who has chosen a different diet. I chose that word because my friend eats meat and her child has decided she doesn't want to. As her parent, she could tell her no.

So, in the same respect if those of you who are vegetarian/vegan, etc. had a child that decided they wanted to eat meat, would you let him or her? Or would you tell them no?

I myself am a pescatarian (I eat fish/seafood on occasion, no other meat) but in my case it's because I have problems with my digestive system breaking down proteins.

mumegs · January 2012

My sister decided she wanted to be a vegetarian pretty young, and my parents, my dad in particular fought her on it for years. He would make her sit at the kitchen table for hours until she ate her chicken, and she refused to eat it. Eventually they made her take supplements to make sure she was getting the proper nutrition.

On the other hand I've seen my little cousin and my other little sister say they were going to be vegetarians, and it lasted like 2 days. I think as long as they're getting the nutrients they need, which are probably coming from fruits and vegetables anyway, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

erniebufflo · January 2012

My kids will eat what we eat until they are able to prepare their own desired alternatives.

dixee.deluxe · January 2012

I'd support it and ask kiddo to help me meal-plan. That we, as a family, would try different meals that they helped me plan/prepare.

But if they aren't interested in the planning/preparing of meals, then they aren't really interested in learning about it and I won't take it seriously.

teresastovall · January 2012

erniebufflo:
My kids will eat what we eat until they are able to prepare their own desired alternatives.

This exactly.

JFH2010 · January 2012

jesbeth:
So, in the same respect if those of you who are vegetarian/vegan, etc. had a child that decided they wanted to eat meat, would you let him or her? Or would you tell them no?

I'm not going to buy or cook meat. However, at a certain age (don't know what that is yet), I won't try to rabidly control what he eats outside of the house. For me it would be violating my ethics to support animal agriculture, and I believe I have a right to maintain my household in a way that harmonizes with my beliefs. If our child doesn't share those ethics, he (again, at a certain age) can eat what he wants at restaurants and friends' houses. It's not so much making the decision for him, as making the decision for our household, in which he happens to live.

But the question of age is a big one. When he's little, our friends & family will know not to give him meat. I'm not sure at what age I would be OK with them feeding him meat if he asked for it.

laurack · January 2012

teresastovall:

erniebufflo:
My kids will eat what we eat until they are able to prepare their own desired alternatives.

This exactly.

same here.

I'm not having any of this preparing seperate meals for different family members malarky. My children will eat a varied, healthy, omniverous diet like we do.

Mamasaurus · January 2012

jesbeth:
I could think of no better word than inflict, and the reason I chose it was not to discriminate against anyone who has chosen a different diet. I chose that word because my friend eats meat and her child has decided she doesn't want to. As her parent, she could tell her no.
So, in the same respect if those of you who are vegetarian/vegan, etc. had a child that decided they wanted to eat meat, would you let him or her? Or would you tell them no?
I myself am a pescatarian (I eat fish/seafood on occasion, no other meat) but in my case it's because I have problems with my digestive system breaking down proteins.

I think this is a case of understanding the word differently. According to the dictionary, "inflict" means:

Cause something unpleasant or painful to be suffered by someone or something
Impose something unwelcome

Those of us who don't perceive vegetarianism to be unpleasant or painful are taking issue with it for that reason, and since here the child is asking for this change, it is not exactly unwelcome. Maybe "enforce," "allow," or "encourage" would have worked better.

Sorry if it sounds like I am splitting hairs here. I just wanted to make it clear that we (well, I speak for myself at least) are not trying to jump on the non-vegetarian here or bash a particular parenting choice. It just comes across as a really negative word, so it makes it seem we need to defend our decisions.

dixee.deluxe · January 2012

I think that if nutrition through all types of diets is taught in school, that it's my duty as a parent to explore all those options with my kiddo. Like real-life homework.

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