Is anyone raising their child vegetarian/vegan?

I'm not looking for any negative feedback as I'm sure there is plenty with this topic.

Im wondering more about how the child feels when denied something others have and they cant..

Do you not deny anything?

I just see it as possibly being sooo hard ...Is it?

Re: Is anyone raising their child vegetarian/vegan?

I worked with someone who was raising their child vegan and they allowed them to try meat if they were somewhere other kids were eating it, say at a BBQ. They thought it was important for the child to know what it was and be able to make their own decision when they were older. I'm not sure how they explained why they didn't eat it at home but it was ok to eat when out.

Re: Is anyone raising their child vegetarian/vegan?

We raise Alex as a pescatarian (sp?). We don't feed her any meat, which means no pork, no chicken, no turkey, no red meat, NO meat whatsoever. We do eat fish, so she does get 2-3 servings of fish per week.

We considered, for a moment, raising her without dairy, as that's how we eat as well, but we consulted with our pediatrician and pediatric nutritionist, who both said that, while it can be done, it is much more difficult and you have to be MUCH more aware of what they are eating so that you are making the proper supplements.

I haven't found it to be a problem at all for us. Alex's school is in a synogogue so the children aren't allowed to bring meat for lunch or snacks anyway. When we go out someplace where I suspect there won't be any vegetarian options, I bring along some fake chicken fingers or what not. She's only 2 though, so she's not quite aware of what she's missing - at some point we will cross that bridge, and what we've decided is that Alex can eat whatever she wants to eat when she's outside the home, but neither DH nor I will cook meat for her in our home.

So far it isn't a problem - she absolutely loves the food we give her - lots of fish, beans, soups, tofu, soy products, etc.

Re: Is anyone raising their child vegetarian/vegan?

We don't fall into this category, but I just wanted to touch on the "food denial" aspect. Almost every child is "forbidden" or "denied" certain foods. Many kids have allergies, Jewish children avoid pork, vegetarians avoid meat, diabetics avoid sugar, etc. I don't think a vegetarian (or any variation on that theme) will be that much different than most other kids in class.

Even DC who don't have strict restrictions usually have rules. "No candy before meals" "No sugar after 6pm", etc. It should just become a part of their routine, and shouldn't cause any real problems.

Re: Is anyone raising their child vegetarian/vegan?

I don't have any answers but my cousin raises her both Dd as vegans. the whole family is. If you have any questions I know she will be GLAd to answer them. FM if you are interested!!!
The girls are 7 and 4 and are well aware and proud to be vegans!!!

Seriously, Donna if you are that interested let me know.

Re: Is anyone raising their child vegetarian/vegan?