Parents that Feed their Children Vegetarian Diets

The most important thing in all of this is monitoring your child and give them the foundation for a good nutritional life and diet. Educating kids is what's important. Sometimes you have to be the bad guy and say "no you can't have that". They may whine and complain now but will realize why you did that later in life. Think of it as putting money in a CD and taking it out years later with interest. That's how I'd like to look at that.

As for vegetarianism/veganism vs typical society, the thing I've noticed is that sometimes people are too by the book and not enough using common sense and sound judgement. It reminds me of Didi from Rugrats who wanted to follow Dr. Lipschitz's stuff from the books and videos and didn't use information from other sources or even common sense. You already know the foundation of a good diet is veggies, fruits, beans, whole grains, and legumes. You need to have a variety of things and not concentrate so much on protein and fat sources (which while an important number to follow is sometimes overstated greatly). And just as important as to diet is keeping your children (AND YOURSELF PLEASE! Being a good example is important!) active and moving! As I've followed, "you put in some time now, or you'll put a lot more time in on a hospital bed eventually".

As for the original topic, if you can't do breast feeding, I do recommend going to PETA's website and read about doing alternatives for breastfeeding since I do believe breastfeeding is important. Monitor your child and adjust and such to your needs. If you got to "move your feet in to relieve pressure to your back" metaphorically speaking, do so. Do what you need to do to get you and your family to the right path. I do recommend if you do eat meat to try to reduce your consumption of meat a little bit. I do eat meat a few times a week, but definitely not as much as before where it was in every single meal and snack. Now I'll have it at most in 2 of my 5 of my meals of the day (usually only once a day). Research the "kooky" stuff and read about HOW they came to that conclusion (which is what's important). Forks Over Knives opens your eyes based on studies. We are recommended to drink and consume milk products to prevent osteoporosis and bone degeneration yet as much as we consume these products, it's higher than it's ever been. As I mentioned several times (unfortunately... I'm sorry lol...), it's all about doing your own research, not being closed minded and questioning things with an open mind.

The most important thing in all of this is monitoring your child and give them the foundation for a good nutritional life and diet. Educating kids is what's important. Sometimes you have to be the bad guy and say "no you can't have that". They may whine and complain now but will realize why you did that later in life. Think of it as putting money in a CD and taking it out years later with interest. That's how I'd like to look at that...... it's all about doing your own research, not being closed minded and questioning things with an open mind.

Exactly! I'm taking the learnings from my failures and attempting to choose what is right for my kid. It's been hard because I'm having to change my habits and demonstrate it to my kid (they are the best at calling you out on your failures - so you really have to practice what you preach with them). I grew up drinking 2 cans of Coke after school starting in kindergarten. Everything was deep fried or loaded with sugar. White bread ruled.

There are so many wonderful vegetarian options - we have discovered some amazing vegetables since we are trying to eat better. Beets, artichokes, jicama and sweet potatoes are fresh perfection. We aren't vegetarian but do have a few meatless meals during the week. My husband and daughter drink milk but I'm getting away from it only because of the lactose sugars and calories.

Milk is good to drink according to the hubby but he would say that because he is a dairy nutrition professor. He is not a big of raw milk - our gut flora has changed with the advent of pasteurization - people have gotten sick and died from raw milk. CDC reported 200 hospitalizations and 2 deaths from raw milk from 1998-2008 with E. coli, Campylobacter or Salmonella identified as sources of illness. As far as osteoporosis - lack of calcium and vitamin D is one cause but you have look at genetics (Asian women have a higher rate of osteoporosis), exercise, and smoking.

Vegetarian options are not difficult - it's trying to find foods that aren't loaded up with HFCS and artificial food dyes. You would be shocked at which foods have this crap in them.

I have a 3.5 yo and a 9.5 month old. I am vegetarian and I do not drink cows milk. I do eat cheese and yogurt from all sources including cow, goat, soy, almond, coconut, etc. I am the grocery shopper and cook in our family so I buy VERY limited meat. My husband is not veg, so sometimes I buy him something to grill, meat for make your own piazza night, or bacon if I plan on making breakfast for dinner. When we go out to eat (weekly or every other week), he orders meat and my daughters usually taste what he is eating. My 3.5 yo breastfed until 25 months when I got pregnant with her sister. After that I switched her to almond, coconut, and hemp milk alternating. When this baby is weaned she will get the same. They both eat full fat Greek yogurt (along with soy, almond, and coconut yogurt), and we eat lots of beans, nuts, seeds, avocado, dried fruits, and green leafy vegetables for protein, fat, and iron. We also use some, what my friends and family refer to as "crunchy", ingredients like flax, chia seed, hemp seed, and lots of alternative flours for vairiations in our diet.
My girls are very healthy. My husband and I are very healthy. I think that I research more than most of the people around me about food and what foods I put in my and my families bodies. My children and myself don't eat fast food because it doesn't fit in with our lifestyle. We eat out at mostly vegetarian restaurants when we do go out because we are lucky to live in an area that there are several. We also don't eat many pre packaged or processed foods because I would rather cook from scratch so I can control the ingredients.

My friend and his wife are vegetarians. When their children were born, they fed them regular diets that included meat, while they continued to eat only vegetarian. When each of their children became aware of the difference, around age 7 or 8, they asked their parents why they only ate vegetables. Their parents explained why and told them that they could do it too, if they wanted to. Their daughter immediately said that she wanted to do it. Their son spent a few months thinking about it and then made the decision too.

I thought it was an interesting approach but just one of many. They really wanted vegetarianism to be a conscious choice for their kids rather than a forced family tradition that they might give up as they got older and more independent.