My daughter is vegetarian, I am transitioning to veganism. My son and husband mostly eat vegetarian but they are lacto-vegetarian and aren't "strict" with it yet. (we have a mixed bunch but it works!) Anyhow, my daughter is 8 now, she will be 9 in March and is very into animals,animal rights and loves to help me cook veggie meals. My only concern now is that as she gets older, I don't want her to feel different from her friends at school. So far she has had no issues because a lot of her friends at school are veggie either because of religious/ethnic background or just because their families are. I just want to make sure she is not feeling like she is left out etc. since there are still so many omnis in her school.

I don't see why it would be a real problem while she's ovo-lacto. If she decides to go vegan, then things get a little harder (in my experience as a 90%-vegan teenager), but while she's eating dairy and egg it's not all that hard. She can still have cheese pizza with her friends, grilled cheese and omelettes, frenchtoast and pancakes, cereal with milk, etc. so her friends and their families won't have to compromise to suit her needs. A lot of normal food is veggie, so she wouldn't have to feel particularly weird when she's eating around her friends...Also, if she has some friends from school who are vegetarian also, then that gives her someone else with similar dietary choices. As long as she's confident in her beliefs and happy with them, it shouldn't be a problem. Since she was raised vegetarian, she might go through a period where she tries meat, or she might not, it's all upto her. I went vegetarian when I was 15 (I'm 16 now) because it was my choice and I've been nothing but happy with my decision. I attend a school that has only 3-4 other veg*ns but I don't feel left-out and I'm not ostracized for my diet (not often- there's the occassional dumbarse who'll come around "Vegetarians are stupid! Tofu is gross! Soymilk is nasty! Eww!", but it's really hard to be bothered by them when you remember that they'll probably die of a heart attack in 20-30 years).

So, I'd say- don't worry about it! She's going to handle it herself for the most part, and if you guys have a great relationship (like I'm guessing you do) she'll be able to talk to you if she has any doubts about her diet or has experienced any difficulties. As it stands, I wouldn't worry too much about it. As long as she's healthy and happy, why stress out? :D

Thanks Shethatisnau, I think you're probably right. When or if she decides to go vegan, boy that will be tough but maybe she will be old enough by then to that she can deal with it a little easier.

I feel pretty confident that she feels okay with her decisions. I didn't raise her strict veggie from when she was a baby because her Dad was a meat eater and I always felt like if I was too strict she might feel like I was forcing her. I decided that I would set the example and then allow her to make the decision when she was ready. That way it wouldn't seem like meat was some forbidden fruit or something. However, I never lied to her about the truths of meat etc. I don't try to scare her with gory details, but when she asks I give her age appropriate info. I knew that eventually she would start asking questions on her own as to why I don't eat meat etc. She was always an animal lover, so it's really natural for her to be veggie and that has helped. She's old enough now too that we have discussions about nutrition and what she needs to eat to get all her vitamins and luckily she is very interested.

Say, you're in Boulder City Nevada? What a coincidence that I'm in Boulder, Colorado...

I go to a school with very few other veg*ns. I've been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for around 5 years now. Although some of my friends are unsupportive about it and some people I don't even know that well insult me, it isn't that bad. As shethatisnau said, as a lacto-ovo, kids can still eat a lot of normal things like pizza or grilled cheese.

I wouldn't worry too much about her since it seems like she has a great supportive bunch of friends. Every veg*n kid will face problems with teasing at school but I think it's just preparing us for the harsh reality of the real world.

Instead of leaving her feeling "left out" - it'll probably help her develop a sense of identity in those tough adolescent years. When kids have something neat and individual about them, they can develop pride around it. (Though I don't mean to say that veg*ns should have pride regarding their diet...) But just like the kid who's really good at making friendship bracelets, or the girl who's going to be a Senior Scout... Having something that you hold steadfast to, and have been doing since an early age... Generally gives one a sense of confidence, rather than a sense of loss.

That's a good point Charity AJO. I started going veggie at about 15 or 16 and even though most of my friends weren't, I had a least one that was and it made me feel really good about making individual choices.

I started going veggie when I was 11. I went through on and off spans, but it took until my sixteenth birthday, to finally give it up completely, and I haven't turned back since! (And I will be 25 in May)

My sister who is 7 years younger is vegan, and has been veg*n since she was about 14 or 15.

I have never had any veg*n friends besides my sis. (Well, I had one in college who offered me sausage pizza, but she doesn't count) A friend's xgirlfriend was veg, but that just made for double dates at the veggie restaurant, I didn't really know her.

I never ate meat as a child anyway, except maybe chicken noodle soup. Children don't seem to like meat to begin with.

Me and my friends liked cheese pizza, cheese sticks, mac and cheese, grilled cheese, nachos, salad, veggies and dip, chips, etc.

My closest friend since HS is an avid meat lover and eats bloody steak all the time. I never felt like I was missing anything.

My partner was veg with me when we met, and eats little meat now.

Don't worry about her feeling left out. It's not like she CAN'T eat meat, she is CHOOSING not to, and that's great!

I was raised ovo-lacto vegetarian and I never even met someone outside of my family who was a vegetarian until I was in late high school. Every single kid in my school was an omnivore. I did feel different, but I was proud of it and confident in my beliefs despite none of my friends sharing in them. And, my friends were very supportive of my beliefs and looked out for me always. I did not feel compelled to try meat, but I guess it is different with everyone. Your daughter sounds like she is very confident with a vegetarian lifestyle, and it is also great that she has friends who are similar. I think she will do fine.

I've only been a vegetarian for about two years and all of those have been out of highschool.

But anyways, my next door neighboors son has what I think is celiac , and is allergic to wheat and several other foods. Right now, he's around 5 or 6 and I remember his mom commenting that he thinks his food is better then his sister's foods. I just wonder how he'll handle not being able to go out for pizza with his friends...It'd definetly be interesting to watch.

I became Veg*n at the age of 8 and apart from a coulpe of idots here and there i never came up against to much flack as i had very clear ideas on why i had made my choices.

These days it should be alot easier as many kids have different eating habits due to allergies, wheather it be a dairy allergy or wheat i'm sure lots of kids at school can't eat one thing or another :) My girls go to creche one day a week and the cook there was very eager to learn how to feed my vegan wheat free children and managed to adapt some of her recipes with a little help

Rawmama, what are some of the reasons behind not eating wheat?