My best friend asked me yesterday if I would let my kids eat meat if they wanted, or if I would freak out if they did at a friend's house. I hadn't given it much thought before, I guess I thought it wouldn't be an issue. I couldn't give her a definite answer because I would love to think that I will have perfectly enlightened children who would never dream of such a thing :D

As an omni I was actually opposed to the idea of raising children veg*an though. I had the misconception that they would be unhealthy and even that it was a form of neglect (I've wised up!). Part of what shaped this attitude for me was an experience I had with a little vegan girl. I worked with Children's Theater in junior high and high school and we had a 5-year-old vegan girl in a show once. She played a hot dog vendor and carried a tray of Lunchables hot dogs across the stage. We were backstage after the last show and she asked me if she could eat the hot dogs. I said yes because no one ever made a big deal out of her veganism and it completely slipped my mind. She looked surprised and then went to the corner and quickly ate the hot dogs while looking over her shoulder. This behavior scared me a little bit but it wasn't until later that I realized what had happened. At the time I thought her mother was cruel for pushing something on her daughter she obviously didn't want, especially if it made her act that way when given meat. (Really though, the sight of this little girl huddled in a corner shoving mini hot dogs in her mouth as if her life depended on it was disturbing.)

This is getting a little long, so here's my question for parents: Do your kids ever want to eat meat? If so, how do you handle it?

Do your kids know your reasons for being veg*an? Do they understand/agree? If they were given absolute freedom in the area, would they choose it for themselves at this point? I'm very curious...

my kids are 6 yo and 2 yo.........my 6 yo recently asked for a hot dog......i more didnt want to let her eat it because meat or not i think they are totally disgusting and unhealthy........i would also have been disturbed about seeing the girl eating the hot dogs in a huddle.
i personally would let my kids eat meat if they want, neither has ever wanted meat aside from the hot dog incident.
they do ask for chicken nuggets though. i try to always have the veggie version on hand, but on occasion while out for the day they ask for wendys nuggets and i will let them eat those on occasion.........like if we are out for so long the next meal at home is hours away kind of thing.....and i have forgotten to pack enough snacks!
so to answer, i live here as a veg family, the way i shop and cook, but if the kids want to eat something when with friends, or when we are out that isnt totally unhealthy and disgusting like a hot dog, i would let them.
my theory is that i can only educate and hope they choose my path, but if they dont thats ok too. i dont want to force anything on them, which in the end will make them want the opposite more.
i am hoping this way of life is just becoming natural to them,
someone posted a video of vegan parents, and what struck me was in the end the little girl saying its hard to be vegan because she wants to eat what the other kids eat.

I should probably add that my reasoning is also because my hubby eats as a vegetarian most of the time, but i still call him omni because he will eat meat or chicken when we go out to eat.......so the kids see both.......and i certainly dont want them to have a mommy is right daddy is wrong or vice versa feelings.

Thanks for your reply! Kids are a long way off for me, but I hope when I'm at that point that I'm this kind of parent:


my theory is that i can only educate and hope they choose my path, but if they dont thats ok too.
:)

my son is 3 and has never asked for meat, so i haven't confronted this yet, but i have always felt like i don't want to force vegetarianism on him...i figure he can have it if he really wants it, but i won't be preparing it for him, etc...

Well seeing that I'm still working on going completely vegetarian. My dd does have some meat. Lucky for me(who would love her to be vegatarian as well) she doesn't seem to like meat much. She eats very little when she does. My mother in law used to give her hot dogs. GROSS I've been the same for years. I've never eaten a lot of meat. I just don't like the taste. The only one I have ate a lot of is chicken. The only one that doesn't make me gag. LOL Except while I was pregnant. I guess I gotta get pregnant again and go completely veg.

My daughter was 8 years old when I decided to become vegetarian. At first she found it hard not eating meat. But I only restrict it from my own home really. While i won't buy or cook meat, I'll sometimes get her some treats outside the home that may or may not contain animal products.

While I'm working on becoming vegan, I still buy milk for her. Sometimes, my father feels the need to invite her over for dinner, for a steak or something. Like she wasn't getting enough protein or something. :notvegan:

I can't say that it doesn't bother me, but the way i see it, if i wanted to raise my kid veg, I should have started sooner.

She does accept that there is no meat in the house though, and rarely actually asks for any.

We've raised our 9-year-old to be veg since birth (and, as we tell, even before birth) with all of the positive reasons for doing so (health, compassion, animal rights, the ethic of no killing, environment, basic fairness). He has certainly taken this on and is a very conscious and outspoken vegetarian. With all that, we tell him that there will never be meat in our home, but that when he is older and with his own friends, he'll have to decide whether to eat healthily, environmentally, and compassionately or to eat disgusting dead animals. I think I'm laying out the choices fairly and accurately ;]

I raised my kids veg. but with their Dad being Omni, they are exposed to both views. Often when out with him or over at his place, they'll have chicken nuggets or whatever (mainly 'cause he can't cook worth a darn).

Even though I've always been very clear with my kids re: my point of view and my ethics, when given the choice to "have to decide whether to eat healthily, environmentally, and compassionately or to eat disgusting dead animals" my oldest would probably shrug and say "yeah, so what, I still like chicken nuggets, they taste good" and since she's 15, that would have to be her decision...

(Though lately she's been more and more into choosing vegetarian options when out with Dad or friends... so... we'll see...)

I do want to raise my boy as a veg*n. dad is an omni but says he's fine with it I haven't heard anything about it from his family but my family is so against it he's just starting on some pureed peas and apples and They already make me fell like a bad mom. I'm not sure what to do. they still think eating meat is the best thing for you.

my mom is horrified i dont feed my kids meat! she insists they "need it".......she once tried to sneak a piece of ham to my dd, who thankfully stuck her nose up and said "ewwwwww"

I do want to raise my boy as a veg*n. dad is an omni but says he's fine with it I haven't heard anything about it from his family but my family is so against it he's just starting on some pureed peas and apples and They already make me fell like a bad mom. I'm not sure what to do. they still think eating meat is the best thing for you.

ElliotsMom: Stick to your convictions if you truely believe that raising your Baby veggie is the best thing for him (and it is..). Grandparents interfere, or will try, with every aspect of child rearing, and if they find an area where you're the least bit unsure of yourself, they'll really dig in, whether it's a veggie diet, breastfeeding, the type of diapers you use, the age he's potty trained, etc., etc., etc...

You are NOT a bad parent.

Do some reading and research, make sure you're providing the nutrients your Baby needs (which a veggie diet can easily do) and then stick to your plan and don't let your reletives get to you. And at this age, of course, as long as he's still being breastfed or getting formula, he's getting all the nutrition he needs.

No matter what your child's age, people will think you're "not feeding him right" (no matter WHAT you feed him someone will find fault with it!!) do your research, have educated answers to come back with and then just smile and relax and know that yu're doing the best thing for your little one.

as long as i am purchasing the food for my child, she will not be eating meat...

and...when she's old enough to make an educated decision, if she makes the decision to eat meat...that's up to her...

hopefully, she will choose to stay vegetarian her entire life!!

I'm not a mother yet. I feel VERY strongly about foods that I consider bad, and don't really see why I would go out of my way to put money into an industry I don't support. However, I don't want my children to think I am extremist and rebel against me. Of course I plan to instill in them as much knowledge as possible and will never drive past a McDonald's and hear a plea to stop without explaining exactly why it would be bad to go there. I guess I can only hope that the information I give my kids about what's bad for them they will believe and respect and be inspired to read and find their own information as well.

I will probably allow them to eat whatever they want outside of my home and my care, as long as it's not poisonous. While I do feel so strongly about meat, fast food, chemicals, etc., I do not feel that eating them occasionally is harmful enough to be a Nazi about my kids' diets. I want them to experience everything in life they possibly can and be insightful, wise and well-rounded. I'll just make sure that they always know exactly what it is they are choosing to eat and exactly what it's repercussions are, and then let them make the decision beyond that.

My kids were at a neighbor's birthday party today. My dsaughter really wanted a hamburger, so I told her I didn't like the idea, but she could eat it if she wanted. She did. My son first said he wanted a cheeseburger, but as I started to put it on his plate he changed his mind. He ate a hamburger bun with lettuce and pasta salad instead. Didn't want to touch meat.

My son is somewhere halfway on the road from omni to vegetarian. Unfortunatelly my mom is not supporting us at all, and she buys for him especially the meat foods that she knows he won't say no to.

Also, they're teaching kids in school that a well balanced diet contains meat products. He came back from school a couple of weeks ago with a booklet that he made (coloring and fiiling in blanks) about the animals that live on farms. Well, there was a... strange sentence in there: " We love pigs becouse they give us meat". I couldn't take no more and I wrote a note to his teacher: how could they teach the kids to love an animal for the sole purpose of eating its flesh???? And... how can you lie them in the face by telling that pigs GIVE meat??? They don't just give it for free, smilling and waiving at us, they ar KILLED for it!

Anyways... our son knows why we do not eat meat (health, environment, animal rights, etc), and he agrees with us. He sometimes tells us :" I know it's sad, but ...". He'll make his own mind eventually, and we do not want to force him. We prefer him to come to this by himself, instead of being pushed and, sometime in the future, becoming a meat eater on purpose just to prove us someting. (especially when my mom'd been a vegan for about 7 years and then she came back to meat eating saying that veganism was just...a phase).

My son is somewhere halfway on the road from omni to vegetarian. Unfortunatelly my mom is not supporting us at all, and she buys for him especially the meat foods that she knows he won't say no to.

Also, they're teaching kids in school that a well balanced diet contains meat products. He came back from school a couple of weeks ago with a booklet that he made (coloring and fiiling in blanks) about the animals that live on farms. Well, there was a... strange sentence in there: " We love pigs becouse they give us meat". I couldn't take no more and I wrote a note to his teacher: how could they teach the kids to love an animal for the sole purpose of eating its flesh???? And... how can you lie them in the face by telling that pigs GIVE meat??? They don't just give it for free, smilling and waiving at us, they ar KILLED for it!

Anyways... our son knows why we do not eat meat (health, environment, animal rights, etc), and he agrees with us. He sometimes tells us :" I know it's sad, but ...". He'll make his own mind eventually, and we do not want to force him. We prefer him to come to this by himself, instead of being pushed and, sometime in the future, becoming a meat eater on purpose just to prove us someting. (especially when my mom'd been a vegan for about 7 years and then she came back to meat eating saying that veganism was just...a phase).




Hm. I'm curious to see what that teacher's reaction to your letter was. My eleven year old brother told me the other day that it isn't a "square meal" without meat. Perhaps this wasn't the best approach, but I replied with, "Meat isn't even food. You've got a square meal with chunk of a dead body sitting in the middle of it."

Maybe I just should have told him that in that case, I'll take round meals, thank you very much.

Oh man I hope the schools here aren't like that! :rolleyes: sometimes I wish I could home school my little guy but of course my hubby thinks that's silly. maybe the schools will be a bit more diverse by the time he goes.

Hm. I'm curious to see what that teacher's reaction to your letter was. My eleven year old brother told me the other day that it isn't a "square meal" without meat. Perhaps this wasn't the best approach, but I replied with, "Meat isn't even food. You've got a square meal with chunk of a dead body sitting in the middle of it."

Maybe I just should have told him that in that case, I'll take round meals, thank you very much.

She wrote back to me in his agenda: "you have made a very good point and I will change the sentence in the future". Maybe she doesn't want to face a crazy vegetarian mommy again! :juggle:

Oh man I hope the schools here aren't like that! :rolleyes: sometimes I wish I could home school my little guy but of course my hubby thinks that's silly. maybe the schools will be a bit more diverse by the time he goes.

What did you mean when you wrote "the schools here"? Here where? Hope you don't mind me asking...

Do your kids ever want to eat meat? If so, how do you handle it?

Do your kids know your reasons for being veg*an? Do they understand/agree? If they were given absolute freedom in the area, would they choose it for themselves at this point? I'm very curious...

My daughter does NOT want to eat animals or animal secretions.

She not only knows *my* reasons for being vegan but she knows *her* reasons for being vegan as well. Being that she is a sentient person, she cares about how her actions impact others and does not selfishly indulge her senses at the expense of those less powerful than her.

I am VERY proud of her and her deep understanding of veganism.

I joke that she may rebel someday and eat a peice of cheese pizza after a night of partying with friends :lol:

So far, so good, I think mainly because she has her own understanding of veganism and I have never lied to her or shielded her from the truth. She's an incredible and vibrant young woman and I love her more than anyone or anything. :sunny:

What did you mean when you wrote "the schools here"? Here where? Hope you don't mind me asking...
my apologies I live in a very closeminded town with a small population (St Thomas, ON)

my apologies I live in a very closeminded town with a small population (St Thomas, ON)

I live 'right next door' - London, ON.

oh so you know how "super cool" st thomas is. now b4 you judge I'm not from here I just moved here 7 mos ago.

I have a question for ya Amy. I'm going to london on the 13th for dinner and a concert. can you reccomend any good veg friendly restaraunts?