raising kids as vegetarians -- kind of long -- no recipes

October 24, 2002

it's interesting to read people's opinions about this topic because i am in the process of adopting my first child and unless something extraordinary happens ;-) i will be raising her as a single mom. i plan to also raise her as a vegetarian -- i haven't managed to veganize myself yet, so we will be serving mac and cheese in our home. i have had a lot of opposition to raising her as a vegetarian -- i have been told that it is a cruel thing to do to her and that other kids will make fun of her. if i had a husband who was sharing the responsibility of raising her, he would get equal say in what she ate, but he would be responsible for cooking (and cleaning up after) any "dead animal" meals. since i will be the sole parent, i feel that i have to raise her in accordance with my own ethical beliefs. i don't want her to be made fun of, but i don't think i can say "this is what i believe is right, but you do this differently so you'll fit in better." that's just not me! i have told my family and friends that when my kids are old enough and truly understand the impact of their food decisions, then i will allow them to decide for themselves. my mother said that if i wait until they know where the meat comes from, then they won't want to eat it. and i said that that should tell you something;-) one of my sisters also felt that i should request a daughter for my second child because she thought boys would be ridiculed more for being vegetarian. i asked my vegetarian brother and he said he doesn't remember any comments in grade school. in high school, he got a lot of confused or incredulous comments, but they weren't ridiculing him. and that was over 25 years ago, so i think things should be even easier now. i did call around to different daycare providers to ask about how they would handle a vegetarian child. most of them said they would give me their menu and that i would need to pack a lunch if i didn't agree with what they were serving. one of them said i would need to get "any special diets" approved by the director, and another said i would need a letter from the doctor! i know that i'm a little paranoid and feeling that i need to feed my kids "extra good" to make up for the unconventional diet, so i have started coming up with menus and meal plans. when it comes right down to it and we get enmeshed in busy family life though, i'll probably revert to quickly grabbing something out of the cupboard or freezer;-/ at any rate, it was interesting to hear everyone's opinions. take care... rita

October 24, 2002

Hey Rita- OK, from a mother's heart...Just remember that ultimately you are the one responsible for the child. Not all the other opinions and advice your getting. Its been a hard lesson for me to learn and took 36 years to do it- but we just can't live by other's expectations of what we should be or do. (Which is normally what they "think" it should be!) Having said that- I say as a mother...look into it really hard. Look at the pros and cons and then make the decision. Don't feel guilty for what is ultimately your decision for your well being. (Vegetarian or not.) I have not figured it out yet- but I can't understand why people who are not vegetarians so negative of it. Even a friend of mine, who used to be one, made a funny face to me recently when I didn't take a bite of her dinner and went on to explain I was not eating meat. She simply replied "Oh...are you on that kick again?" I don't know if its the "I can't do it so I am certainly not going to pat you on the back" or the human nature of feeling there is a shortage of being happy or proud for someone!! I just don't understand- but that seems to be a common response. I will say that I think in today's day and age it is a lot easier being a vegetarian than before. Not only is more stuff more available- I think it also has an almost "cool" stigma about it. Hopefully if you do decide to raise this child as a vegaterain- she will just set the standards at her day care for being "cool"! LOL Good luck! WIth kindness, Beth reeeeta wrote: it's interesting to read people's opinions about this topic because i am in the process of adopting my first child and unless something extraordinary happens ;-) i will be raising her as a single mom. i plan to also raise her as a vegetarian -- i haven't managed to veganize myself yet, so we will be serving mac and cheese in our home. i have had a lot of opposition to raising her as a vegetarian -- i have been told that it is a cruel thing to do to her and that other kids will make fun of her. if i had a husband who was sharing the responsibility of raising her, he would get equal say in what she ate, but he would be responsible for cooking (and cleaning up after) any "dead animal" meals. since i will be the sole parent, i feel that i have to raise her in accordance with my own ethical beliefs. i don't want her to be made fun of, but i don't think i can say "this is what i believe is right, but you do this differently so you'll fit in better." that's just not me! i have told my family and friends that when my kids are old enough and truly understand the impact of their food decisions, then i will allow them to decide for themselves. my mother said that if i wait until they know where the meat comes from, then they won't want to eat it. and i said that that should tell you something;-) one of my sisters also felt that i should request a daughter for my second child because she thought boys would be ridiculed more for being vegetarian. i asked my vegetarian brother and he said he doesn't remember any comments in grade school. in high school, he got a lot of confused or incredulous comments, but they weren't ridiculing him. and that was over 25 years ago, so i think things should be even easier now. i did call around to different daycare providers to ask about how they would handle a vegetarian child. most of them said they would give me their menu and that i would need to pack a lunch if i didn't agree with what they were serving. one of them said i would need to get "any special diets" approved by the director, and another said i would need a letter from the doctor! i know that i'm a little paranoid and feeling that i need to feed my kids "extra good" to make up for the unconventional diet, so i have started coming up with menus and meal plans. when it comes right down to it and we get enmeshed in busy family life though, i'll probably revert to quickly grabbing something out of the cupboard or freezer;-/ at any rate, it was interesting to hear everyone's opinions. take care... rita contact owner: -owner Mail list: Delivered-mailing list List-Un: - no flaming arguing or denigration of others allowedcontact owner with complaints regarding posting/list or anything else. Thank you.please share/comment/inform and mostly enjoy this list

October 24, 2002

Hi All!

Just thought I would like to share a little here...

I've been a vegetarian for around three years now, mainly for ethical reasons, but also because I find it absolutly disgusting. For about a year prior to that, I had my boyfriend buy and prepare the meat, and then I would think about anything other than what I was eating. I have a daughter who is five, and for the first two years of her life she was fed meat. When I went "veggie", I allowed her to be fed meat when my boyfriend made it, but I always felt really bad about that. After a few months I told him that in my opinion it was a bad idea to feed her meat, and although he didn't quite agree, he stopped giving her meat. Also, I don't wrap up my opinions in nice words and pretty frases when I talk to him, so he is one of the few people in my life that really knows how I feel about meat. Anyway, my daughter is now five, and for the past year or so she has been very much aware that she eats differently. When she asks me why we don't eat meat, I tell her that for us to eat meat means that we have to take the life of the animal we want to eat, and is that something she is willing to do? I encorage her to see the beauty in animals. I feel that for the past couple of months she has been testing me by asking if she could eat meat. I reply that she can do anything she wants, and if she wants to eat meat then that's ok with me. Then I ask do you want to eat meat, and she laughs and says no. She's only five years old. If she asks me this when she's twelve, I'll take her on a field trip to a slaughter house. I believe in free choise, as long as it's informed choise. BTW, when we moved to a new flat two years ago, we put in a new kitchen. I told my boyfriend that I couldn't stand the thought of polluting it with the stench of meat, so if he wanted to eat meat he should do so elsewhere. (I'm not as bossy as this sounds, we talk about things!) I should say that my boyfriend is now also a vegetarian, but for other reasons than me.

Namasté, Chris

-

reeeeta

Thursday, October 24, 2002 10:52 PM

raising kids as vegetarians -- kind of long -- no recipes

it's interesting to read people's opinions about this topic because i am in the process of adopting my first child and unless something extraordinary happens ;-) i will be raising her as a single mom. i plan to also raise her as a vegetarian -- i haven't managed to veganize myself yet, so we will be serving mac and cheese in our home. i have had a lot of opposition to raising her as a vegetarian -- i have been told that it is a cruel thing to do to her and that other kids will make fun of her. if i had a husband who was sharing the responsibility of raising her, he would get equal say in what she ate, but he would be responsible for cooking (and cleaning up after) any "dead animal" meals. since i will be the sole parent, i feel that i have to raise her in accordance with my own ethical beliefs. i don't want her to be made fun of, but i don't think i can say "this is what i believe is right, but you do this differently so you'll fit in better." that's just not me! i have told my family and friends that when my kids are old enough and truly understand the impact of their food decisions, then i will allow them to decide for themselves. my mother said that if i wait until they know where the meat comes from, then they won't want to eat it. and i said that that should tell you something;-) one of my sisters also felt that i should request a daughter for my second child because she thought boys would be ridiculed more for being vegetarian. i asked my vegetarian brother and he said he doesn't remember any comments in grade school. in high school, he got a lot of confused or incredulous comments, but they weren't ridiculing him. and that was over 25 years ago, so i think things should be even easier now. i did call around to different daycare providers to ask about how they would handle a vegetarian child. most of them said they would give me their menu and that i would need to pack a lunch if i didn't agree with what they were serving. one of them said i would need to get "any special diets" approved by the director, and another said i would need a letter from the doctor! i know that i'm a little paranoid and feeling that i need to feed my kids "extra good" to make up for the unconventional diet, so i have started coming up with menus and meal plans. when it comes right down to it and we get enmeshed in busy family life though, i'll probably revert to quickly grabbing something out of the cupboard or freezer;-/ at any rate, it was interesting to hear everyone's opinions. take care... rita

contact owner: -owner Mail list: Delivered-mailing list List-Un: - no flaming arguing or denigration of others allowedcontact owner with complaints regarding posting/list or anything else. Thank you.please share/comment/inform and mostly enjoy this list