What To Do When Your Child Decides To Be a Vegetarian

So, your child decided never to eat meat again? Well, it is not that much of a big deal; it doesn’t matter if he is doing it for ethical, environmental, health or cultural reasons. If you are a family of vegetarians then that is even better. There is no cause for worry; a vegetarian diet can provide a nutritious alternative to a diet that includes meat. However, special care needs to be taken with children on all vegetarian diets, especially vegan diets. Strict vegan diets are generally not recommended for very young children. There are different types of vegetarians and you need to figure out under which one of these your vegetarian child falls.

Types of Vegetarians

The different types of vegetarians are determined by the types of foods a person does not eat. Vegetarians can be classified into the following groups:

• Lacto-ovo Vegetarians: This kind of vegetarians exclude red meat, offal, fish, and poultry. They obtain protein from dairy products such as eggs, beans, legumes, pulses, and nuts.
• Lacto-Vegetarians: Lacto vegetarians don’t eat red meat, offal, fish, poultry, and eggs. They obtain protein from dairy products, pulses, nuts and soy products like tofu.
• Vegans: Vegan vegetarians give up red meat, offal, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products. They obtain their protein from beans, legumes, pulses, nuts and soy products like tofu.

The type of vegetarians diet most commonly associated with significant nutritional problems in children is the vegan diet. So, if this is who your child is, then you have to be very careful and make sure that he gets the nutrients and proteins he needs for his growth and development.

What to do to Help

If you are not a family of vegetarians, it could be a challenge to adjust to your child’s needs as a family. It is new and different but he is your child and he has the rights to make decisions about his life and that extends to what kind of food he eats and what kind of food he avoids.

Here are a few things you can do to help:

1. Listen

When your child decides to be a vegetarian, you need to listen to them and try to understand why. Maybe they are inspired by a recent school unit on the environment; it could be that they have ecological concerns about large food industry’s destruction of the rainforest and the need to share the earth’s resources responsibly. However, while you listen to their reasons, you need to stay alert and beware that your child is not choosing to be a Vegan for the wrong reason, such as using it as a cover for excessive or unhealthy caloric restriction and eating disorders.  Otherwise, you need to respect and stand by their decision.

2. Make a General Team Strategy

A good vegetarian effort takes teamwork. Meal-planning, grocery shopping, and cooking are all affected. In fact, if you have been a family of omnivores all along, it may be wise to take baby steps into vegetarianism or veganism. After all, it is truly daunting for a parent who knows how to cook a certain repertoire of meat-based meals to face the task of learning a vegetarian selection; you might consider learning-in to a change in this case.

3. Make things delicious while being smart about nutrition

Don’t view vegetarianism as an impediment to enjoyment. There are so many options available at grocery stores now, you can buy veggie burgers, meatless sausages, and all kinds, and even vegan hotdogs and they can taste pretty good. Veggie bacon may not taste as amazing as real bacon, but it helps fulfill a craving, doesn’t allow for feeling deprived, and holds to your vegetarian choice.  There is no one formula to ensure good nutrition. Any restricted diet means more potential for nutritional deficiency, and that means more of a need for planning. If your family is new to vegetarianism/veganism, it might be a good idea to have your child take a multivitamin.  However, if your child is a non-picky vegetarian who eats milk and eggs and a pretty wide variety of vegetarian foods, he is probably getting all the nutrients needed without the said vitamin.

Tips for Your Vegetarian Child’s Diet

If you are considering a change to a vegetarian diet in your family, or want to bring up a child on a vegetarian diet, it is important to:

• Understand what foods need to be substituted in the diet as energy, protein and vitamin sources may need to be topped up
• Encourage your child to eat a wide variety of foods.
• Alternate wholegrain and refined cereal products.
• Combine lower energy vegetarian foods, such as vegetables, with higher fat foods like vegetable fritters
• Give your child regular meals and snacks
• Combine foods containing vitamin C with foods that are high in iron.

A well planned vegetarian diet can be tasty, nutritious and healthy but when children are involved, you need to be extra vigilant to ensure it is balanced. Protein and iron, which are essential for growth and development, are two important elements of the diet that can often be overlooked. With this in mind, to make sure your child gets enough of all the nutrients needed for a growing child, his vegetarian diet must include the following:

• Aim for three plant-based protein foods a day such as lentils, beans, and soya mince. These foods are rich in protein which are the building blocks needed for growth and repair of cells and will provide the nutrition kids need to grow.
• Be careful not to fill up on fiber. While fruit and vegetables are really important in your child’s diet, they are low in calories and don’t have enough energy. Avocado and hummus are great energy-rich foods to include a vegetarian diet.
• Peanut butter is an excellent source of protein and full of calories. If your child doesn’t have a nut allergy, including peanut butter is a great choice. It is important to remember not to give nuts or peanuts to children under five years old, because they may choke on them.
• Iron is key. It is used to make hemoglobin which carries oxygen around your child’s body to cells. Iron sores begin to deplete at six months. Include iron-rich foods such as dark green leafy vegetables, broccoli or okra at every meal.
• Vitamin C increases the absorption of iron. With this in mind, offer your child an orange, tangerine or satsuma after his meal. A small glass of well-diluted fruit juice is something else you could try at mealtimes.
• Eggs are full of vitamin B12 and should play an important role in a vegetarian diet if he is not a Lacto-Vegetarian or a Vegan Vegetarian. B12 helps your child’s body to release the energy from the food he eats, it is essential in making red blood cells and for a healthy nervous system. Ensure they are cooked through.
• Chickpeas, lentils and fortified breakfast cereals are also iron-rich and are a fantastic option to include in a vegetarian diet. Be mindful what breakfast cereals you choose as some are high in added sugar.
• Include vitamin drops daily until your child is five. This will give you the peace of mind that your child is getting all of the vitamins he needs.
• Milk is packed full of calcium, vitamin D, and protein, and is so important for bone development. Aim for three glasses a day but be careful your child isn’t having it to the exclusion of other nutritious foods. You don’t want your child filling up on milk before meal times and avoiding iron-rich foods instead.

Conclusion

The take home from this article is that it is perfectly ok and normal for your child to be a vegetarian. As long as you are able to balance his vegetarian diet, he will be more than healthy. In fact, according to the American Dietetic Association: “Well planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes”, it provides health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases, particularly chronic diseases. Research shows that being a vegetarian as a child does not contribute to disordered eating. And adolescent vegetarians tend to have a healthier weight and healthier attitude towards eating than their omnivore counterparts.

Veganism is much more challenging, particularly for meeting B12, iodine, calcium and vitamin D needs. However, the good news is that with a careful dietary planning it is very possible for your child to be a vegetarian and healthy. In fact, vegetarians enjoy more health benefits compared to meat-eaters. Although there aren’t any guidelines as such, it is useful to have your child checked by his GP every six months and, if he is a Vegan, make sure he takes a regular source of B12 and to visit an accredited practicing dietitian.