advice needed
sunda...@hotmail.com
Hi! Sorry to intrude, but I’m a new mother and I’m looking for advice from
parents. I’m thinking about putting my baby on a vegetarian diet, but I’m
really unsure because I don’t want to jeopardize her future. However I really
want her to be a vegetarian. Any suggestions would be helpful. Please
disregard this message if you find it annoying. Thank you for your time and
patience.
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/ Now offering spam-free web-based newsreading
Nyoka Koleda
I'm not a vegetarian and not raising my kids that way. But if you
want to raise her that way go for it! As long as you give her some
dairy products its perfectly fine. It's harder if you avoid dairy
too, you'd have to be really careful about getting enough protein.
She also needs more fat the first two years. That growing little
brain. Don't, however, expect her to stick with it when she's older.
I have three nephews and a niece (ages 18, 16, 14, 12) that were
raised vegetarian. I know they eat meat occasionally. Sometimes I
think they do it just to bug their mom.
Also, don't tell her that the foods you choose not to eat are bad. I
always get flack from my nieces and nephews about eating certain
foods. I ask them if they'd tried it, of course they haven't. Don't
know it till you've tried it and if you're not going to try it keep
your mouth shut about what other people eat. Its a choice and others
are free to choose differently.
OTOH. My 20 yo niece was raised to eat anything and everything and
chooses to be vegetarian. You just never know.
On Wed, 15 Apr 1998 20:04:46 -0600, sunda...@hotmail.com wrote:
>Hi! Sorry to intrude, but I’m a new mother and I’m looking for advice from
>parents. I’m thinking about putting my baby on a vegetarian diet, but I’m
>really unsure because I don’t want to jeopardize her future. However I really
>want her to be a vegetarian. Any suggestions would be helpful. Please
>disregard this message if you find it annoying. Thank you for your time and
>patience.
Nyoka (mom to Trevor (b 8/8/95 and #2 due 10/12/98)
(reply to Nyo...@aol.com)
John Dyer
I don't know much about vegetarianism, but remember some from nursing
school. I remember that there are amino acid chains that can only be
provided by meat, unless certain combinations of foods are given, like
beans and dairy, or something like that. Anyway, I would do some
research and talk to your pediatrician about it to ensure that you do it
all right. It sounds like a nice idea. Are you vegetarian? If you're
not, how will that work? So I guess what I am saying is that you need
to have all the facts, maybe contacting an organization of vegetarians.
There are organizations for everything else, surely there's one for
them, too. Shouldn't be too hard to find. Good luck...Leanne
sunda...@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> Hi! Sorry to intrude, but I’m a new mother and I’m looking for advice from
> parents. I’m thinking about putting my baby on a vegetarian diet, but I’m
> really unsure because I don’t want to jeopardize her future. However I really
> want her to be a vegetarian. Any suggestions would be helpful. Please
> disregard this message if you find it annoying. Thank you for your time and
> patience.
>
janelaw
It really isn't that hard. There are lots of books on nutrition
at the library. In fact, your pediatrician should be able to
set you up with a meeting with a nutritionist. Breast milk is
all you need at the beginning. Then you just add in fruits,
cereals, dairy products. I always used a multivitamin.
I have to warn you, tho, what other people say is true: the day
will come when your child will be interested in eating what
everyone else does. When my child was four she came to me and
said that she wanted to eat meat. I told her that I wanted her
to make that decision when she was older and understood all the
ramifications. She said, "Mommy, I understand now. I want to
eat dead cows!" So I let her. :)
DJudge6453
>Hi! Sorry to intrude, but I’m a new mother and I’m looking for advice from
>> parents. I’m thinking about putting my baby on a vegetarian diet, but I’m
>> really unsure because I don’t want to jeopardize her future. However I
>really
>> want her to be a vegetarian. Any suggestions would be helpful. Please
>> disregard this message if you find it annoying. Thank you for your time and
>> patience.
Your post is far from annoying. It takes time, dedication, and education to
properly feed and raise a child on a vegetarian diet. As far as I am concerned
it is worth the effort. There will be doubting Thomas' regarding every move
that you make..therefore I suggest following your heart and sticking to it.
There are two wonderful books I highly recommend:
1.Vegetarian Baby by Sharon Yntema and
2.Vegan Nutrition:Pure and Simple by Dr. Michael Klapper
They are very informative and include specific amounts of what one needs on
various types of vegetarian diets to stay healthy.
Meat and dairy are not essential ingredients for one to thrive and gone is the
old belief of food combining to maximize nutrition. The above mentioned books
will describe in detail what is necessary.
My daughter is 3 (and vegan since birth)...she is thriving and our pediatrician
(mainstream) supports our decision. She is off the chart size-wise and visits
the doctor rarely.
If you ever have any questions or concerns or just want support in a world that
basically does not support or respect our choice to eat the way that we
do...keep my email address handy and contact me.
I am happy with the decision that I have made despite the fact that I find
myself defending my choice. It takes dedication and perseverance but when I
see how healthy my daughter is I know that it is worth it. Take care!
P.S. My son is almost 20 and is a vegetarian by choice since he was about
10...he was raised eating dairy and chicken but no red meat, sugar,
preservatives, food coloring or fast food. He is the veggie in his frat house
and is committed to loving animals.
Debra