YogiSource.com my account | view cart | customer service
 Search:    
 Site Areas     store | articles | forums | studios | vacations
yoga | massage | fitness | wellness | meditation
Welcome to the new Yoga.com Forums home!
For future visits, link to "http://www.YogiSource.com/forums".
Make a new bookmark.
Tell your friends so they can find us and you!

Coming soon ... exciting new changes for our website, now at YogiSource.com.

Search | Statistics | User Listing View All Forums
You are logged in as a guest. ( logon | register )



Children of Vegetarians
Moderators: Moderators

Jump to page : 1
Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page]		View previous thread :: View next thread
   Wellness -> Diet and NutritionMessage format
 
samantha77
Posted 2005-02-27 11:55 AM (#17826)
Subject: Children of Vegetarians



Extreme Veteran

Posts: 517
500
Location: New Jersey		What do you think of raising your children as vegetarians? Is it better for their health to have them eat meat growing up, or is there a way to give them what they need nutritionally on a vegetarian diet?
Samantha

Edited by samantha77 2005-02-27 11:56 AM
Top of the page Bottom of the page
Bay Guy
Posted 2005-02-27 12:10 PM (#17828 - in reply to #17826)
Subject: RE: Children of Vegetarians



Expert Yogi

Posts: 2479
2000100100100100252525
Location: A Blue State		My wife and I would probably be ~90% vegetarian in our
home cooking except that one of my kids is allergic to
most legumes. Still, we try very hard to teach healthy eating
habits, like thinking about fat, salt, & sugar in foods. No soft drinks
in our house, no beef, no pork.

So far as raising your kids a particular way, you always have to balance
their need to live in the world and get along with other kids against
your own values and beliefs. It's hard for kids to perceive their family
as weird, you know? My son has enough trouble with the fact that I
*hate* television team sports, listen to weird music (Kirtan, eg),
and have several Ganeshas and a Natarajasa in my bedroom.

My kids have normal weight for their age, so we seem to be doing
something right. Watching some of my kids' friends get fatter each year is
really disturbing to me. What I probably worry about most is ground
beef in my kids' diet. School lunches and kids' menus at restaurants
both push beef relentlessly; and it's clear that the US Government will
not make a serious effort to keep Mad Cow disease out of the country.
This scares me.



Edited by Bay Guy 2005-02-27 12:11 PM
Top of the page Bottom of the page
tourist
Posted 2005-02-27 2:17 PM (#17849 - in reply to #17826)
Subject: RE: Children of Vegetarians



Expert Yogi

Posts: 8442
50002000100010010010010025
Samantha - I think it is very mcuh like the whole question for adults - it can be very healthy or very unhealthy, depending on what is actually eaten. I have seen very healthy children who were vegan or vegetarian and of course, we all know omnivore kids who are unhealthy. Some kids find it a burden (especially when your parents are already "weird" but then I think most kids really think their parents are weird.) but on the other hand, most just go with whatever is going on in their home. The funny thing about it is that kids will almost always rebel against it at some point. I knew a family who was vegetarian and the kids didn't rebel by wanting junk food and meat because it just wasn't part of their experience. Instead they refused to eat their oatmeal cooked and insisted on eating it dry - which drove their mom as crazy. Of course, driving mom crazy is their job so they were doing fine! My son was not terribly fond of meat as a child and we didn't eat it a lot but when he hit about 14 he became a raging carnivore. His body was growing so fast and the testosterone was kicking in and he became a steak hound for a couple of years. At 20 he discovered sushi - which drove his dad crazy - back to doing his job as a kid
Top of the page Bottom of the page
frog71_uk
Posted 2005-02-28 8:34 AM (#17922 - in reply to #17826)
Subject: RE: Children of Vegetarians


I have no kids and I'm not vegetarian, so I can't say, but I would like to ask :

Are you new to vegetarianism? Are you able to cook healthy / balanced food for your whole family, the same as if you were cooking non-vegetarian food?

Are your kids old enough to decide for themselves if they want to eat meat or not? I read a book called "becoming vegetarian", The author suggests to try not to impose one's own choices on the rest of the familly, but rather "lead be example" and educate, discuss, present alternatives... maybe that's psychological coercion rather than physical coercion I'm sure it works better though?
Top of the page Bottom of the page
MrD
Posted 2005-02-28 7:19 PM (#17970 - in reply to #17826)
Subject: RE: Children of Vegetarians


My wife works for the County Health Department, and is in charge of nutrition clinics several times a year. She has found the following:

1. Many parents who become vegetarians want to make sure that the kids are eating healthy. So they feed them the ratios that would keep an adult healthy. The problem is that this is not what is needed for children who are growing. They need more fats and protein than adults.

2. It't hard enough to get them to eat at all with this kind of kid, so trying to go veg would be absurd.

3. Kids, at least the smaller ones she deals with most often, don't eat balanced meals. They will pick only 1 or 2 foods and consume that.

4. If Kids are force fed foods they don't like, they would rather die. Literally.

5. Kids are bombarded with fast food ads daily and so come to think of fast food as part of the essential food groups. They also want to be part of a goup and will consume what their friends eat.

6. Anorexic kids who claim they are vegetarian are often saying "I don't want to eat anything. I'll say I'm vegetarian to get you off my back."

7. Some nutrients are best absorbed from animal products.

8. The nutrition counselor never recommended a vegetarian diet for growing children.

9. Often times the source of poor eating habits is the parents, in either an active not feeding the kid right, or not introducing them to enough variety to get proper nutrition.

10. Supplementation with something like Ensure often gets these kids who don't like to eat to abandon food all together.

Please understand that this information is based on Kids who come to nutrition clinics because they are severly under weight.

My son went veg for 2 years, but recently abandoned it for an eating meat sparingly diet since his body developed a huge craving for protein. But he didn't eat a lot of lentils and beans combined with whole grains to get adequate vegetarian protien.

In his book Journey into Power, Baron Baptiste tells about how much he was teased growing up when he brouight his sprout sandwitches and other healthy food to lunch. The social factor about what food to eat may be influential.

I certainly advocate healthy eating with kids when you can, but veg may not give them what they really need.

Edited by MrD 2005-02-28 7:24 PM
Top of the page Bottom of the page
jeansyoga
Posted 2005-03-01 11:20 AM (#18017 - in reply to #17826)
Subject: RE: Children of Vegetarians


That is really interesting information!! I don't have kids, but I was one at one point. There is so much psychology and emotion that goes into eating, sometimes it seems to barely be about nutrition at all.

When I was growing up, my dad would not eat a meal that didn't include the cliche'd meat and potatoes. Meat was red, period - chicken & fish did not count. Potatoes were to be baked and smothered in butter, and anyone who ate the skin was a lunatic. The only other starch was spaghetti (not rotini, not penne, SPAGHETTI) and it was covered with red meat sauce. Anytime my mom tried to venture outside the realm he would make a big fuss, usually trying to be funny, and of course as kids we would follow right along. Once, as a teen, I announced I wanted to become a vegetarian, and they all shouted "But you don't even like salad!" (I know, brilliant)

Now he has opened his mind enough to consider chicken an entree, but that's about it! When I show up with at Christmas dinner with a bowl of whole grains & vegetables, everyone looks at me like I'm from another planet. Maybe I am!! That recent surgery resulted in the mysterious disappearance of my bellybutton . . . could that mean something?
Top of the page Bottom of the page
samantha77
Posted 2005-03-01 3:30 PM (#18031 - in reply to #17970)
Subject: RE: Children of Vegetarians



Extreme Veteran

Posts: 517
500
Location: New Jersey		Thanks for that information! I don't have kids yet, (just interested for when I do), but a friend of mine has 2 kids, and she is also considering going vegetarian, and including her kids. I'm going to pass this on to her! It's very true about the social effects of what you eat. I remember when I was in grade/high school, everyone bought their lunch, and if you brought yours you got made fun of.
I'm also thinking of the fact that alot of the foods that I eat, and enjoy now, as a Vegetarian I used to hate as a kid. So maybe keeping kids on a healthy, balanced diet with meat included, but educating them on what a vegetarian diet is would be the best bet?
Samantha
Top of the page Bottom of the page
jeansyoga
Posted 2005-03-01 4:22 PM (#18038 - in reply to #17826)
Subject: RE: Children of Vegetarians


Heck, if your kids turn out anything like most kids I know, they're just going to be ornery about anything you give them once they reach a certain age. If you give them vegetables, they'll want meat, and vice versa. You just do what you think is right, and they'll thank you for it later!
Top of the page Bottom of the page
tourist
Posted 2005-03-02 12:18 AM (#18059 - in reply to #17970)
Subject: RE: Children of Vegetarians



Expert Yogi

Posts: 8442
50002000100010010010010025
Mr D - very good info! I find a LOT of relatively intelligent parents do not know that kids NEED fat for brain development. There is a great article sometwhere on the net about how parents feed their babies really well but as soon as they hit toddlerhood they get the same poor choices the parents get and I have found that to be very true. Non-fat flavoured yogurt with aspartame for a child under 2 years old, lots of cookies and crackers and far too much juice. Going from a nice balanced meal (even if it is in a jar) to white bread with jam every day is not good for growth. And most kids do get picky-ish at some point. But if they are never offered the choices of the less nutritious stuff, they become picky within the realm of what is offered to them. So if they don't want oatmeal in the morning, offer eggs or toast or a cheese sandwich (my kids were known to eat leftover pizza for breakfast ). it is all better than giving in and buying Pop Tarts!
Top of the page Bottom of the page
easternsun
Posted 2005-03-02 3:09 AM (#18065 - in reply to #17826)
Subject: RE: Children of Vegetarians


this subject is quite close to my heart at the moment. when i married, i married for love not love of vegetables. my husband loves meat. but he loves me too, so, it has been ok

i do cook a lot of vegetarian food and i definitely serve more vegetables than he could have ever imagined possible

after almost four years of marriage - we have a cool understanding between us. i make breakfast and dinner and he goes out for lunch. he can get his meat fix at lunch when he is out with his buddies. i do honour the lord of the house with meat occasionally and i will serve meat/fish if we have guests for dinner.

last year, when we started talking seriously about the qualities of a good parent and about the way we see ourselves raising a family (my clock is ticking ) i mentioned that the child/ren would be vegetarian like me. this didnt go over that well.

my husband (remember that he is japanese and things work differently in Japan and people derive self worth through other means. Acceptance=contentment. having set rules to follow, etiquette, rank, structure, and working within the boundaries of the system are all things that bring a sense of purpose to the Japanese life.) reckons that the kids can be vegetarian at home but at school (they provide the lunches) and at his parents home, for example, he feels they should eat meat to "fit in", avoid "bullying" and keep the peace/not rock the boat.

well, "child talks" broke down shortly after the debate that ensued. it is a new year and we have a new attitude and we are going to get back into negotiations in may when hubby returns. this may very well be the last year that this body is my own!

the cool thing is that my husband has been in india for two months and he has not taken one bite of meat (i told him it would make him horribly ill... ) he has noticed a big difference in his body - so this might work itself out afterall.

i have no doubt that my imaginary children will want to eat fast food. i would like to think we will find a way to make the decision together - like i give them all the info when they are old enough and accept the decision they make based on the info. hopefully, i can provide a compelling arguement against eating meat.

mr d has some great info on bringing up kids veg. i am taking a nutrition course and reading heaps on the subject.

for me, the challenge is more about having my children feel comfortable enough with themselves as human beings, to make decisions that may or may not be acceptable in the eyes of their peers and or society. talk about pressure!

my husband is right. his way would be much easier. easier for the kids and a lot easier on my relationship with my MIL!!

Top of the page Bottom of the page
Jump to page : 1
Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page]
Jump to forum :
Search this forum
Printer friendly version
E-mail a link to this thread


(Delete all cookies set by this site)