Any Vegeatrian Mommies Out There?????

Here I am, I have been vegetarian for 18 years, im 29. My daughters are 7 and 2. My husband eats meat so my daughters have the choice to do so also, my oldest tried it for a year but reverted back and now is disgusted by the idea.

Originally i went vegetarian because of a boy i liked, the lifestyle far surpassed him, lol

Hello A.,
I'm L.. My husband and I are vegetarians. We have a 3 and 5 year old and ofcourse they are also vegetarians. They are healthy and are growing with no problems. We are very mindful in everything they eat and have never had any issues with what to give them. They eat everything we eat and are now understanding that they are different. My son (5) is understanding the reason behind our life style and tries to talk to his cousins about not hurting animals. That actually did not go over so well with his parents though so we tell him that he must not judge what other people do and that our life style does not make us better it just makes us more aware of life. Ofcourse they dont get it 100% but I find that kids no a days get things more than we know. Feel free to email me back anytime :)

Regards,
L.

Yep. My daughter is four and hasn't yet had meat. She's rarely sick, bounces back quickly when she is, eats a variety, just no meat. I don't think I could do vegan. She's at the age I can explain why I've made the choice to be vegetarian and she can make choices later with regard to how she would like to eat. I'm divorced and so fortunate that her dad (big meat eater) respects this decision. My parents are very conscious of what they eat (not strict vegetarians) and many kids in her pre-school are, as well so we're in good company. Crazy Californians: ) This choice was easy for me as I was raised this way for the most part and always interested in nutrition.

BTW, I have a colleague who is going to be doing her doctoral research on teens and vegan/vegetarianism. Many kids decided then to go that route without really knowing how to eat. Very interested in reading her dissertation.

Best to you!
Jen

I've been a vegetarian for about 15 years. My husband is a meat eater. At family meals and if just me and my 4 y.o. son, we don't eat meat. Occasionally, my husband will buy some meat and make it for the two of them if I'm working late. It is rare that there is any meat in our house more than a day - I throw it out after that. I'm happy that overall, my son doesn't like meat, but sometimes he wants to "be like daddy" so he eats hamburgers with him.
The difficult part is the daycare. Either I make every meal for my son or they give him the food minus the meat part. My husband had allergies as a kid and hated having to eat different foods so he is adamant about not making my son lunch when the other kids are all eating the same thing.
Start from the beginning and it'll be easy - they won't know anything different. As the earlier posters said, the kids will make their own decisions when they're able to - you can only show them what you think is best. (Just like at everything else.)