Forcing Kids to be Vegan? | Parents Answer

[Bite Size Vegan]

Raising kids vegan is brainwashing, right? Vegan parents force THEIR beliefs on their children and severely limiting their choices. With all the nutrition concerns of vegan diets and the social difficulties faced by kids seen as “different,” is it fair, or even safe, to raise kids vegan? In this interview video, hear real vegan parents respond to these concerns! See the links in the video description on YouTube for further resources!

 

[@rno]

All the people around me are different. I am the only normal person.

 

[Lou]

This story makes sense AFTER you read it.

Dad Praised for Punishing Meat-Eating Son With Vegan Meals for a Month​

 

[anarchist100]

In my opinion, parents have a right to decide what food they want to buy for their children, so long as the food they buy is enough to sustain them, it's their money, they can decide what they want to spend it on, however if their child gets a job and buys meat with their own money, I don't think parents have the right to prevent them from eating it.

 

[Graeme M]

As I see it, veganism isn't a strict diet, rather it's a moral philosophy. How do parents typically raise their children in the context of their moral teaching and guidance? If choices are constrained by law, I think parents will tend to condemn and punish their kids for breaking the law (eg stealing) even if the law isn't brought to bear. But what of non-enforcable choices which contravene parental beliefs/preferences? Do parents tend to say that children are free to make bad choices? Or do they seek to constrain their children's actions? I don't really know. Part of the difficulty of course is that there isn't a true parallel between everyday moral choices and vegan choices (that is, it is not the case that everyday choices/acts lead to the deaths of other people, whereas they can lead to the deaths of other animals).

Personally, I would feel troubled by the idea that I should feed my child a strictly vegan diet because I don't believe that plant only diets are safe in all cases. I haven't had to raise kids as vegans because my kids grew to adulthood before I chose to explore veganism but today I have to accept they are not ever likely to embrace vegan ethics. Can children be raised on a diet that includes animal products yet parents still encourage a vegan moral framework in the home? I think so, but it could be tricky to avoid being seen as hypocritical. I think I'd take the tack that what counts is intention, tempered by circumstances - that is, what is possible and practicable? And then, hope for the best.

In the case in the article about the dad adopting vegan meals for a month, it's sort of appropriate but very unlikely to encourage the son to adopt a different attitude. Of course, that was never the father's intention; the vegan meals are specifically punishment.

 

[Lou]

As I see it, veganism isn't a strict diet, rather it's a moral philosophy.

Veganism is more than a diet. but I don't feel it reaches the level of a "moral philosophy". Most people simply describe it as a "lifestyle". Like choosing to eat less salt. or less fat, or to exercise more. Unlike many other lifestyles it does have an ethical component. But that ethical component is both limited and simple. (Unless you don't want it to be)

How do parents typically raise their children in the context of their moral teaching and guidance?

I think its most often done by example. Or maybe some simple rules.

Part of the difficulty of course is that there isn't a true parallel between everyday moral choices and vegan choices (that is, it is not the case that everyday choices/acts lead to the deaths of other people, whereas they can lead to the deaths of other animals).

Um... how about just applying "fairness" or the Golden Rule to animals.

Timmy you wouldn't like it if someone came and sprayed stuff in your eyes and you went blind. Thats what happens to bunnies. You like bunnies don't you? Thats why mommy and daddy shop cruelty free.

Sally, how would you feel if you little brother was taken away and chopped up and his parts were sold. That's what happens to boy baby cows.

Personally, I would feel troubled by the idea that I should feed my child a strictly vegan diet because I don't believe that plant only diets are safe in all cases.

I think that might be a real issue. I don't have children so I have never bothered to fully investigate it. but I'm pretty sure that there Has been enough research to show that kids Do do well on a vegan diet. At least in the short term.

If you google "are vegan diets safe for children" it seems at first glance that 3 out of 4 articles are positive.

I haven't had to raise kids as vegans because my kids grew to adulthood before I chose to explore veganism but today I have to accept they are not ever likely to embrace vegan ethics.

Maybe its time for you to have That Talk with them. You know, the one about bunnies and baby boy cows.

Can children be raised on a diet that includes animal products yet parents still encourage a vegan moral framework in the home? I think so, but it could be tricky to avoid being seen as hypocritical. I think I'd take the tack that what counts is intention, tempered by circumstances - that is, what is possible and practicable? And then, hope for the best.

Yes. I think so too.

In the case in the article about the dad adopting vegan meals for a month, it's sort of appropriate but very unlikely to encourage the son to adopt a different attitude. Of course, that was never the father's intention; the vegan meals are specifically punishment.

I just re-read the article looking for something else.... I though the boy in the story was younger than the sister (maybe misled by the photo). but he is 16!. He made his little sister cry. and he caused his dad to miss work. Not sure eating vegan for a month is an appropriate punishment. Take his phone and tv away for a month. Maybe he is a sociopath and needs counseling.

 

[Lou]

Another article has shown up in my newsfeed with additional info.

"Jack decided that this time he had to punish his son properly – so he and his wife came up with a plan. They decided that the entire family would be eating vegan food for the next month."​

​

“My son is miserable, but I really don't care. He brought this upon himself. He still has food to eat, and can spend what little pocket money he has to buy meat for the next 25 days if he wants.”​

https://www.kidspot.com.au/news/ive-punished-my-son-by-forcing-him-to-eat-vegan-food-for-30-days/news-story/20aac19cf2bcc84aac690ff18ef8383b

 

[Lou]

oh here is one more.

However, the father's creative punishment gained resounding applause after his post on Reddit's "Am I The A**hole" board. One user wrote, “That’s fair. He thought it would be okay to bully his sister, but for what? Being vegan? He can experience what she has to do. Buy and cook his own food. It’s not like he doesn’t have access to food. It’s just all vegan for a month.” “I want to give you a standing ovation, you are NTA at all, what you did was combat AH behavior with consequences. I don't think it's abusive at all. This is a creative punishment. You are not forbidding him from eating meat only that he is going to have to buy it himself. Maybe he will learn a lesson and decide that being an AH is not worth it,” another user added.​

Father FORCES son to eat vegan for a month as punishment for bullying older sister

The man took to Reddit to ask if he was an 'a**hole' for making their whole family go vegan for a month after one of his son's pranks went too far

meaww.com

 

[Emma JC]

Personally, I would feel troubled by the idea that I should feed my child a strictly vegan diet because I don't believe that plant only diets are safe in all cases.

I disagree with this belief of yours - are there exceptions? maybe and yet doubtful as what possible benefit would there be for a child to have steak or chicken over beans etc? I have looked into this extensively, watched tons of vegan parents on youtubes, etc. Vegan does not mean healthy, non-vegan does not mean healthy - a healthy whole food plant-based diet (vegan) is unsafe? how?

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[David3]

Personally, I would feel troubled by the idea that I should feed my child a strictly vegan diet because I don't believe that plant only diets are safe in all cases.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics makes this statement regarding vegan diets for children:

"A plant-based diet that includes eggs and dairy ensures your child will have the necessary nutrients for healthy growth. An egg- and dairy-free vegan diet can also be healthy and complete, if sources of B12, calcium, zinc, vitamin D and iron are maximized.
Link: Plant-Based Diets: Are They Good for Kids?



The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (the world's largest association of Registered Dietitians) makes this statement regarding vegan diets for children:

"It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adulthood, and for athletes."
Link: Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Vegetarian Diets - PubMed

 

[Graeme M]

I disagree with this belief of yours - are there exceptions? maybe and yet doubtful as what possible benefit would there be for a child to have steak or chicken over beans etc? I have looked into this extensively, watched tons of vegan parents on youtubes, etc. Vegan does not mean healthy, non-vegan does not mean healthy - a healthy whole food plant-based diet (vegan) is unsafe? how?

On the matter of vegan diets. Nearly all the statements by health/medical authorities find that plant only diets *can* be safe and healthy if "well planned". My take, having spent a fair bit of time looking into this, is that you cannot know before you start just how your digestive system is setup to work with foods. Some people cannot absorb some nutrients from some foods or have some allergies or whatever. Some large proportion of people who adopt a plant-based diet later abandon it for health reasons and I think at least some of those are genuine. "Well planned" is a euphemistic way of saying "takes a lot of knowledge and care to get right". Add to this the fact that kids can be impossible to force to eat some foods.

If you want to believe that a plant only diet is safe and healthy for everyone, that's for you to decide. I cannot say you are wrong. I just do not believe that is the case. I'd rather err on the side of caution with young children. I do not think that thousands of years of genetic adaptation to food sources counts for nothing at all.

 

[Graeme M]

Veganism is more than a diet. but I don't feel it reaches the level of a "moral philosophy". Most people simply describe it as a "lifestyle". Like choosing to eat less salt. or less fat, or to exercise more. Unlike many other lifestyles it does have an ethical component. But that ethical component is both limited and simple.

I think that is not correct. As a lifestyle, whatever that means, it just becomes a way of living. Take it or leave it. But EVERYONE who is serious about veganism (and by extension animal rights) sees it as primarily having a moral component. It is the moral philosophy that guides one to want to be vegan. It's not a lifestyle, it is a lifestyle consequent from the philosophy. As a moral philosophy, there is reason for vegan activists to exist. As a lifestyle, there is not.

 

[David3]

If you want to believe that a plant only diet is safe and healthy for everyone, that's for you to decide. I cannot say you are wrong. I just do not believe that is the case. I'd rather err on the side of caution with young children. I do not think that thousands of years of genetic adaptation to food sources counts for nothing at all.

.
It's not for you to decide. It's not for me to decide. Nutrition is a science, not an opinion.



The American Academy of Pediatrics makes this statement regarding vegan diets for children:

"A plant-based diet that includes eggs and dairy ensures your child will have the necessary nutrients for healthy growth. An egg- and dairy-free vegan diet can also be healthy and complete, if sources of B12, calcium, zinc, vitamin D and iron are maximized.
Link: Plant-Based Diets: Are They Good for Kids?



The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (the world's largest association of Registered Dietitians) makes this statement regarding vegan diets for children:

"It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adulthood, and for athletes."
Link: Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Vegetarian Diets - PubMed

 

[silva]

On the matter of vegan diets. Nearly all the statements by health/medical authorities find that plant only diets *can* be safe and healthy if "well planned". My take, having spent a fair bit of time looking into this, is that you cannot know before you start just how your digestive system is setup to work with foods. Some people cannot absorb some nutrients from some foods or have some allergies or whatever. Some large proportion of people who adopt a plant-based diet later abandon it for health reasons and I think at least some of those are genuine. "Well planned" is a euphemistic way of saying "takes a lot of knowledge and care to get right". Add to this the fact that kids can be impossible to force to eat some foods.

If you want to believe that a plant only diet is safe and healthy for everyone, that's for you to decide. I cannot say you are wrong. I just do not believe that is the case. I'd rather err on the side of caution with young children. I do not think that thousands of years of genetic adaptation to food sources counts for nothing at all.

When they say 'well planned' it's taking for granted that people aren't knowledgable about nutrition.
In general people are so used to the nutrition, and gut biome, of a diet based around meat and dairy that don't know how to think of plant based meals. It's not that it's hard, it's not that it's strict, it's just that we're so used to a culture of animal based meals we have to readjust our sense of 'normal''
I've known many people that have switched to plant based diets for their health and everyone testified how much better they feel. Some, including myself, were so used to feeling not so great we didn't even realize we could feel better--till we gave up meat (and/or dairy)
From all the research I've been through I haven't found evidence that we've 'genetically adapted' to eating animals

 

[Graeme M]

It's not for you to decide. It's not for me to decide. Nutrition is a science, not an opinion.

But it IS for me to decide what diet is best for me.

From all the research I've been through I haven't found evidence that we've 'genetically adapted' to eating animals

I am not saying that one should or should not adopt a plant-based diet, I am saying I don't believe it is always easy to get good nutrition from a purely plant diet. I don't think it works for some people but I agree that the aim would be to eliminate all animal products if that works for someone in their particular circumstances. However, I probably would not enforce a strictly plant only diet for my young children.

Humans do have certain adaptations for animal in their diet, for example lactase persistence, variable FADS haplotypes giving differing efficacy in long chain fatty acid synthesis and potentially variability in the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene. No doubt there are others, including perhaps some as yet unidentified. I don't think it odd that human populations have made such adaptations.

 

[Brian W]

Are omnivore parents "forcing their children" to eat meat? Are they "brainwashing" their children? If I had been brought up on a vegan diet I wouldn't have found it so difficult to make the choice when I became an adult.

 

[alleycat]

Parents have the responsibility of feeding their kids but I sure do wish they would not have punished me for not wanting to eat the animals I thought of as my friends. I grew up on a dairy farm, always had "pet lambs, piglets, bull calves, chickens and rabbits " Even before I could talk I would not eat a lot of meat. The nightmares I have had all my life started with the trauma of farm life.

 

[Brian W]

Parents have the responsibility of feeding their kids but I sure do wish they would not have punished me for not wanting to eat the animals I thought of as my friends. I grew up on a dairy farm, always had "pet lambs, piglets, bull calves, chickens and rabbits " Even before I could talk I would not eat a lot of meat. The nightmares I have had all my life started with the trauma of farm life.

I have never understood how farmers can rear live animals and then slaughter them. It's easier to understand consumers buying packaged meat and dairy from the supermarket where they don't have to think of the live animals that they came from.

 

[David3]

I have never understood how farmers can rear live animals and then slaughter them. It's easier to understand consumers buying packaged meat and dairy from the supermarket where they don't have to think of the live animals that they came from.

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Children who are learning to be livestock farmers are forced to unlearn their compassion: NPR Cookie Consent and Choices
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[Brian W]

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Children who are learning to be livestock farmers are forced to unlearn their compassion: NPR Cookie Consent and Choices
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That's heartbreaking!