Vegan Parenting

[Graeme M]

I was watching a discussion about vegan diets for children the other day and it left me wondering how vegan parents navigate raising vegan children. I raised my kids before being vegan, so the issue never arose for me.

I did some background research and found firstly, plenty of information and resources for parents, which is good. But I also learned that advice from most authorities is somewhat mixed, with the overall conclusion being that vegan children are at risk of reduced growth, nutritional deficiency, and that they must be fed a carefully planned diet. Worse, that old vegan go-to, the position paper of the National Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, has withdrawn it's stance that a vegan diet is suitable for all stages of life and now recommends it only for adults (that doesn't mean they don't recommend it for children, they just don't say so).

Now there are all sorts of curiosities (for example, shouldn't all parents ensure a healthy diet for their kids?), but I take the point. Someone who feeds their child a balanced diet with some fruit, veg, dairy, meat and fish can be confident their child is getting good nutrition. They don't have to become nutritional experts nor engage a nutritionist.

But vegan parents have to be much more switched on about food and nutrition and may benefit from professional advice (indeed, some authorities recommend that as a matter of course). As well, they face the problem of external influences, social interactions (ie "fitting in"), and of course children can be notoriously fussy about what they eat. It's easy to get a child to eat chicken or fish, but not always easy to get them to eat Brussels sprouts or chickpeas.

On top of all this, most parents are probably not that motivated to make the effort that vegan parents do. In the modern world, that kind of attention to detail and persuasion etc adds stress.

So my question is, how do vegan parents navigate all of this? How do they check nutritional adequacy - should they have their children take regular blood tests, or just hope for the best? How flexible should they be by allowing animal-sourced foods?

 

[HappyVegan66]

im pretty sure that vegan parents would feed their kids a significantly healthier diet than 90% of meat eating parents.

i get the worry about kids not getting everythign they need, especially when growing, but a responsible parent could definitely provide a balanced and nutritional vegan diet to a kid.

 

[Lou]

There are so many good books that help guide vegan parents. I've never read any of them but I have read some of the reviews.
Although I think the Kind Mama by Alicia Silverstone is pretty good it does have its critics.
But there are many others, some have been written by RDs.

Navigating the nutrition can be difficult but just like the rest of the vegan community you just need to put the effort in,

 

[silva]

Someone who feeds their child a balanced diet with some fruit, veg, dairy, meat and fish can be confident their child is getting good nutrition. They don't have to become nutritional experts nor engage a nutritionist.

Replace dairy, meat and fish with dark leafies, nuts seeds whole grains legumes and lentils and you get a vegans diet without having to "become nutritional experts nor engage a nutritionist."
It's been my experience that kids don't dislike vegetables unless it's learned. My own two loved broccoli, and most veggies, and didn't take well to meats until older. They were not raised veg
There are many cultures that are completely vegetarian, and many lean vegan.
People think there Omni diet is often far better balanced than they really are. It's simply assumed

 

[Lou]

Maybe it isn't that complicated.

Here's What Happened When a Doctor Fed Infants Whatever They Wanted - The Last Word On Nothing

In the 1920’s, a Chicago pediatrician conducted an unprecedented study in nutrition. For six years (1), Clara M. Davis oversaw an experiment in which infants were offered a variety of foods and then allowed to eat whatever they wanted. The children, age six to 11 months, were housed in an...

lastwordonnothing.com

 

[Graeme M]

im pretty sure that vegan parents would feed their kids a significantly healthier diet than 90% of meat eating parents.

That could be true, though I suppose I'd not bet on it. Very motivated vegan parents might, but this is partly my point. The average person is not a nutritional expert, so they just eat what they like/want. A vegan diet requires something more than that, so for any casual person who takes on veganism, they either have to suddenly be more motivated to learn more, or they just live as they did before. Same with their kids. Of course, one benefit of becoming a vegan parent might be that you do become more invested in planning diets thoughtfully. But I don't know that we can say with any confidence that is what will happen with everyone who chooses a vegan diet.

Navigating the nutrition can be difficult but just like the rest of the vegan community you just need to put the effort in,

Yes, but it's more than just putting in the effort. Why are vegans found to be more often deficient in certain nutrients? Because you can't be sure of how your particular genetics/gut biome responds to the foods you eat and many vegans don't carefully plan their diets. So how do everyday vegans monitor that? Isn't regular blood testing necessary for vegans, or do you just not worry until any deficiency shows up? As a vegan parent, I'd assume that one needs to carefully monitor how the child is travelling and probably do blood tests? Or not?

Replace dairy, meat and fish with dark leafies, nuts seeds whole grains legumes and lentils and you get a vegans diet without having to "become nutritional experts nor engage a nutritionist."

Is this true? There are certain aspects of a vegan diet that require attention, for example getting plenty of Vitamin C with food to ensure iron absorption, calcium can be difficult especially as calcium in many fortified plant milks is poorly absorbed, ALA conversion to EPA/DHA is highly variable and depends on genetic dispositions, much the same applies to converting beta-carotene to vitamin A, and so on. It's not the case that one size fits all.

Maybe it isn't that complicated.

That study did not restrict foods. That is, by choosing from both plant- and animal-sourced foods, the children were able to thrive. What if all they had were plant-sourced foods? In any case, how did the study accurately assess whether the kids were maintaining healthy levels of nutrients?

I'm not trying to say that a vegan-friendly diet is unable to be a healthy and fulfilling diet, but rather that by limiting food sources one raises the risk of nutritional deficiency and compromised growth outcomes. How should vegan parents navigate this concern? And what if they find, as do many people, that on a vegan diet some nutritional intakes are compromised. Is it acceptable for vegan parents to include some animal-sourced foods in their children's diets to ensure good health? Is there a risk that by preventing their child engaging with animal-sourced foods as their peers do, parents are likely to raise inner conflict in their children - do all vegan parents successfully raise kids that go on to be and remain vegan?