Sam

I remember reading an article where the family were vegetarians even the kids from ages 2-10. Is this healthy to eliminate meat from the kids?

jmeyer3131

I have heard that you can do this in a healthy manner, but it's easier if they aren't vegans because things like milk, eggs, and cheese are good sources of protein and calcium that you can't get as a vegan. You should thoroughly research, though, to find out what supplements your kids might need.

The other issue, of course, is that a lot of kids who aren't vegetarian don't eat healthy diets the way it is. Even adults don't. Knowing how junky the diets of most people are, I don't know if vegetarian is any more harmful for kids than the traditional poor diet.

I do know that I had a friend who raised her now-adult child as a vegetarian from birth, with no health problems to speak of.

__________________
Janet
www.CanIChangeALife.blogspot.com

happy2bg33k

I would suppose it would depend, as Janet indicated, on what types of food are being eaten instead. When my daughter was very little she had an acquaintance who came to her 3rd birthday party. His parents were keeping him on an organic diet and he wasn't even allowed to try the cake. I wouldn't have minded but this child was the most unhealthy looking child I had ever seen. Pale, listless, dull minded, it worried me that he wasn't getting what he needed to grow properly at the expense of his parent's beliefs.

mamab

Pediatricians will tell you that children NEED the amino acids in protein to help build their brains. So, if a child isn't getting those much needed amino acids, I don't see how it can be good for the child. Although I realize you can get caplets, capsules, tablets or pills that have the amino acids, it's not the same thing, IMHO.

Stephanie2377

I think it is possible, but I also think that children NEED protein. If they are eating fish, then that is great. In my mind, it is fine for the parents to be vegetarian. But, they should feed meat to their child to aid in their growth and development. Then, when the child is old enough, they can choose to be vegetarian if they wish. But, not until they are old enough to make the lifestyle choice for themselves.

Sam

I agree, I think they do need those to be healthy and to grow, not too much of it but its still depriving them I would think

jmeyer3131

If they're not vegans, in other words, not what we used to call "strict" vegetarians, they eat things like cheese and eggs. That's one way they get their protein.

__________________
Janet
www.CanIChangeALife.blogspot.com