DaN Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Also if you dont have children, but are planning on having some, will they be vegan? Me & my partner decided if we do have some kids, they will be vegan whether they like it or not.When they are old enough to buy their own food, then its their own choice.. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjohanx Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I think it sounds good. When I have kids I will def raise them vegan. But I think that when they are old enough to make their own decisions they can choose for themselves. A lot of people say that it's wrong to "force" their children to eat a certain way but really, that's what being a parent is all about...making choises for your children untill they're old enough to make them for themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djshrew Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I know when My husband and I have children we will raise them vegan, but I do feel like they can make their own decisions about what they eat once they are old enough (just as I did) But I do hope that I will have instilled them with enough compassion to not eat meat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcina Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 My friend used to say she would never feed her child something she wouldn't eat. I guess I feel the same way. Although I don't plan on having children.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Im Your Man Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I voted Yes, though I don't have any kids yet. Never I would buy meat for me again, and surely not for someone else, definitely not gonna feed my kids with some pieces of animal corpses. A lot of people say that it's wrong to "force" their children to eat a certain way but really, that's what being a parent is all about... Right. And "forcing" them to eat meat is a choice too. Eventhough society don't see this as a choice but just a natural, obvious thing to do. My kids will be able to chose amongst the variety of food in the house: plenty of fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts... If when they have some pocket money they wanna go buy some meat, fine, but they will eat it outside the house, and I'll inform them about animal suffering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaN Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 If when they have some pocket money they wanna go buy some meat, This was something I thought about, what if they are given meat at school or friends parties, which really is inevitable.Its tricky because in those situations, we have the strength to say no, & defend our choice if neccesary.At a young age, a child might not! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Im Your Man Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 If when they have some pocket money they wanna go buy some meat, This was something I thought about, what if they are given meat at school or friends parties, which really is inevitable.Its tricky because in those situations, we have the strength to say no, & defend our choice if neccesary.At a young age, a child might not! Well I would make them some lunch to bring to school, but it's sure we can't always watch them - and it's fine like this, they must chose what they want. If they cannot chose by themself what they want at a young age because they're under the influence of publicity and other kids, etc, well I hope us as parents we can have some influence on them too, so they can make the wise choice. Kids are smarter than we think, they know what they want, theyknow what they don't like, they eat only when they're hungry (at least at a certain age), so if we don't get them used to eat meat at a young age, I guess they won't develop a taste/addiction to it, so they are less at risk to be attracted to it when they're at the age to go to school. No babies want to eat meat, they're all repelled by it and will prefer a fruit if you present both choices. But parents force them to learn how to like meat at the youngest age possible, even before they have teeths, by stuffing meat puree into their mouth, and continuing doing this even if the baby hates it and vomits. Where I live there's this program, to offer some free breakfast every morning at school to kids that live in poor families and that don't necessarily eat each morning. That's good, but the only problem and why I never donated to this foundation, is that they force kids to drink cow's milk. I remember even when I was at primary school, there was this program too, and we were given milk 2 or 3 times per day! Morning berfore class, then at the break, and at lunch... (that's millions of gallons of milk for all the schools in the province). And many kids are lactose intolerant. Especially the Asian kids. But teachers are insisting and saying: "you need to drink milk if you wanna be healthy, and to be able to learn during class", so the little Chinese kids are sick for the rest of the day and can't learn anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaN Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 No babies want to eat meat, they're all repelled by it and will prefer a fruit if you present both choices. But parents force them to learn how to like meat at the youngest age possible, even before they have teeths, by stuffing meat puree into their mouth, and continuing doing this even if the baby hates it and vomits. Very true mate.The fact that they cannot chew the meat as they have no teeth, is a good sign they are not meant to be eating it. Where I live there's this program, to offer some free breakfast every morning at school to kids that live in poor families and that don't necessarily eat each morning. That's good, but the only problem and why I never donated to this foundation, is that they force kids to drink cow's milk. I remember even when I was at primary school, there was this program too, and we were given milk 2 or 3 times per day! Morning berfore class, then at the break, and at lunch... (that's millions of gallons of milk for all the schools in the province). And many kids are lactose intolerant. Especially the Asian kids. But teachers are insisting and saying: "you need to drink milk if you wanna be healthy, and to be able to learn during class", so the little Chinese kids are sick for the rest of the day and can't learn anything. Yep I had the same here in England.Milk was pumped into schools on the back of the calcium myth.We had it every day. I feel sorry for the chinese kids! Atleast we could digest it - kind of! Apparently, asian women do not get menopause, simply due to lack of dairy in their diets.Our western women are afflicted by it really badly, & they think its due to dairy & wheat in the diet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaia Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 My kids went vegetarian with me on a New Year's Resolution in our campaign to eat healthier. After two years of doing that, my daughter ventured forth to go vegan as the New Year's Resolution for that year (just that year to try it). The whole family has gone vegan now for 5 years. It is hard though. Yes, you have the school trying to sabotage you with the candy treat for reward to kids who do good (all of my kids have been honor students, so they learned how to say "No, thank you" or their favorite "Can I have a sticker instead?") and the kids sharing their lunches. I have found that they do sneak the usual "french fries" from their friends that buy them at the school, but they have found that when they do that they get sick a week or so later! And I do not let them take pain killers or antihistamines when they get sick and send them off to school. They get herbal rememedies (some are not so nice tasting), humidifiers, and sleep when they get sick - in other words they actually get to "FEEL" sick, which is not so nice. So now they do not eat other people's food (and wash their hands before eating!). My biggest worry was that half my kids were teenagers when we all started this journey, and the others were small children (though I did not have to start out being vegan with babies). I have to make sure that they get all the nutrients they need to make sure they grow properly. From algae oil/flax seed/walnuts for their DHA/EPA for brain health, to calcium for bones, to vitamin B12 (as they have no reserves as adults do), to enough protein to sustain their growth. Plus iron, and all the other nutrients that a growing body needs to not only grow properly, but support them in the maintenance years and procreating years (though my independent daughter who is the oldest has told me that she is in no hurry to give me grandbabies! Sigh). Principles are good, but not when your child is failing or has a deficiency that causes a health problem. Luckily I sought out knowledge to every thing I could think of to keep their health up and running. They have been good so far in their health, but it will show in a couple more years what each one will be healthwise, as they are now leaving the vegan nest. Of course my oldest (daughter) is in college and I know she is not eating well, though she is still vegan. I am not there to remind her to take her B12 and iron supplements, or in food terms, to make sure she eats nutritional yeast on her pasta for the B12 and throw some baby spinach on there as well for her iron. She is lucky if she gets pasta down her! So now I am teaching the ones still home what they should be thinking about to eat in nutritional ways, as oppose to me figuring it all out for them. Though I have always told them what is good for what veggies or supplement that they might need, they only see and eat the food before them (how is it that it takes me 2 hours of cooking/baking, and only 10 minutes for them to eat it all up?). Guess now I will have to withhold the food from them, till they pass a test on what everything in the meal is good for!!!! Ah parenting. . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RawVgn Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 My 10 and 11 year old boys (and wife) are all vegans. We don't buy animal products so they really don't have a choice, though they are very proud being vegans and practicing non-violence. I'm primarily a health food vegan, so to me it is my parental duty to protect their health and that means being at least vegan, and the more raw the better. Many of their friends are vegetarians, so cooking vegan when they go over to friends' houses is not a big deal- my 9 year old told me half his class last year was vegetarian. Living in WI, the schools push dairy pretty heavily. We just use the situation to explain to the kids about irrationality, group think, economic survivalism, misinformation, and so on. For the most part, in spite of the widespread absurdities in culture, we still find plenty of positive narratives. And it's hard to argue with success: in the past 2 years, between the 4 of us, we've missed one day of school and 0 days of work due to sickness- and I'm pushing 50! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsorlando Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 I had to vote no. I don't have children, but I do livewith my two nieces and they are not vegan. If, or when I have kids I would of course raise them vegan. But if some day came, and they didn't care for that choice they could do whatevever they wanted, but I would not fix it, or allow it in the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 I won't have kids, but I think it's best to raise them as vegan - by this I mean that you only buy them vegan food, and explain why that's the case and why non-veganism is bad (using facts). But then once they are old enough to go out and buy their own food and stuff, I would not punish them for becoming non-vegan, I'd just hope that I had provided enough information for them to stick with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivalasvegans Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 I did like how Hayley said she would. My kitchen is vegan. When my kids were tiny, one of them said she wanted to try chicken. I had explained to them early on a lot about the food situation in the US, whenever they wanted to know. So when the question of trying to eat chicken came up, I very gently offered to give her the tools to kill the chicken she wanted to eat. (We hung around a lot of farms.) I knew she would say no. To this day that kid loves chickens. For sleep overs and party food, I did mostly my own baking and cooking. When we did order pizza out, it was without cheese. My friends and the kids' friends were all kind of veganish or alternative, and the kids went to crunchy alternative schools, so having their dietary choices respected wasn't too challenging. The basic rule as they got older was: if you want to eat animal products, that's your personal decision, just we won't be preparing that stuff in the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelhobson Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 This was something I thought about, what if they are given meat at school or friends parties, which really is inevitable.Its tricky because in those situations, we have the strength to say no, & defend our choice if neccesary.At a young age, a child might not! Don't understimate them DaN. Children, especially those who have a supportive and loving family, are quite capable of sticking up for themselves. Our six year old is the most outspoken vegan I know. And if your kids are anything like you, they'll argue till their last breath, even if they're wrong. (just kidding) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaN Posted November 10, 2008 Author Share Posted November 10, 2008 Great responses, and I couldnt agree more with all of them.Its a great surprise, that so many people think the same on this subject. Its brilliant to see, that those of you who do have children, who are vegan, have proven that a vegan diet for children is not dangerous, as is suggested by alot of people. vivalasvegas wrote: So when the question of trying to eat chicken came up, I very gently offered to give her the tools to kill the chicken she wanted to eat. (We hung around a lot of farms.) Gaia wrote: My kids went vegetarian with me on a New Year's Resolution in our campaign to eat healthier. After two years of doing that, my daughter ventured forth to go vegan as the New Year's Resolution for that year (just that year to try it). The whole family has gone vegan now for 5 years Thats really impressive.My younger sister is vegetarian, & I am trying to get her to go full vegan michael wrote: Don't understimate them DaN. Children, especially those who have a supportive and loving family, are quite capable of sticking up for themselves. Our six year old is the most outspoken vegan I know Thats great michael, we should all be outspoken when it comes to veganism! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivalasvegans Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Nice quote in your sig, DaNnY. This one time, when one of my kids was in 6th grade, the class went on a day long field trip, and the bus stopped at McD's for a "snack" on the way home. She and her friend staged an impromptu protest against McDonald's and factory farming, right there on the spot. I don't believe the school has stopped at McD's since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RawVgn Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 I found out last night that a casual friend of mine read The China Study after my recomendation, and has now, along with his wife, stopped eating meat and almost all dairy-they're both over 60! His cholesterol has dropped from over 200 to about 140 in 3 months. Now another guy in our social circle, whose extended family and himself have had lots of heart trouble, looks like he is moving towards veganism-I think he was skeptical of the things I was saying to the group, but now this other guy has had such great results I can see his wheels turning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSiren Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 My eldest two were raised by both me and their omni dad. The youngest of those two has gone back and forth. My youngest two children whom were raised in only my household since birth, went vegetarian and have decided to switch to total vegan just recently. If I have more children (by birth or adoption), I will raise them as vegans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaN Posted November 12, 2008 Author Share Posted November 12, 2008 vivalasvegas, thanks Some great stories, makes me want to start being a bit more vocal about my veganism.I guess that confidence comes with time.I have only been vegan since joining this forum 7 months ago.Before that I was a vegetarian for many years. I want to know who were the 2 people who voted that their kids would not be vegan!!!! Come on you 2, own up!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted November 12, 2008 Share Posted November 12, 2008 Nothing bad will happen to you* *although I'll take your kids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mik Posted November 12, 2008 Share Posted November 12, 2008 yea, my kids would be vegan; but i'd make sure they were seriously well fed so as to avoid any stupid thories as to why they are skinny or whatever Also, without trying to be one of those crazy sometimes bullying parents who lives through their child, i'd make sure they were exceptionally fit, strong and healthy. When i was young my parents would always take me out hiking and introduce me to loads of sports; one of the best things they ever did for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Im Your Man Posted November 12, 2008 Share Posted November 12, 2008 Awesome avatar SeaSiren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HCPinGviini Posted November 12, 2008 Share Posted November 12, 2008 I voted Yes, though I don't have any kids yet. Never I would buy meat for me again, and surely not for someone else, definitely not gonna feed my kids with some pieces of animal corpses. A lot of people say that it's wrong to "force" their children to eat a certain way but really, that's what being a parent is all about... Right. And "forcing" them to eat meat is a choice too. Eventhough society don't see this as a choice but just a natural, obvious thing to do. My kids will be able to chose amongst the variety of food in the house: plenty of fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts... If when they have some pocket money they wanna go buy some meat, fine, but they will eat it outside the house, and I'll inform them about animal suffering.I agree with this. I wouldn't buy any meat or dairy/egg products to my children and I would try my best to explain to them, why eating animals is wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSiren Posted November 12, 2008 Share Posted November 12, 2008 Awesome avatar SeaSiren Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HCPinGviini Posted November 12, 2008 Share Posted November 12, 2008 Awesome avatar SeaSiren Thank you! Yeah. I adore it too. Seasiren is SO lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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