does anyone have experience with a young child to be a vegetarian?

[lynn]

My daughter is nine has decided not to eat meat of any kind. She does like most fruits vegetables beans yogurt are there any gaps in her nutrition I should get a supplement for if this decision keeps up longer than expected?

[Jenny in Florida]

Each of my kids has been vegetarian/vegan since conception. (I was lacto-veg during my pregnancy with my daughter, vegan by the time I had my son.)

 

We haven't done much in the way of supplementation. They both drank fortified soymilk (not applicable, since your daughter is still eating/drinking dairy). My daughter took vitamins for a while. When he's home, my son drinks a smoothie spiked with vegan-friendly protein powder most mornings.

 

Otherwise, they just eat.

 

My daughter is now 20, and my son is going on 17. Both are healthy as horses.

[An Unexpected Party]

My best friends's children have been vegetarian since birth. They are 12, 9, and 6 now. My children were vegetarian until about 7 and 5. There are many good recipe books out there for moms and kids. I particularly liked The New Mothers Vegetarian cookbook and Better Than Peanutbutter and Jelly.  A pediatrician recommended a website for vegetarian kids so I could check on my kids' nutritional needs, but I don't remember it at the moment. They do exist, though. Currently, every meal we have on Saturday nights feeds a group of people that includes carnivores, vegetarians, and people who prefer to eat vegan whenever possible. There are two type one diabetics in that group, two people who are lactose intolerant and one person who is gluten intolerant. It's all possible :)

 

I never gave my children supplements beyond daily vitamins. I would try to find and find which nutrients/vitamins are the hardest to reproduce with a vegetarian diet and look at supplementing with those. (I don't remember which they are as we no longer follow that lifestyle.) 

 

 

[MEmama]

My son is a lifelong vegetarian. Like Jenny's kids, he just eats. :) He's super healthy and athletic. No supplements, just a healthy well rounded diet.

 

Disclaimer: I don't think everyone would consider us vegetarian. We do eat seafood, dairy and eggs.

 

I wouldn't worry about your daughter unless she's going vegan. In that case I would do a lot of research or talk to a nutritionist to cover the bases.

[redsquirrel]

Both my boys (10& 14) have been vegetarian their whole lives.  They are both dancers and do martial arts and are very physical. Their diet hasn't caused any issue at all. They are very healthy and lean, with smooth skin, shiny hair and bright eyes. They rarely get sick. So, all in all, they are in good health.

 

They just sort of eat food, lol. We do eat dairy and eggs. We also like tofu, but don't have tons of it. Maybe I make it for dinner a couple times a month? But we can not have it for a couple months as well.

 

They don't take or need any supplements. I do give them a daily mutivitamin and our doctor suggests a D supplement for everyone here because we don't get much sun at this latitude.

 

Tonight's dinner is rice with refried beans on top. I will add some grated cheese and salsa.

 

Is there any meal you are having trouble planning? I would be very happy to help. There really isn't much to do and as long as she is getting enough calories and a variety of foods she will be fine. If she decides to only eat apples or something like that, then it would be an issue. But fruit, and pasta, and beans and bread and eggs is going to be just fine.

[Spryte]

My son was veg from birth till 14 or so, at which point he decided he wanted to eat meat.  He was very healthy.

 

We ate normally, no special supplementing, and his doc was well aware of our veg lifestyle.   

 

I think you'll be fine.

[mamaraby]

We're vegan at home and my kids may eat meat and/or dairy if they're somewhere else. About the only thing I think about supplementing with is B12, but that's because we're vegan. If we were vegetarian and did dairy/eggs, then I wouldn't worry about it.

[kiana]

Vegetarian is a lot easier than vegan. If vegan I'd really look into B12, but it's also available in dairy (like yoghurt)

[SparklyUnicorn]

My kids are third-generation vegetarians. That's all I can really say about it, because it's just normal to us. We use vitamin supplements on and off, just like some meat eaters do. My doctor recently advised me to use a D3 supplement. I think she advises other women in my age group the same, regardless of their eating habits. 

 

Yep..lack of sunshine in the winter is what that is.

 

[Alice]

My now 8 year old son decided to be a vegetarian about 2 years ago. The rest of the family is not vegetarian, which I'm assuming is the same in your family. The one thing I told him when he made the decision was that he had to eat vegetables. :) He is also our pickiest eater and I wanted to make it clear he could not be a "carbatarian". 

 

He does dairy and eats eggs. He eats a lot of beans and lentils and nuts. I don't give him any supplements other than vit D which I give all three kids. 

 

His decision has probably made us all eat healthier. It's a pain to cook multiple meals so often we all eat meatless meals which is probably better for us. He also does eat more veggies because it's often the only thing he's willing to eat somewhere. For example, we went to a friend's house for dinner and they served pork loin as a main course with green beans on the side. They had also made potatoes, not knowing he didn't like potatoes. He ate three huge servings of green beans and was happy.

 

I know it is a little more overwhelming when it isn't your decision and when it's one family member only. 

 

As a carnivorous mother with a vegetarian son I'll say our meals fall into four categories: 

1) Meatless meals everyone can eat. We've found a lot of substitutes for meals we used to eat with meat that everyone likes, even the carnivores (lentil tacos, black bean enchiladas/quesadillas, veggie chili). 
 

2) Meals where I leave out the meat from what he is eating. For example, I make a white chicken chili we all really like. I now cook it without the chicken and then saute chicken on the side that the rest of us can add before serving. 
 

3) Meals where he just eats the sides. So I might make meatloaf but make sure the sides are things he will eat. 
 

4) Meals where he won't eat anything. This is rare but occasionally happens as he is also somewhat picky. In those instances I let him make himself something else. He has a small repertoire that includes a peanut butter sandwich, black bean/cheese quesadilla, egg sandwich on a bagel or what he calls "cheesy delight" which is black beans, rice, spinach and cheese in a bowl)

[Sherry in OH]

My children have been vegetarian since birth. They do not take vitamins on a regular basis.  They do eat eggs and dairy. 

 

Be prepared for an increase in the quantity of food eaten since most vegetarian food sources are not as calorie dense as meat.  She still needs the same number of calories.  Unless there are allergies, encourage foods such as nuts, nut butters, and avocado.    

[Kerileanne99]

When I was almost five I declared myself vegetarian. I might have changed my mind young, but my parents were of the 'you WILL sit there until you eat it' mindset and I was incredibly stubborn, lol. So, 33 years later I am still vegetarian, mostly vegan.

 

My dd5 has never had meat although we make it clear to her it will always be her choice. She is also allergic to eggs and dairy, as well as being very picky with sensory issues. Mostly we just eat, but we have kept seeing a pediatric nutritionist (mostly for the records!). It is useless. I have read more, learned more, invested more in vegetarianism/veganism than the nutritionist.

At this point in time we do supplement with a multivitamin and fruit/veggie smoothies with protein powder-but that has more to do with her being picky than it does the veggie issue! I don't feel like we do anything more than any other parent would do with a young picky eater!

Btw- the only useful bit of advice I Ever recieved from the ped nutritionist was regarding the lack of dairy/calcium. Turns out that giving them a Tums gives them all extra calcium they need, me too:)

[Brit29]

My preschooler is vegan, my daughter is a vegetarian. No dairy for anyone in the home. We don't give supplements or anything. I do use nutritional yeast a few times a week because I weight lift and use it as a protein...lots of b12 in there too. 

[Pam in CT]

My youngest has been vegetarian since right around her 7th birthday; she just turned 12.  The rest of us do eat meat.  It took me a while to shift my cooking patterns around to accommodate it without going all  :willy_nilly: but we eventually worked it out.

 

She eats dairy and eggs so other than figuring out how to incorporate more protein into side dishes (I throw a handful of lentils into rice, toss some chickpeas into green vegetables, sprinkle nuts onto salad, etc) I don't worry about what she eats.  If she were vegan, I'd supplement B12.

 

It's less of a hassle than I originally expected.  

[Joker]

My oldest decided at four not to eat meat. She was vegetarian until right around 10 years old. She didn't even eat the beans/lentils/etc so many talk about eating when vegetarian and she had zero health issues. We didn't use any supplements either. She did eat eggs, dairy, pasta, and lots of fruits and veggies. The pediatrician wanted to test her once a year for any deficiencies but she had none. Now that she has been eating meat for several years she is actually anemic. :huh:

[KidsHappen]

My 21 year old decided to become a vegetarian at about 9 and still is now. Her next younger sister followed in her footsteps starting at age 6 and she also is still a vegetarian. The 23 and 15 year olds gave it a shot but didn't last long. The vegetarians are both healthy and at an appropriate weight. They only problem that they have is that they are slighly anemic.