Raising Your Child Vegan or Vegetarian

Raising your child on a vegan diet without doing all the research can be harmful. Often, children will lack the proper amount of protein they require to grow and don’t always receive the same amount of amino acids that a child who was eating chicken would receive. According to Moorhead, author of the article “Is Veganism Safe For Kids,” explains that one of the big issues with a vegan diet for children is that it usually isn’t very energy-dense. In other words, you are required to eat a lot more than usual, which can be difficult with children. Typically children don’t eat a lot, which makes it hard for them to ensure that they are getting enough calories.

            The problem with a vegan diet or restrictive diet with children is that in many cases parents receive misleading information found on the Internet. In addition, these parents are not always as well informed to guarantee their child is eating properly in a vegan or vegetarian diets. It is not unusual for children who have a vegan diet to have vitamin D, calcium, iron, and sometimes vitamin B12 deficiencies. When the child is not receiving an adequate enough amount of calories and proteins in their diets the first symptoms to show are that they fail to flourish and sometimes grow properly.

            Therefore, it is important to remember that children can’t always have the same meals that adult vegetarians consume. Adult vegetarians tend be high in fiber and too much fiber can fill up a child’s small stomach before they get enough calories. All in all a vegetarian or vegan diet can be accomplished without harming your child’s health, however, it is important to make certain the meals are catered to children and not adults.   

Source: 

Moorhead, Joanna. "Is Veganism Safe for Kids?" The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 19 Apr. 2010. Web. 18 Mar.     2012. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/apr/20/veganism-safe-children>.

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