My 6yr old Daughter wants to be a veggie

p1an0player

In a house of meat-eaters, a 6 year-old deciding she is vegetarian on moral grounds will cause a lot of extra hassle for whoever is doing the shopping and preparing the meals.

Might I suggest that at 6 years old, she should be encouraged to eat what she's given along with the rest of the family; and if she chooses not to eat all the meat in the meal, so be it.

I kind of feel that eating a meal together as a family is important, and if one person is having something different it somehow detracts from that.

AngelaOU

There are loads of vegetarian options. There are veggie burgers, veggie sausages, veggie chicken nuggets . . . And they can taste pretty good

liney

p1an0player wrote: »

In a house of meat-eaters, a 6 year-old deciding she is vegetarian on moral grounds will cause a lot of extra hassle for whoever is doing the shopping and preparing the meals.

Might I suggest that at 6 years old, she should be encouraged to eat what she's given along with the rest of the family; and if she chooses not to eat all the meat in the meal, so be it.

I kind of feel that eating a meal together as a family is important, and if one person is having something different it somehow detracts from that.

But she wont get the vitimins she needs if she just eats 'meat and veg' minus the meat, and you could make your child ill by doing this. Eating together does not mean eating the same thing: what if mom is a veggie, but dad isnt? Would this not still be a familiy meal?

I would actually enforce the vegatarianism strictly,(but properly!) because i would fear it could become an excuse for faddy eating. ie, 'i wont eat lamb because i'm not keen, but you can take me to Mcdonalds because i'll eat a chicken burger'

Lillys_mum

p1an0player wrote: »

In a house of meat-eaters, a 6 year-old deciding she is vegetarian on moral grounds will cause a lot of extra hassle for whoever is doing the shopping and preparing the meals.

Might I suggest that at 6 years old, she should be encouraged to eat what she's given along with the rest of the family; and if she chooses not to eat all the meat in the meal, so be it.

I kind of feel that eating a meal together as a family is important, and if one person is having something different it somehow detracts from that.

Sorry but I disagree. I respect my daughters decision and will help her in whatever way I can to ensure she eats the food which she wants to.

Alikay

I think it's great that you're supporting your daughter in her choice to be veggie by making sure she has a balanced vegetarian diet. Please also be open to the fact that she may "fall off the wagon" and go back to meat eating at a later date. Our DD gave up eating meat at about 11 or 12 and we changed our family meals (like you're planning to do) so we could still all eat healthy meals together - a diet of chips n cheese was not an option!

A couple of years later, following a scout camp, school trip and family holiday in France ( NOT the most veggie-friendly country ......very little meat-free offerings in the restaurants!) she decided that she wanted to eat meat again -probably triggered by the smell of all those camp-fire barbecues and bacon butties. She was a bit upset that we'd all been supportive and felt she was "letting us down" by changing her mind, and also took a bit of flack from friends for eating meat again. So just make sure its not a big deal whatever she chooses long-term -we were very conscious of problems with teenage girls and food in general, and a healthy varied diet is the important thing to aim for, whether or not it features meat.

webitha

whilst i applaud you in helpin your DD, i wouldnt
i am on a strict budget so whilst my kids get healthy homecooked from scratch meals, they get what they are given, my DD1 tried this "im going veggie" egged on by a friend i told her that she will eat what i give her until she is old enough to buy and cook it all herself, im not going to cook meals around her nor am i going to cook different things for different people 1 meal for all,
i will support any of my kids in vegetairianism when they are older but whilst they are young they get what they are given
luckily my lot are confirmed carnivores lol

Lillys_mum

webitha wrote: »

whilst i applaud you in helpin your DD, i wouldnt
i am on a strict budget so whilst my kids get healthy homecooked from scratch meals, they get what they are given, my DD1 tried this "im going veggie" egged on by a friend i told her that she will eat what i give her until she is old enough to buy and cook it all herself, im not going to cook meals around her nor am i going to cook different things for different people 1 meal for all,
i will support any of my kids in vegetairianism when they are older but whilst they are young they get what they are given
luckily my lot are confirmed carnivores lol

I am on a budget too - as everyone else is and I would rather spend that on the food which she will eat rather than cooking something which she doesn't want to eat - and then it ends up wasted.
There is nothing to say vegetarian food cannot be healthy homecooked from scratch. I just need to read some cookery books and get some ideas.
I am very proud of her for choosing this as she has done it of her own free will, maybe she will change her mind again in a few months but if she does then that is fine too.
I have explained lots to her and she is not bothered about not being able to eat all the things that her friends do. I think the important thing is to focus on the things which she can eat rather than saying she can't have certain things.

belfastgirl23

I'm one of those almost veggies who occasionally eats fish sorry gingham I do know exactly what you mean because DH is a full on veggie and he gets cross about people assuming he eats fish too Personally I kept the fish on because when I first stopped eating meat about 20 years ago there were no (and I mean no) veggie options in restaurants. But I guess I also didn't feel so strongly about fish. In fact I eat very little of it now, too many concerns about how it's farmed etc.

Anyway to your dd Lily's mum I think it's great that you're supporting her. I heartily second gingham ribbon's suggestion of Rose Elliot's books, they are nice and straightforward but also properly take into account nutrition etc. I'd suggest perhaps starting with one of her bean and pulse books since I think this might be the thing you need to master (I bet you could already do veggie pasta etc). And to me proper use of beans and pulses makes the difference between a healthy and unhealthy veggie diet. I'd also suggest that the rest of the family consider eating with her regularly - you'll find it's cheaper and also healthier. Personally I'm not a big fan of quorn - I don't feel the need for a meat substitute and I find it gives me wind (sorry if TMI). It also somehow doesn't taste of anything and I'd far rather have red kidney beans or chickpeas or whatever. And as for tofu it is disgusting unless you know how to cook it properly and I confess I don't. The only time I ever enjoyed it was from a chinese restaurant that cooked it in I think black bean sauce, thus effectively disguising the taste

But lots of luck and I do suggest taking a look at gingham ribbons threads - they are really useful.

sillyvixen

its also an opertunity to try out new thing for the whole family and vary your diet more. if you find a few veggie meals the whole family can enjoy each week without missing meat you can reduce your food bills by not adding expensive meat as much. when i was small my mother used to have to find somthing completley different for me to go with the potato and veg they were having with meat as im got older and was learning to cook myself i was able to introduce my family to my 'experirments' and they always tried them and mostly enjoyed them. many of them are still family favorites today with my parents.
my big sucess was getting my father to east vegatable lasagne!

webitha

Lillys_mum wrote: »

I am on a budget too - as everyone else is and I would rather spend that on the food which she will eat rather than cooking something which she doesn't want to eat - and then it ends up wasted.

i understand where your coming from but i really cant spend it on food that just she will eat what about the rest of us who doesnt want to eat veggie and wants meat, should i give in buy stuff just for her and the rest of us goes without? because i cant afford veggie burgers/sausages as i find that they are a tad expensive and meat for the rest of us 4 at the same time, and i dont think she will get the right nurtients just eating vegetables