Spin off on jldumm's HOW DO U DECIDE THREAD?

[jolenegreen]

I was wondeirng...I have 4 kiddies and one on the way...my 2 oldest..5 and 6 have eaten meat plenty up until about 2 months ago. I have changed us mainly on a vegan diet due to food allergies.My younger 2..ages 1 and 2 havent had any meat yet..and I plan to raise this baby on a vegan diet as well! MY HUSBAND STILL EATS MEAT! He said there is no possible way I am changing his diet....SO..we have stuck to a local grass feeding organic farm for meat for him...my kids however...are eating Vegan diet. I am wondering...should I allow them to eat meat when/if they ask? How about at family gatherings, parties etc...how is this done in your family? My oldest stays with grandma and grandpas alot and they have already told me that their grandparents say they are going to feed them meat whether or not I say its ok...they arent going to follow a special diet just becuase I do.
I have many reasons why I went vegan..I started doing research into food and how food is made and it really grosses me out! ICKY...all the stuff they add to this and that yadda yaddda yadda...BLECK! We also found out our 6 yr old is sensetive to Red Dye 40... So we switched to mainly vegetarian/organic...THEN we found that our 2 youngest are allergic to dairy...YIKES! So I switched all the kids over to a vegan diet just to be safe, healthy and more natural! Hubby does eat alot of our meals but mainly with a piece of meat on the side! So I was wondeirng what to do? Deny them meat when they ask? Allow them to have it outside the home? WHAT DO I DO? Should I stick to vegetarian diet while out of the home at family gatherings etc? Only make them eat Vegan at home? How do I explain? This si all so hard for me! I figured our last 3 babies will only want veggies due to never eating meat..But still not sure what to do with the oldest 2?
Now we are paying close attention to 6 yr old...becuase he seems to have a sensetivity to Gluten...but only sometimes so we arent really sure if its the gluten or something else. We also noticed our 5 yr old throws up everytime he has something with pineapple or pineapple juice in it! WHAT TO DO!!? GEESH

[Mama2Xander]

Well, I can't tell you what *you* should do, but I can give you an idea of how it works for us:

I do not prepare meat at home (I stopped eating it when I was 12). DH is not vegetarian, but happily eats vegetarian meals at home. If he wanted to buy meat and prepare it himself, I would not have a problem with that. (He doesn't do it though). He does eat meat outside the house semi-regularly.

The kids are not "vegetarian" in the sense that they are free to eat meat outside the house eg. at family get-togethers. We have talked a little bit about where meat comes from, and they don't seem to *like* meat anyway, so it's not a big issue. They will eat a few bites of turkey at Thanksgiving, and maybe a couple of other times a year.

I personally don't feel that it is my place to convert anyone to being vegetarian, or to make those decisions for them. The kids can make their own choice when they are older. (IMO it's similar to if I was religious - I would want my kids to make their own choice about religion, not just follow mine because I do, yk?)

Now, we are recently gluten-free and dairy-free for allergy/intolerance reasons, and that is enforced out of the house.

[jolenegreen]

THANK YOU! We too are dairy free and Gluten free due to allergies! I do allow some glutem outside the home becuase if i dont the family feeds it to the kids anyways! I havenot had the kids tested for gluten allergy but my oldest, age 6, shows many signs of sickness afterwards.But ONLY sometimes so not sure of it is the gluten but family thinks im NUTS so they give it to him anyways.
We also need to take my 4 yr old to get an allergy test as he shows signs of sickness towards pineapple! We had our 10 month old tested for allergy with dairy and he tested being allergic to it. The dr says when he turns 2 we should take him to an allergist to get a normal allergy test done!
Seeing how your children have food allergies too...are there any good websites with good kid friendly recipes u know of that are dairy free as well as gluten free?
Back to the main subject, lol...I was thinking about just serving the children our normal vegan meals and continue making hubbys meat but if they ask for some allowing them to have a piece...maby getting some childrens books on vegan eating and really explainign to them why mommy dont eat meat!I homeschool them as well and we are doing a nutrition until next month...not sure whether I really wnat to include meat in it or no? LOL