would you ask your children to go vegan? - Page 2

[Baby_Cakes]

Originally Posted by Sharlla 

no i would not. i feel it's up to them if they want to eat meat or not.  i will buy and prepare meat for them but the dinners i cook for DH and me are vegetarian. 

If you give it to them and prepare it for them, it isn't their choice though.  You're making the choice for them.  If anything wouldn't it be more ideal to have the baseline be a veg diet and let them choose IF they want to eat animals?

Originally Posted by oceane 

I wouldn't ask my child to. In my opinion your kid should be able to choose, especially since not all your family members are vegan. It would likely seem unfair if you forced it on her, and as a vegan myself I'd hate for this decision to be viewed in negative light. YMMV, of course.
 

See I don't see raising kids to be vegan as any different than raising them with your own religious beliefs.  When you believe that something is right and ethical, you teach that to your children and hope they learn to see the whys and hows, and choose that path for themselves as they grow older.  Of course it's tricky.  It's tricky to navigate with religion as well.  But when you feel passionately about something, I think it's perfectly fine to pass that passion, and in this case, compassion, for animals and all life, down to your children.

My DH and I are vegan and both of our children are being raised the same.  No exceptions as they are still very young (4 and 1).  I do think it's going to get harder as they get older, and venture out into the world themselves.  That's why teaching them the compassion part and ethics of veganism is so important.  Marsupial - I think the idea of visiting farm sanctuaries is a wonderful idea. I'm going to start doing that with my children as well.  

OP - honestly I just explain why we make these choices.  Some people drink cows milk, we don't.  Some people eat animals, we don't.  My DD is starting to get more curious and my answers are getting a little more complex these days, but the heart of the answer is the same.  We just don't believe it is right to use animals for food.  We have plenty of other healthy things to eat, so we choose to eat those things instead.

[catnip]

For parties and treats, I keep frosted cupcakes in my freezer most of the time, so I can make sure that a vegan cupcake is available. As for most other places where my daughter might feel left out, I keep a small package of some sort of vegan treat with me - Joe-Joe's, a tiny dark chocolate bar, a lollipop, something like that.

My daughter is a life-long vegetarian, she went vegan by her own choice on her 5th birthday, followed quickly by her dad (I gave up egg and dairy when she was about 3), right around the time we started being able to get Daiya regularly in this area. I encouraged this, but did not force it.

Now, that said, even with advance planning and the best intentions, Dandies marshmallows don't come in a fist-sized version, and sometimes, she decides that she really wants to have the same stuff as a friend. And that's okay with me.
 

[loveandgarbage]

In your situation I would probably not ask my kids to go vegan. We are a vegetarian home and that was an easy decision for us because DH and I are both vegetarians and have been for awhile. I'm mostly vegan but eat eggs occasionally (like when pregnant and nursing) because I find my body functions better with that sort of protein. But both DH and my boys love dairy and eggs. From the start DH and I decided that we didn't want to mandate a specific diet for our kids. So we have a veggie home and if they are exposed to meat outside of the home and want to eat it, they can. But this is a tricky way to go, too. DS1 is very curious about why we don't eat meat (since becoming aware that some of his friends do) and I chose to be honest with him about why I am vegetarian. He therefor has no interest in eating animals. And part of me feels guilty like I brainwashed him, even though I was pretty evenhanded about it. DS2 has expressed interest in eating meat... but I really, really don't want to bring meat into the house. I think I'll just wait and see how he feels when he's older. I would only feed my kids humane/organic meat and that's pricey and very much outside of our budget right now anyway.

My mom is vegetarian and cooked mostly veggie food for us, but would cook meat for us when asked. And it was usually terrible (really dry chicken or porkchops) so we didn't ask too often! She never made a big issue out of it. My dad (they were divorced) eats meat so my sister and I were exposed to it from him. And what do you know, both my sis and I grew up to be vegetarians.

[justmama]

I've been vegetarian for a VERY long time, since before my children were born.  All 3 of them were raised vegetarian until their 2nd birthdays or so before they tried meat because at that point I knew they could safely chew small bites of meat.  They all decided of their own accord to eat meat as part of their diet so while I do make vegetarian meals frequently, I also provide meat several times a week.  I only buy them "healthy" meat and if the budget isn't there for it, I don't buy meat.  End of discussion.  If they want meat, they will eat small quantities of antibiotic free, hormone free, organic, air-chilled chicken or grass-fed beef.  We've had discussions about why I am vegetarian and they know WHY we buy meat the way we do but it's still their choice to consume meat products and I won't make it for them.  I know the argument was made in this thread that it's no different than raising your child with your religious beliefs and I 100% agree.  But for that matter, my children have been raised with knowledge of ALL religions.  The only one they participate in is their father's Baptist church and of their own choosing.  Again, in the same text, I don't feel it's right for me to make such a personal choice FOR THEM and so I give them the knowledge and follow their lead.  1 of my 3 believes in God but all enjoy services on holidays.  1 of my 3 LOVES meat, one is so-so on it, and 1 is extremely picky and could easily give up meat without a glance back.  So I just think it's my job to give them the tools and information they need to make their own mind up about personal matters.  I think I've given them a strong basis for morality on both issues by exposing them to all  options.

[meemee]

complicated personal story - but no i did not ask my dd to be vegetarian. but she went through the meat eating phase and then decided she's rather be vegetarian.

it helps that she has been cooking dinner since she was 8.

[averlee]

Not all, but most children just already love animals. They have farm-theme toys and books, they love "Old MacDonald", many babies' first words are kitty and doggie. Children are quick-minded, it doesn't take them long to put it together that the meat "chicken" is called chicken because it's a dead chicken. If given the choice, most children would have no part of that. Most children are appalled that anyone would ever kill or hurt an animal for any reason. I don't see what the problem would be.