Is Forcing Vegetarianism on your Kid Fair to Them?

Posted on 01 05, 2007 under Master Debaters by Noodad |

m2-kfc_meats_no_treatWhether for moral or religious reasons, vegetarianism is here to stay. And even for the once die hard carnivores, watching Super Size Me or reading Fast Food Nation might just move you over to the veggie side. Finally, with the popularity rising with healthier food stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, it is easier and easier to be a healthy vegetarian.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I am a die hard meat eater to the bone (pun intended). My theory is that if we weren't supposed to eat meat, God wouldn't have given man the intelligence to make a spear and the ability to throw it. But regardless of your own personal decisions, vegetarianism can be a way of life, not just a preference.

Jules (our man in Inglewood ) from Pulp Fiction , said it best, "My girlfriend is a vegetarian which basically means that I am a vegetarian. But I do enjoy a tasty burger from time to time". And most likely, if you are a vegetarian, your wife is one too. And if both of you are vegetarians, your kids will be too. Which brings us to this week's question:


Is forcing vegetarianism on your kid fair to them?

This the latest installment of our Master Debaters Question of the Week Series. There are some topics that seem to fall into the consensus category: drunk driving is bad, guns kill people, Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo was way better than the original. But that only covers less than 1% of the decisions you and your spouse make towards the upbringing of your kids. The majority of issues tend to fall more in the gray area.

Here at Noodad.com, we take pride in delivering important advice for dads. But we realize that some of our advice is subjective. The collected readership surely have things to add and unique perspectives to contribute.

So where do you weigh in?

 

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Viewing 10 Comments

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    Forcing your kid to be a vegetarian isn\'t fair. Monitoring their intake of any fatty food is reasonable, but there are a lot of good things in lean meats. And if God didn\'t want us to eat animals, He wouldn\'t have made them out of meat...
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    Sure, if you get a die hard bone gnawer and a tofu freak going at it you might stir something up. I just don\'t believe a veggie head is forcing their kids to eat leaves any more than I am forcing my kids to eat a burger. They eat what\'s put before them until they are old enough to set their own table and serve what they want.
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    My wife and I do not eat meat (but we do eat fish). We plan on raising our kids (our first isnt on solids yet) to eat what we eat. But if shes out with her freinds later in life and wants to share a peperoni pizza, its her call.
    But at home, she gets what we serve. I\'m not cooking 2 meals.
    So I really think the question isnt that important. Is the jewish parent denieing their child important life options by not serving pork?
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    But won\'t that basically predispose your kids stomachs to not deal well with meat?

    I assume, you and your wife probably grew up eating meat and made the decision to stop. But you are denying your kids that decision.
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    But surely the fact that you must \"predispose\" stomachs to be able to deal with meat is a reason to be a vegetarian or serve vegetarian food in the first place. How come is it that our stomachs are fine at dealing with solid foods like the majority of fruit and vegetables but not meat?

    Maybe then you can see why it is not such a bad thing when parents decide not to serve meat in their home.
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    I really don\'t think it matters either way. Kids seem to try things for themselves anyway. Whatever the outcome they will weigh that outcome against how much they like(d) it, how mad it makes you, what the bulk of their friends are doing. etc... any combination of a million reasons.
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    Humans can eat meat or vegetables, really its just a mater of whats available and personal preference. I agree that kids can make the call about what they eat, when they are old enough to prepare food themselves. Personally I really enjoy a juicy beef steak, but thats just me.

    As for predisposing a kids stomach for types of food, isn\\\'t it better that kids enjoy veges? Besides a *decent* vege diet should mean your guts can handle meat in moderation anyway doesnt it?
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    agree and disagree with previous posts. If your household is strictly veg, then fine...I\'m not going to tell you you’re wrong for not offering up chicken when all you eat is tofu (I fully support the one night, one meal approach!). But if you\'re in a mixed eater situation (one veg, one carnivore), I think it\'s wrong to proscribe the veg path for your little one \"until their old enough to decide for themself\" because limiting them basically seals the deal and does not give them a choice. Besides, good luck coming up with a convincing and lasting argument for why the kids can\'t have what one parent is having.

    We have a mixed household of different but similar sorts - my wife keeps Kosher, I don\'t. For us, it’s a compromise - we keep pork and shellfish out of the house and she tolerates my cheeseburgers and burritos. We cook meals that can be had both ways (taco night works out great). It\'s not the strictest form of Kosher but it works for us. We plan to continue on this path when jr. switches to solids believing that curiosity for what mommy and daddy eat will lead him to try both our ways. And after he\'s been exposed to all different types of foods and he\'s old enough to understand it, we\'ll explain to him what Kosher is and the different customs mommy and daddy follow. That\'s choice.

    The same can work for veg/carnivore households.
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    My wife and I are both vegetarian. My daughter is only 2 1/2. I don\'t believe that we should prepare a meat dish for my daughter when we are having a non-meat dish. I don\'t think that\'s much different than meat eaters making their kid eat what mom cooked when they want to eat lollipops and potato chips for dinner (well, okay, maybe it is a little different).

    I guess my point is that we plan to let our daughter decide for herself when she\'s older. But she\'ll have to buy/cook it for herself.

    As for the stomach ... I am pretty sure it is possible to train (or re-train) your stomach to digest meat.
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    How is it different than raising your child with a particular hair style, clothing style, way of talking, following a particular sports team, or even religion? We as parents raise our kids the best way we know, and those that are vegetarians do so because that is what they believe is best for them. It\'s just food. I don\'t like Brussels sprouts, so there\'s no way I\'m bringing them into the house for my kids. I guess I\'m \"forcing\" them to not eat them?

    I think the only time you could run into a problem is with overly militant parents that \"force\" their judgemental attitudes on their kids. Yup, there are those extremely crunchy vegan types that like to espouse how all the \"omnis\" (those that consume meat) are nothing better than murderers. That\'s when it gets unfortunate. Then again, there are probably some Dodgers fans that force their kids to think all Giants fans are Neanderthals. :grin

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