One parent vegetarian, one parent not - what do you do about your child's food?

[Anonymous]

I'm wondering what other couples do as far as their kids' food when one parent is vegetarian and one parent isn't. Do you try to raise the kid as a vegetarian and figure when he's older he can make his own decision about whether to eat meet? Or is it vice-versa? Right now we've got a baby but I'm thinking ahead, so I'm just looking for anecdotal experience from others who have been there. (Please do not flame me or get into the merits of vegetarianism vs. non-vegetarianism as a lifestyle choice!) TIA!

[Anonymous]

OP here. "meat" not "meet." Duh. Me talk pretty someday.

[Anonymous]

You've described my BIL's family. He's not a vegetarian, but his wife is. They're raising their daughter vegetarian (she's 2 now) and will let her choose what she wants later on.

[Anonymous]

I think for me it would depend on which parent feels more strongly about the issue. Is either militant about instilling dietary habits on the child? I'd go with whomever feels more passionate about it. We've got a split household because of religious reasons (husband doesn't eat pork). He feels strongly. Therefore, no pork in the house. No pork in DC's diet.

[Anonymous]

OP here again. Good question. I should have included this info. I think we're evenly split as far as philosophy, maybe with the vegetarian (me) being a little more invested.

[Anonymous]

I have mixed (vegetarian and non-vegetarian) couple friends. They are raising their children like the PP said - raising them vegetarian and the kids can choose later on. I think that's because you can't "un-ring the bell"......you can add meat to your diet later, but for vegetarians, it's hard to un-eat meat.

[Anonymous]

You may also have to see how it goes. I am not veg, although I would like to be more so, but I don't eat beef, pork, lamb, etc. My baby is allergic to eggs and soy and can't try nuts until she is 3. There's only so much dairy and beans a kid can eat...without eggs, soy, and nuts, she needs a little chicken or turkey to get some protein in her. So you can try keeping your kid veg and see how things go with her nutrition, and if you can't stay 100% veg, think about what you're willing to have her eat...

[Anonymous]

I am a vegetarian and DH is not. We are raising our 2 children (now 2 & 3) with some meat, though not a lot because I don't prepare it. I encourage our nanny and DH to cook meat for them and I buy them some prepared meats but most meals are vegetarian. I want them to choose if they decide to be vegetarian. The reason I am doing this is that the texture of meat (and seafood) is very different to veggie food and it is one of the reasons I can't go back to eating meat (even though I've wanted to at some points in my life). I don't want my kids to be put off by it. For a long while I couldn't even bear to try the meat-alternatives because of their texture. I've seen a couple of young children who are very fussy about food and I wanted to encourage as wide a range of foods as possible at the young ages.

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty similar to the previous poster. I don't want to cook or touch meat, so ds eats vegetarian when he's with me. But DH occasionally feeds him meat (though he doesn't cook a huge amount either). I actually encourage other people to feed him meat, just so he's exposed to it and familiar with the taste and texture. But I don't worry about him nutritionally either way.

[Anonymous]

I'm vegetarian and DH is not. We're raising our kids to eat some meat, with lots of vegetarian options thrown in there as well. I didn't go vegetarian until I was an adult, so I didn't have a problem letting them eat meat as kids. They can always cut it out later, but I'd like them to have as wide a palate as possible and have any limitations be their choice.

As far as actual meals go, I can serve meat (i.e. warm up leftovers from the fridge) and cook a dish that DH has prepared and left ready to go in the fridge, but I can't bring myself to actually prepare it.

[Anonymous]

I'll have to say it's tough. I have nothing to do with any meat, only fish. My husband is a carnivore and I can't stand it Anywhoo-I don't buy beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb, etc. however, I do make fish 2-3 times a week. I've AGREED to feed my son chicken but that's as far as it goes in our household. Another however-he eats what's on the menu at school The decision is his, and he's not fond of meat, he'd rather eat Quorn chic nuggets (soy) than the real stuff, but when he asks why I don't eat meat, I'm not sugar coating. There isn't a battle in our home over the "no eat meat", but it can get tiresome.

[Anonymous]

Whoever cooks is the one in charge of the diet.

[Anonymous]

my husband is a vegetarian and i'm as carnivorous as they come. as far as raising our son, we never had an explicit conversation but my husband became a vegetarian when he was 6. i'm happy to cater to either path my son chooses, i just don't want to close any doors right away so i have meat as part of his diet for now (so he'd be able to digest meat if he chose to be a carnivore). once he's old enough, he can decide. i imagine it'll go something like this:
dad: being a vegetarian is better for the planet, you'll live longer and you won't contribute to the slaughter of animals
mom: i cook your food.

that said, i do think that if you honestly want to give your kids a choice, you'd incorporate meat into their diet because it's a lot easier to eliminate it later than introduce it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a vegetarian and DH is not. We are raising our 2 children (now 2 & 3) with some meat, though not a lot because I don't prepare it. I encourage our nanny and DH to cook meat for them and I buy them some prepared meats but most meals are vegetarian. I want them to choose if they decide to be vegetarian. The reason I am doing this is that the texture of meat (and seafood) is very different to veggie food and it is one of the reasons I can't go back to eating meat (even though I've wanted to at some points in my life). I don't want my kids to be put off by it. For a long while I couldn't even bear to try the meat-alternatives because of their texture. I've seen a couple of young children who are very fussy about food and I wanted to encourage as wide a range of foods as possible at the young ages.

I agree with this.

[Anonymous]

It's sad but true. If I ate meat today, I'd end up in the hospital, being deadly ill.