Reply to To offer meat or not to a toddler?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As an omnivore, I think it is perfectly fine for your child to have a predominantly or even regularly vegetarian diet, as long as your child is exposed to meat.  You offer meat and if your child does not eat it, that's not a problem.  Why do I think they need to be exposed to it?  Because over the next 10-15 years of their life they will be in communal situations with other kids, parties, school, special events, where they may or may not have specialized menus made that will include vegetarian options.  Kids want to fit in and sometimes in social situations, fitting in may entail eating with the group and you really don't want your child to be skipping meals at day camp or at an all day school outing because there were not vegetarian options planned for the kids.  If all the kids are going to some burger joint after their school event, you want your child to be able to go and enjoy camraderie even if the restaurant doesn't have boca burgers on the menu.  I've seen a number of kids who have had specialized diets for one reason or another who have had awkward times when socializing is mixed with meals and if they are too picky about a specialized diet, then the other kids will start associating that kids as the "difficult" one or may not want to invite that child because it's too much trouble or they can't go to their favorite hang-out because that child can't eat anything there.

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I say bullshit to this. I was born and raised a vegetarian in the 70s/80s in a small agricultural town. I grew up fine, went to places with no veggie options but made out great and wasn't shunned by my classmates or friends. I learned to speak up for myself, letting school officials know that at school functions, a veg option was good to have and healthy. Nowadays, there's a lot more awareness and options for vegetarians. There's even an all vegetarian public school in NYC![/quote]

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