Reply to Practically 9 year old expressing wanting to be vegetarian but barely eats already- how to sway?

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Reply to "Practically 9 year old expressing wanting to be vegetarian but barely eats already- how to sway?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]One note of caution here.  I am a former eating disorder/anorexic. Proclaiming oneself a vegetarian is a classic sign of disordered eating/further limitation on eating in a person who has disordered eating patterns.  It's an excuse not to eat in public and around other people.  "I can't eat that/order anything on the menu, I'm a vegetarian.

Now I'm not saying that at 9 your daughter has willfully chosen this path in order to manipulate, but I think you need to sit down with her and really formalize what she is going to eat, and how she plans to balance her proteins.  I would even make a contract with her.  "Larla will eat X, Y, and Z.  She will pack A, B, or C for lunch and will read Books 1, 2, and 3 on a healthy vegetarian diet."

If she's not willing to eat foods beans, tofu, and balanced proteins that she needs to grow -- if this is just a mask for avoiding eating -- then I think you need to consider that she has an eating disorder or, at the very least, that she is simply opting out of eating meat in order to facilitate not eating.[/quote]

PP, the girl is 8. I know you mean well, but some people, kids included, just don't like to eat animals. The OP said nothing to indicate a body dysmorphia issue, concern with caloric intake, or any other suggestion of anorexia. She did, however, say her daughter loves animals. Why do you discount that and leap to pathology?

While I absolutely agree that she and her mother need information on how to eat a healthy vegetarian diet, I can't help but feel you are projecting something onto this girl that isn't there. In doing so, you're likely to increase the mother's anxiety and make it more difficult for her to understand and honor her daughter's request to become vegetarian. That seems unfortunate to me.[/quote]

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