Would it be a good idea for me to make my baby a vegan like me?!
Answers: I am a vegan and I was want my baby girl to be a vegan also but I don"t really know if it would be a good Idea
I'm a nurse, and I'll tell you that children can be vegan and healthy. Some children have severe food intolerances to dairy and eggs and meat - on a special diet, overseen by a nutritionist, they do fine.
I would consult a pediatric nutritionist, though. With their help you can design a diet designed to provide for all of the child's nutritional needs. There are vitamin supplements for young children that are Vegan. Just to be sure - like a safety net.
Also, while she is under age 4, it's probably a good idea to do blood draws every 6 months of so to make sure she isn't deficient in anything. Anemia due to not enough iron is usually the issue - soy milk is now supplemented with B12 so when you wean her off breastmilk or formula - as long as she gets a couple cups of soy milk per day you needn't worry about that.
Iron can be trickier. Even children whose diets are not restricted at all often become anemic. So read the nutritional labels on food you buy for her once she is eating, and make sure she is getting enough. Some dry cereals are good sources (many babies and toddlers like to just crunch on it plain) for instance a serving of regular cheerios has 45% of an adults RDA of iron, and it's vegan. Cream of Wheat is a good source. Prepared with water or soy milk, it's vegan.
I don't suggest you try making your child eat a vegan diet without the help of a nutritionist or a pediatrician who is experienced with vegetarian children. Not because you couldn't do it, but because if there is ever a question of neglect or abuse - this way you can say "her diet has been approved by _______, a medical professional."
If she's a baby, she should be having mother's breast milk - which is totally vegan - and after she's old enough to have solid food, she can have vegan food and she'll be fine. Just make sure you consult your doctor and nutritionist to make sure she's getting enough vitamins, minerals, calories and fats.
Well, if it was mine, I would raise her a vegan, but if she wanted to eat meat, dairy, etc, later in life then I would let her make her own choice. Consult your nutritionist/pediatrician to make sure she gets enough vitamins, minerals, and it's veryimportant she gets enough fats.
Please tell me you are giving her milk! She need formula or breastmilk.
I have the smae issue. I am vegetarian, I want my 10 month old to have good morals and not give her meat jacked up with hormones and antibiotics, but my husband disagrees. He wants her to eat these things. I think to myself that swhen she is old enough to make up her own mind about what she wants to eat than I will let her. I am sure my family will force me to at least give her poultry...organic of course. I dont like it but I have to deal with it. She will learn morals early on, so I have faith she will choose not to eat meat.
Plus, did you hear about the couple that wanted to raise there newborn vegan and refuses to even give the baby human breastmilk, they fed her/him rice...the baby died of malnutrition and the parents were sent to prison for child neglect and involuntary manslaughter I think.
Dont do it. Not now.
But one thing is good. Most baby veggie and fruit baby foods are vegan. So that is good. But dont deny your baby formula at least for the first year.
After that...you baby will not need meat, maybe raise her as a vegetarian first.
Yes, anyone that thinks children can't be raised vegan is an ignorant fool.
Babies should start on breast milk only anyway and breast milk is 100% vegan.
Kids usually have to be tricked into eating meat at a very young age.
Other than breastfeeding until around 2 to 3 years of age you can raise even young children vegan. The key is being educated about your vegan selections. Basically include a balance of the major food groups, minus out the meat and dairy suggestions, and you'll be just fine.
The American Dietetic Association says "Well-planned vegan and lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy and lactation. Appropriately planned vegan and lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets satisfy nutrient needs of infants, children, and adolescents and promote normal growth."
Here is a copy of an answer to a question of whether children should be raised vegetarian or vegan.
"Why would you buy something you feel that is unethical or at least not ideal when there are healthy choices?
Children can grow up vegan minus their mothers milk of course. In fact the average IQ of vegetarian children is 116 where the average in the United States is 98. That is a whopping 18 point difference. I highly doubt if this were a unhealthy lifestyle you would be seeing such stark differences in Intelligence Quotients.
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/veg_d...
http://sq.4mg.com/NationIQ.htm
I do not think raising ones children Vegan harms them one bit but actually protects their health, helps save the environment, while teaching them the importance principles of ethics as well as the will power to carry it out.
Currently I am living with my pregnant girlfriend who is vegetarian with vegan leanings. So far the children eat primarily vegan with some compromise on the diary, honey, and eggs. They are all healthy and seem as intelligent and conscientious, if not more so, than the children of their same age.
I firmly believe in the results of living out such a life style and would not back down on raising them any other way. When our daughter is born to this side of the womb I fully intend on raising her vegan too, minus her mother's milk of course.
I believe the sooner the lifestyle is taught the easier it is. It is late conversion that makes the transition difficult not earlier on."
Wait until she's older
Yes you should. I'm sure that you'll get responses that say that it is not safe but don't listen to them. Keep in mind that breast milk is vegan and that babies can survive without it.
Only you can decide how your baby is raised. The ADA supports vegetarian and vegan diets for all life stages and vegan children can be perfectly healthy. You would definitely want to do some research on the specifics of infant and toddler nutritional requirements. "Becoming Vegan" by Brenda Davis and Vesant Melina includes some coverage of this, but "Raising Vegetarian Children" by Joanne Stepaniak and Vesanto Melina give full coverage from pregnancy and lactation through adolesence.
God NO.
Your baby needs Food!
no i dnt think so. she needs all the nutrients she can get when shes young. u shld probably leave it and ask her wheter she wants to turn vegan when shes old enough to decide.
No. The baby is building bones, teeth and muscles. She needs protein. Do what her pediatrician suggests, not what you want.
food is not test but necessity so on different stage of age need different type of food.
You should discuss this with your peditrician. Your baby's health is more important then your purported morals.