I need help with a vegan child.?!

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Your son can get all the protein he needs from legumes, nut butters, pasta, and bread. So don't feel like you're doing something wrong by letting him exclude animal products from his diet. As for him not wanting to touch leather, etc - good for him. He's just made up his mind about something. The best thing you can do is support him. It helps parent-child relationships when the parent supports the child's decisions (as long as they're reasonable). Now, if you're truly concerned about his weight loss and don't think there is an underlying issue, such as an eating disorder, then talk to him about your concerns. Maybe if you tell him you'd like him to gain some weight, he would. Have him load up on pasta and nuts.

Vegan

I know several vegan males who are quite healthy. He's never going to be a football player or a bodybuilder, but he can be strong and healthy. However, if he has lost 12 lbs, there is a problem. Try to increase the protein in his diet (vegan sources of protein include beans, nuts, etc.) and see if that helps. If not, I would make an appointment with a registered dietitian to assess the situation.

The link below may help as well.

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.htm

How does your son feel about organic and free-range dairy and eggs?

Ornella: The finger nail tests for zinc, silly! XD Although, she makes a good point - it's not always easy to get enough iron on a vegan diet. You have to eat a source of iron (spinach) and pair it with a source of vitamin C (mandarin oranges), since the iron you get from veggies is non-heme and you have to eat C in the same meal to absorb it. Broccoli is a good source of both though.

He's surely getting enough nutrients (protein is EASY to obtain), so I'm really thinking it's just lack of calories. As long as he's eating as much as he can, there shouldn't be any problems in development. And speaking of which, sometimes being a tall, weedy thirteen year old is normal. I was really scrawny when I was thirteen - and then I got really fat when I was fourteen (I was bored and ate a lot of food though).

I think it's good that he's so passionate about living creatures. It shows that you've raised him to be a compassionate and loving person, and we need more of those sorts in this stupid mean world. I can definitely see the cause for concern, but I really think your son will be just fine. Maybe if he did some strength training, he'd bulk up a little more and gain some weight. :)

Don't worry too much, Dad.

Edit: Also, he could eat more nuts for healthy fats. And nuts are fairly high in calories. =D

Don't try and stop him. I know he's 13, but he sounds very dedicated and passionate about this. And being realistic here, you probably won't be able to force him to eat anything he doesn't want to.
It could be that he's simply not eating enough. A vegan diet can easily provide all necessary nutrients, including protein. EVERYTHING has protein in it, trust me. But vegans do tend to eat less calories than they need because vegan food is very low in calories, you have to eat much more than you're used ot eating. Count how many calories he's eating in one day and you'll probably be surprised. He should be eating around 2,000 (considering he's moderately active), and since he's eating mostly low-calorie vegetables and fruits he's probably no where near that amount.
Try the finger nail test to see if he could be low in iron. Push down on one of his fingernails for a few second (it should turn white), then let go. If it turn pink immediately, he's fine. If it stays white for a few seconds after you let go, I would get him tested for anemia.
If you're still worried, he could always take a multivitamin just in case he's lacking a nutrient or two. Try following the vegan food pyramid for anything else he may need: http://www.chooseveg.com/vegan-food-pyra…
Hope that helps!
By the way, a 13 year old is perfectly capable of deciding what they eat. I went vegetarian when I was 12 with no support from my parents. Pre-teens can cook food themselves; it teaches them responsibility, about nutrition, and how to be independent. This isn't the stone-age. It's not uncommon for preteens to sort of "break away" from their family and figure out who they are and what they believe in. Veganism is a diet that is growing tremendously throughout the world.

Its good that you have such a caring son.

Protein is found in all vegan foods. Beans, rice and pasta are good sources of protein.

Edit: Some people say that animals are killed for a vegetarian/vegan diet which is true but the number is small. A meat diet kills more animals than any other diet, thats why going vegetarian or vegan is a good thing.

Meat eaters that feel guilty about eating meat usually bring up the "a vegetarian/vegan diet kills animals too" rubbish to make themsleves feel better about eating meat.

http://www.animalvisuals.org/data/1mc/

http://www.adaptt.org/killcounter.html

Weight gain/loss/maintenence is expressed by calories consumed versus calories expended.
Not eating this-or-that has nothing to do with it.
So if you're concerned about his weight, drastically up his calorie intake.

As for protein, there's an abundance of protein in many plant foods- tempeh, lentils, black beans, tofu, broccoli, potatoes, almonds, rice, etc.

Hambone, since the vast majority of people aren't even vegetarian, it's pressure to EAT MEAT that most of us face everyday, from friends, society, and ill-informed family. It's shocking you'd allow your child to go hungry as opposed to doing your best to keep them healthy.

It depends what substitutes you are buying him. You don't HAVE to buy the processed, packaged substitutes(not assuming you do). He needs a balance of all nutrients and healthy fats as well. I don't think it's right that he should refuse to even touch leather or wool. I certainly wouldn't advise supporting it or buying it but it is no harm done just to touch it. We can't sweep every ant out of our path that's in our way. It is up to you what you decide to do. You can either, research deeply about the nutrition or you can stop it if you honestly believe you've done everything you can and it's not healthy. I mean, you don't have to stick to the common fruits and vegetables, coconuts have got very healthy fats in for example. If you want to stop it for a while until you can figure this out, maybe you could ask him to compromise with being a vegetarian for the meantime. I was raised a vegetarian and definitely had enough weight on me, even though I was slender. I did dancing every weekend, and walked the distance to get there, and as a child, ran around a lot. He is underweight and that is not a good thing especially if it's from the changes you've made.

Vegan, female, 16 years old.

If he losing weight he needs to eat more calories. What is he eating? Add more of what he is already eating to add more calories. Obviously he does not have a protein deficiency because protein deficiency makes your stomach bloat not be thinner (look up kwashiorkor or look at pictures of starving children in Africa - they have bloated stomachs).

Quit worrying about protein just count calories. More calories in = weight gain. It might help to find a calorie calculator and see how much he needs to eat to gain weight, and keep a food journal to make sure. You should get some vegan cookbooks and the two of you can learn together how to make vegan food that tastes good and he will probably eat more. You can't just rely on substitutions if you want food that is delicious. Get lots of peanut butter, nuts and pasta - that will put on some weight. It's also quite normal for boys his age to be a little on the thin side.

Here is a pediatric calorie calculator you can use to see how many calories he needs per day: http://pediatrics.about.com/library/bl_c…

And just to add I cannot possible see how a vegan diet is any less healthy than the junk food diet most kids his age are eating and they all turn out fine. Get him a multivitamin, make sure he eats enough calories, and he should be fine.

Maybe he has an anorexia or bulemia disorder (it does happen with boys too). You can't really make him change his diet if he doesn't want to. I would encourage him to not do the vegan thing personally. Explain the peta films he has possibly seen are the extreme and not typical. You can add supplements (Source of Life is good and more nutrients than Centrum), make sure he isn't throwing up after eating, watch what he is eating and make sure he is getting enough, send him to counseling and make sure you are involved with the counseling too.

I would highly suggest taking your son in to speak with a nutritionist. I am a vegan myself (and went vegan at age 10), and from a nutritional standpoint, it *can* be more trying fulfilling a child's needs, particularly during puberty. In a vegan diet, you generally need to eat a greater volume to achieve the same caloric intake as an animal-protein inclusive diet... a nutritionist can help you to plan both calorie dense meals that are filling and nutritionally adequate for your son. Also, educating him on his body's needs when it comes to calories and nutrients will help him out a great deal! There are a wide variety of calorie-dense vegan options out there (including items like tofu, tempeh, peanut butter, etc. etc. etc.)... it just sounds like both you and he could use a hand in combining them to create a whole diet that is sustainable for your son and his growth.

I do applaud both your son (for following his ideals in relation to diet) and you (for being so understanding, and for sharing your concerns) on this.

This is not a health attitude in a 13 year old - you need to be sure that there is no underlying general problem like an eating disorder.

stop it before he get ill

i bet this is some thing he has learnt at school with all this "healthy eating" stuff they go on about these days

I agree with the "grouchy old man" post. Unless he's buying his food and cooking it, you are in charge of his diet. He's playing you and you're buying into it with the "true animal activist" attitude. Either ignore him and make healthy foods available to him or tell him that he can eat whatever he wants, but he has to buy it and cook. Or at least cook it. Unless he has an eating disorder (unusual in boys), he won't starve. You cannot force him to eat anything until he absolutely collapses and winds up in the hospital.

He's probably proudly telling you and himself that he's "saving" animal's lives. It's not true. First, any commercial meat not sold for human consumption goes to zoos, food banks, or is just thrown away. The demand for meat dropped for the first year or so of the recession, but it's headed up again. Second, he uses animal slaughter byproducts every day: sidewalks, book binding glue, electrical transmission, roads, furniture. Look at this link: "Staggering List Of Products Made From Cattle"

http://www.all-creatures.org/health/list… "Staggering List Of Products Made From Cattle"

That's just cows. I'd expect there's a similar list for pigs and one for chickens. He IS using animals.

Third, animals die for his diet, too. From the link: "Animals of the field are killed by several factors, including:

1. Tractors and farm implements run over them.
2. Plows and cultivators destroy underground burrows and kill animals.
3. Removal of the crops (harvest) removes ground cover allowing animals on the surface to be killed by predators.
4. Application of pesticides.

So, every time the tractor goes through the field to plow, disc, cultivate, apply fertilizer and/or pesticide, harvest, etc., animals are killed. And, intensive agriculture such as corn and soybeans (products central to a vegan diet) kills far more animals of the field than would extensive agriculture like forage production, particularly if the forage was harvested by ruminant animals instead of machines. So perhaps fewer animals would be killed by producing beef, lamb, and dairy products for humans to eat instead of the vegan diet envisioned by Regan.

Accurate numbers of mortality aren't available, but Tew and Macdonald (1993) reported that wood mouse population density in cereal fields dropped from 25/ha preharvest to less than 5/ha postharvest. This decrease was attributed to migration out of the field and to mortality. Therefore, it may be reasonable to estimate mortality of 10 animals/ha in conventional corn and soybean production....."
There's more detail at the link:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/9…

Veganism is much like a cult. You could read up on cults and see suggested ways to handle various cults. Or you could be the adult and take charge of the situation.

I am sure I will get darts and arrows thrown at me, but here is my opinion: Since when does a 13 year old get to make decisions about what goes into his/her body? As a parent, YOU decide what goes onto the dinner table, he can eat if he chooses to, or not if he chooses not to.

These kids are under some fantasy that if they are V or V it sill make a difference. IT WON'T! Your son is under some peer pressure to be a vegan, and guess what? What's the next peer pressure going to be? Drugs? Alcohol? Cigarettes? I just get so sick of seeing these KIDS trying to make the rules and asking "can I eat this" or "can a vegan do this" when it's their own rules they are questioning.

Sorry, but I had to vent. I don't browse the V&V section, but I browse the Food and Drink section a lot and cannot help but see some of the V&V questions. This one just bothered me a lot.

Omnivore, grown up, grouchy old man.