Response to LA Times Article on Raising Vegetarian Children

Post written by VegBlogger. Follow me on Twitter.

Today I read an article in the LA Times titled "Don't make food a conflict for a vegetarian child." After reading this piece I was a bit upset that they would seek out the advice of someone who is not vegetarian, in order to offer vegetarian parents advice on feeding our children. There are a few things that are glaringly off with this piece.

For starters, the title strikes me as odd. They suggest that there should be no food conflicts for vegetarian children. Does that mean that we should just close our eyes, as most parents do, and allow our children to eat anything they want? Just allow a free-for-all of chips, snacks, meat and candy? Are they aware of the obesity problem in this country regarding children or how food production impacts the planet? If you ask me, parents are doing too much conflict avoidance when it comes to what their children are eating, and it's getting their kids (and the planet) into an unhealthy mess.

Secondly, their subtitle is "Children need reassurance and strategies for making food choices when they're not with parents." But that does not seem to be what the article offers. Instead, it seems as though the point of the article is for vegetarian parents to relax and stop worrying, as if we would all be better off if we let our kids eat the meat.

Next, they start off the article on a negative note, by saying that "...power struggles and awkward social issues are bound to crop up." Really? And they are the authority on this? How do they know this? Does having a vegetarian around make them feel this way?

The "expert" in this article suggests that we vegetarian parents make "...age-appropriate explanations for why they don't eat meat." Hmm... do they do the same with their kids, explaining why they engage eating animals (even though it lacks compassion, and is bad for the planet and health alike)? Or is this something only we should be doing? Furthermore... duh! Do they think we vegetarian parents don't explain to our children why we are a vegetarian family? Give me a break! My child has been having it explained to her since birth. Quite honestly at five she knows more about the meat industry, compassion and the environment than most adults.

They go on to say that you don't want to set your child up for "failure" by them going someplace that does not have vegetarian food. I suppose mine and the experts opinion of what failure is differ drastically. If my daughter goes to a party and there are no veggie dogs, I don't think she has failed or is a failure. I think she will eat when she gets home and/or make due with the vegetarian food that is available at the party while she is there (people fail to realize that much of what will be served is vegetarian already, they just focus on the meat).

They go on to bring in the next "expert" on raising vegetarian kids, who explains that "...children tend to try whatever they're told not do, just to see how parents will react..." Sure, some kids have been doing this for decades. But is that a reason to throw your arms up in the air and tell them to do as they want? Why not take the same attitude with other things kids may want to try?

In the final paragraph they say the most ridiculous things in the whole article. They tell us vegetarian parents to make "...compromises - such as allowing kids to eat meat at friends' houses or restaurants..." Are you kidding me? Their advice in raising a vegetarian child is to not raise a vegetarian, by instead letting them eat meat outside of the house? I'm appalled that this is the advice they dish out to us vegetarian parents.

Shame on the newspaper for printing such poor advice, as well as the author and biased "expert" opinions that were used in the piece. As a vegetarian parent who is raising two vegetarian kids, I say this: I will not ever "compromise" my ethics and beliefs and tell my children they can eat animals outside of the house. In doing so, I would be setting aside my own ethics to appease others who don't share them. I would also be teaching my children to give into peer pressure and go against what their family is trying to teach them.

Will my kids try to sneak meat when they are older? Only time will tell and I'll cross that bridge when, and if, it comes. But in the meantime, raising them to be compassionate human beings and to respect fellow earthlings and the planet are priorities, and our way of life. It doesn't fall by the wayside when they walk outside the home.

I would also like to say to the author and experts, that instead of vegetarian parents having to compromise so that their kids (and others) won't tease them about what they eat and try to get them to eat meat, why don't they (and other parents) teach their children to have more tolerance and respect for those who eat differently than they do? In essence, you are telling me that your kid is going to bully mine into eating meat and that I should acquiesce. How about teaching your kid to not be a bully to someone that doesn't eat meat?

In our home we teach our children that some people eat meat and others don't, like us. We teach them that we can still love people that eat meat, we just don't like that aspect about them. Would these experts like it if our children pressured theirs to go vegetarian and in doing so taught them about the horrors of the factory farms, the plight meat has on the environment, or how bad it is for their health?

Our way of life, vegetarianism, has many benefits. We teach our children compassion and to respect animals, people and the planet. We are also teaching them to be confident and not give into peer pressure. What are you teaching yours that you have to make such suggestions? Here's a related post I wrote on raising vegetarian children.

Comments

[Denise]

Very well said, Jacqueline! You are an amazing mother and your children are lucky to have such an intelligent mother who cares about their health and happiness. With you around as their role model I don't think you have to worry about your children giving into the pressures. They will be proud of who they are because you are teaching them to be. Thank you for taking a stand for all of us vegetarians. :)

[Jacqueline]

Denise, thank you so much for taking the time to read the post and leave feedback. I appreciate that and your kind words. And it's my pleasure to speak out for us all regarding vegetarianism. Hopefullly I raise kids that end up doing the same. :-)

[Linda Gill]

Jacqueline, your children are well adjusted and much more confident than MANY adults. Saying children should "try" what they are told NOT to try...what's after the meat, trying drugs??? If a person is to be called an expert shouldn't he beable to look at both sides, not just what he/she is against. As you well know, I am not a vegetarian, HOWEVER, my husband and I eat very little meat, we are not experts, but we are Grandparents to your 2 beautiful children and know first hand they are not suffering from your ethics! You go girl, stand up for your beliefs and show the so-called experts what it's all about!

[Jacqueline]

Awe, thank you! :-)

[lneumannca]

Great response!

You know, if, as a newspaper, you're writing an article on vegetarian parents and children, you'd think you might like to - you know - actually talk to some vegetarian parents, and even veg. children! Just sayin'

[Jacqueline]

Thanks for the feedback and I totally agree!