I have already mentioned that I recently completed my first Veganuary, I was joined by my husband who came along for the journey to be supportive but hadn’t expected to enjoy it as much as he did. As adults we have made the decision to stick to a vegan(ish) diet but we haven’t yet decided to fundamentally change our son’s diets. As a result of our new found meat-free diet, our boys have reduced their intake of animal products but we have been reluctant to make a permanent change. There are a few reasons why…………
Before we get into the ethical and philosophical reasons for this there is the basic issue of parental survival. Our eldest son is 9 years old. He knows what he likes and more importantly what he doesn’t. He is very clear that he likes meat and like most 21st century kids he would only eat over-processed crap like Burgers and sausages given half a chance. He likes his fruit and veg but trying to get him to eat pulses….. put it this way, you would think I’d asked him to be a cannibal!!! Honestly, the drama!!! As I type this I realise this sounds like a total excuse but a busy, working mum needs to pick her battles.
It’s not much better with the littlest, he’s 3 but he’s also very determined and well, the boy is a carnivore! He loves ham, everything has to be with ham and this little monster is not so keen on the veg, it’s a daily battle to get him to eat carrots!
Despite the challenges, they both have a pretty healthy, balanced diet so do I really want to up set the apple cart?
That being said, I do feel a responsibility to raise ethical consumers, after all our planet depends on the next generation to live a different lifestyle. We already talk a lot about recycling and avoidance of single-use plastics, not using our car so much and walking where we can etc.
I’m interested to hear from parents who have changed their children’s diets, how did you do it? Was it a battle? Where are you with it now? Comment below if you have pearls of wisdom!
When I was growing up in the 1980s/1990s veganism wasn’t on my radar. I’d never heard of it, I perhaps knew about vegetarianism but, by and large, all our meals contained meat in some form. After all, my parents were brought up in the ‘meat and two veg’ generation, that’s not to say my parents weren’t progressive but in the matter of dinner time, meat featured every time. For the younger generations of today, they are growing up in a different world. I’ve mentioned in a previous post about the constant need to label ourselves and our diets are no different. My children have more choice than I did. They can be omnivores or vegetarian or vegan, they can be pescatarian or flexitarian. They can be any ‘tarian they want!
And whilst choice is often confusing it can be a good thing.
For now, I think my duty as a parent is to educate my children about their choices, in all things including their diets. We have started having conversations about healthier forms of protein or even that there are more options when it come to protein, not just meat. We have a phrase in our house ‘don’t be a won’t try wombat!’, we try to encourage the boys to try new foods, if they don’t like them… that’s fine but they have to try!
I try to educate them by focusing on the positives of alternatives rather than the negatives of their current favourite foods. So, rather than terrifying them about the horrific production process of minced beef (which would give them nightmares for a month!), we react positively to meat substitute products or lentils. Rather than deprive them of the cows milk they love at bedtime, we tried soya, oat and coconut milk and they really enjoyed them all. We’re not removing things from their diet or punishing their carnivorous ways but rather giving them more choice, ‘you can have cows milk but try this soya, that’s yummy too’.
I have found that by expanding their horizons and giving more variety in their diets and more choice they actually make more sustainable choices on their own. Using this approach, I hope that we raise men who are used to a flexible diet, where if they choose to eat animal products, they will do so moderately and will be knowledgable about choosing those products from organic and sustainable sources.
We’re still navigating ourselves and our family through this journey to a healthier, more ethical and sustainable diet so please share your comments/ thoughts. And if you have any vegan kid- friendly recipes, I need them in my life!!!!
Thanks for reading….. x
Vegan(ish) 