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Vegetarian Kid? Just a phase?

post #1 of 7
1/12/08 at 1:40pm
Thread Starter 
Dylan has decided that veggies are his thing. Which I love about him.. but am wondering if it's a phase.
He'll eat meat every now and again. Mostly in the form of a hamburger, or a chicken nugget or two. He really prefers veggies. My biggest example is christmas eve dinner. My aunt made a PRIMO (it was delish!) prime rib, twice baked potatos, bacon wrapped scallops, and shrimp cocktail. She also had a huge veggie tray. Dylan ate masive amounts of broccoli, cauliflower, grape tomatoes, asparagus, and cucumbers.

I'm just curious about protein. he's only 3 1/2. If it goes on much longer, I'm going to make him an appt with his pediatrician, just to make sure he's healthy otherwise.

I'm just not sure if there's anyone on the board that might be a vegetarian or anything that could give me some advice.. or someone who has a kid that has gone thru this phase.
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post #2 of 7
1/12/08 at 2:08pm
My girls are the same way. They are NOT huge meat eaters. But they do eat meat.
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post #3 of 7
1/12/08 at 5:40pm
The only meat Aaron eats is McDonalds nuggets. At home he just doesn't like any kind. But my ped says he's fine, he's been this way since he was 2-3. Tons of fruit and veggies and he's a happy kid. And he gets his protein from eggs and different beans....
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post #4 of 7
1/12/08 at 8:23pm
Tessa goes through phases... She will go vegetarian for a month or so, and then go back to eating meat for awhile.
When she goes vegetarian I make sure she eats eggs, cheese, yogurt and beans for protien.
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post #5 of 7
1/13/08 at 12:08pm
I made the switch to Vegetarian at 8 years old and I never looked back. My parents were very supportive of my decision and that helped a ton! One of the worst things to do would be to force him to eat meat when he doesn't want to. I think it's awesome that he's eating veggies! Not many kiddos do that.
No need to worry about the protein (or Iron for that matter) as long as he is eating healthy. He will find all the nutrition he needs in other foods. You can always start him on a multi-vitamin if he's not already on one just to make sure he's getting everything he needs. That's good for all children and not just the veggie ones. Both of my kids are vegetarian and the pediatrician has never had a concern about it.
There are also tons of resources online and in the library about raising vegetarian children. By skimming through some of these things you will find the types of foods that provide the most protein and iron.
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post #6 of 7
1/17/08 at 11:07pm
Joey was primarily vegan (no animal products of any kind) until he was about 2 years old. I'm sure he got things once in a while that had dairy or eggs in them (his grandparents weren't as strict about reading food labels as I was), but he's just fine now. Just make sure he gets some protein every day - either in eggs or dairy, or beans (Joey's favorite snack used to be edamame or kidney beans).

Checking the library for resources is a great idea, too - that way if it is just a phase, you haven't invested anything but your time in supporting it.
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post #7 of 7
1/24/08 at 4:55am
I had this concern about Ally because she has never been a big meat eater. Her favorite snacks are apples with peanut butter, tomatoes (in any form), oranges and PB&J. I don['t force the issue because both my mom and Rick's mo are the same way. Occasionally she will eat meat (she loves breakfast sausage or bacon and ham), but if given a choice she will almost always choose fruit and veggies over meat (I'm a salad fanatic myself). Her pediatrician said as long as she is getting protein and taking a vitamin, not to worry about it. I did some research on the net when she was about 3 or so. Lots of beans, eggs and peanut butter get eaten in my house! She just turned 7, weighs 47.5 pounds and is 41 inches tall. On the small side, but very healthy. I noticed too that she has always been a grazer - she doesn't eat 3 full meals a day and never has. She "grazes" all day long (which is healthier) and I've noticed alot of kids like her do the same. That telling ya something, isn' it?

If the pedi isn't worried, then I wouldn't worry.
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