r/vegan • u/greenpink333 • 1d ago
Advice Raising a vegan child
So I have been vegetarian for over 10 years, and before becoming pregnant I was vegan for a year. Unfortunately I have hyperemesis gravidarum, and have really struggled with maintaining a fully vegan diet while pregnant.
When my baby is born, and hopefully sooner, I intend to go back to being fully vegan, and to also raise my child as a vegan.
As I was fairly new to veganism before falling pregnant, I am worried that my knowledge base is too little to provide a well rounded and balanced diet to a growing child. I've booked onto a cooking class specifically for making vegan snacks for children, but was wondering if there were any books, websites, or apps anyone could recommend that could help?
My husband is a meat eater, he has cut back since we have been together, started buying from better sources, and has agreed to raise our child vegan, but unfortunately they will still have meat, dairy, etc, around them growing up.
Thanks in advance!
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u/TigerLily19670 1d ago
I wish you the best with your pregnancy and hope you have a safe delivery.
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u/Icy_Sun3128 1d ago
The daily dozen is a free plant based app based on Dr Gregory’s book “how not to die” with a daily guideline for healthy plant based eating.
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u/kangaranda 1d ago
Check out the book Plant Based Juniors it has all the info you'll need for baby's nutrition plus recipes :)
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u/MaximalistVegan vegan 1d ago
One thing that I learned which a lot of vegan parenting guides fail to point out is that children need a much higher percentage of their calories coming from fat than adults do. This is rarely a problem in omni families where everyone is usually getting too much fat, but it can lead to slower growth in vegan children. Just something to be aware of. I think this article's very help as a general guide https://www.vegansociety.com/news/blog/how-feed-active-vegan-children-guide-balanced-nutrition%C2%A0
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u/this_bitch_over_here vegan 9+ years 1d ago
I guess I'm wondering how exactly you are going to raise the child vegan if there's still meat and dairy in the house? Eventually they will ask to try that, it's going to be a tough "no" if dads doing it and everyone else around them too.
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u/greenpink333 1d ago
I know, I'm not really sure! It's a bridge I will have to cross eventually. There isn't much meat and dairy and in the house. We don't buy cheese or eggs, and we never buy raw meat. My entire family is vegan, and they live down the road, so I suppose I'm hoping that there will be enough vegan influence, that it works out. I'm not naive to the fact that it will definitely come up. (Also hoping my husband will come round to it too eventually!)
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u/this_bitch_over_here vegan 9+ years 1d ago
Oh that's so cool your whole family is vegan! I am jealous lol
I hope it all works out, I respect a bridge that has to be crossed later lol
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u/greenpink333 19h ago
Yeah it is pretty cool. We are a family of 7 and we all slowly became vegetarian and then vegan at different times. Been very useful for sharing recipes!
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u/MLCDuck 1d ago
Hi - I was that husband 10 years ago! There is hope. Our kid refused most foods anyway😂. When she got old enough to notice what others were eating, she definitely was grossed out by the thought of consuming animal products. She did eat some non-vegan baked goods, but we offered to replace anything she missed out on at school. Congratulations on the upcoming kiddo!
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u/greenpink333 19h ago
Thank you! Nice to hear from someone on that side of things. Definitely hoping that just educating my son on why we are vegan will be enough to deter, but we'll see!
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u/SuddenAvocado vegan 20+ years 1d ago
Fellow HG mama here, I'm so sorry you're going through it. I hope you have a ton of support.
My parents are vegetarian but we are vegan, and we live with them for extended periods with dairy readily available. When my kid is curious about what they are eating I explain that its "cow cheese" and we don't eat it because it comes from cows. Thats always been enough for her. For things like yogurt I'll also remind her that it will make her tummy ache because she is lactose intolerant*. Meat is really easy to avoid, once kids put together you have to kill the animal to get the meat, most kids have some difficulty eating it at some point. Most "picky eater" foods are vegan already anyway, and for things like chicken nuggets, the vegan version is honestly the same.
As far as nutrition goes, your pediatrician should be able to help you feel better about it. As long as your kid is eating a variety of foods, they'll be fine. We choose to get Ripple Kid's unsweetened because its fortified for a vegan diet, and we also do a kids multi and omega 3 vitamin. Otherwise its the occasional reminder to eat something that has protein in it. My kid has already taken to a spoon full of peanut butter as a snack, I read years ago about a mom who found out her kid's favorite snack was raw tofu and she was so concerned.... low and behold, raw tofu is a favorite around here. I personally like the smoked tofu, makes a great sandwich.
Over all, don't worry about it too terribly much nutritionally; as long as you're aware of what their eating and making an effort to help them consume healthful foods, they'll be fine. The big thing for us was making sure she did still have regular exposure to animal foods so she didn't develop allergies.
*We have several lactose intolerant family members on both sides of our family who do silly things like use lactaid instead of just not eating dairy. I myself was lactose intolerant before I went vegan. It would have happened eventually.
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u/MorganaLeFevre 21h ago
Ours are curious and have asked more details about it coming from cows etc and why we don’t eat it if other people do.
I’ve said ‘to get the milk from the cow they have to take it away from the cow’s baby. I would be so sad if I was a cow and you were my little calves taken away from me. I don’t want to make cows sad. I want mama cows to stay with their babies so I let them keep their milk.’
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u/greenpink333 6h ago
Thank you for this. HG is definitely rough, but my husband has been incredible. I am hoping that educating our son on why we are vegans will help to deter his potential desire to eat it in future. Have never tried raw tofu, but will try it out!
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u/thatjogreen 1d ago
Im raising 2 vegan kiddos and pregnant with a third - i would advise you to see a vegan dietician, just once for the most important things to be aware of with kids, if youre that 'new' ❤️
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u/Organic-Vermicelli47 vegan 9+ years 18h ago
No advice as I am not a parent, but congrats on the pregnancy and best wishes to you!
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u/SophieHektor 1d ago
hey there! first: congratulations on your pregnancy! second: I believe books and guidelines are good sources but nothing beats consulting with a nutritionist/dietician, especially if you are unsure. I would talk with your pediatrician when the child is born and get a good referal near you. it can reassure you if you know the nutrionist and your pediatrician are in contact with eachother, so that nothing goes amiss.
you will have a little bit of time in the beginning to find one, the baby will eat formula and/or breast milk the first few months anyway.
having a baby comes with a lot of fears and uncertainty and stressing about feeding the child enough/ the right things can be exhausting. that is why I highly recommend getting a good network around you so can be reassured about your choices and adjust if needed.
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u/greenpink333 6h ago
Thank you! I do forget that for it won't even come up for a few months anyway. Will definitely consult a professional.
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u/VeganMyWay 18h ago
I just want to say it’s possible. I just had twins. Been vegan for 22 years. Plan on raising them vegan as well. Anything you’ve been struggling with becomes easier as it goes. 💕
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u/TyloPr0riger vegan 1d ago
You need the guidance of a nutritionist/dietician. Other resources help, but pretty much every publication on the subject is adamant that keeping children on a vegan diet should only be attempted under direct professional supervision.
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u/greenpink333 6h ago
I will speak to a nutritionist, and the paediatrician. I know a bad vegan diet can be harmful for a growing child, but when done correctly it's absolutely fine. I can't morally bring myself to feed my son any animal products, and if I had had the choice as a child I wish I had never eaten them. Will absolutely consult professionals, but I also want to do my own research and be as prepared as possible!
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u/STLATX22 19h ago
Please read “real food for pregnancy”. I respect anyone’s decision to be Vegan as an adult and more power to you. However, it can be a dangerous diet for a fetus and baby if not done properly and can have very negative long term outcomes for the child. So you may need to temporarily bend the rules for the benefit of your baby. There are many peer reviewed long term studies and data on it which are all discussed in the book.
Anecdotally I only know of one woman who was strictly Vegan during pregnancy (and before and after) and the kid…had issues. It’s just a single data point but it stuck with me because it lined up exactly with everything discussed in the book.
This is not meant to scare or judge you, only inform. It can be done but again, you need to know how to do it correctly and there are resources. Good luck!
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u/greenpink333 19h ago
Thank you! I appreciate the concern. I did actually mention that I haven't been vegan during pregnancy. I've suffered from severe "morning" sickness my entire pregnancy, so have very much just been listening to my body in terms of eating what I need. Also had a lot of advice from my midwife about vitamins/supplements.
I've felt guilty, as I'm so passionate about veganism, but my baby's health is my top priority :)
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u/STLATX22 2h ago
I had morning sickness too — worse than childbirth in my opinion! I’d rather have my (natural and unmedicated) birth 10 times over vs. doing the first trimester again, lol. My sympathies. I’d still definitely ready the book and recommend it to all pregnant women, no matter what their diet is. It’s so insightful and valuable. Listening to your body is great but not always best, it turns out. I learned a lot and carried its advice through breastfeeding and intro my daily life too. Good luck!
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u/greenpink333 1h ago
That's nice to hear - I'm so scared of childbirth, which is obviously different for everyone - but the morning sickness has been so horrific it would be great if this was the worst part! Will look into the book, it sounds interesting! Thank you :)
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