Starting Children with Vegan
If you’re considering moving to a vegan diet as an adult, you probably want to pass on this good nutrition and improved way of eating to your family as well. In fact, it is your responsibility as a parent to nurture your children and help them develop physically, mentally and spiritually.
The actual age of your child will have a huge impact on how simple the process is. Of course, if you are starting with a very young baby, they are not going to know what they are missing. However, older children and even teenagers can be extremely stubborn and difficult to accepting change. This means you might need to attempt at bribery in order to have them look at vegan as a great opportunity.
How do you teach kids to resist the siren song of Ronald McDonald? There is not a plate of vegetables on the planet that is going to look as good to them as a Happy Meal!
If your child has been raised accustomed to meat and other animal products for years, it is best to start slowly omitting these foods from their normal diet. Making a sudden change that is drastic will almost always find kids rebelling and quite unhappy.
Like any other dietary endeavour, it starts at the grocery store. Begin stocking the refrigerator with healthy snacks like apples and carrots. Exchange good, chewy brown rice for white rice and processed side dishes, which are so high in fat and sodium. Make meat portions smaller and smaller and start incorporating more vegetables and grains in your family dinners.
If you ask for their advice on picking out fruits and vegetables that they enjoy you will find that they are much more receptive to the change. However, if you instead are busy forcing them to accept the new diet you will again be met with large amounts of resistance and a lot of stress. Getting your child excited about the change is something that will really help to smooth the entire process.
You should also look for some specific chores that your child can do. From helping to select some meals for the menu to assisting you with shopping to even doing research for new recipes. If your child feels as if they are involved and have a specific say in the meals that are prepared, they are more likely to be open minded to the new foods that you want them to try. Simply putting dishes on the table that your child has never seen before is not likely to get a great response after a while.
Also, take a few minutes to sit down with the children to explain what you are doing, plus how it can help the animals. Kids are usually very sympathetic about animals, and it is not too early to talk to them about eating in a way that is not cruel to animals. This small amount of information is often all that is needed in order to really get the desired impact from many kids.
A proper emphasis on nutrition will allow your children to eat a Vegan diet while still getting all of the nutrients that are needed. It is very important that you are providing your children with all the nutrients they need to fully protect them from nutritional deficiencies.
