Korn
Jun 1st, 2013, 07:03 AM
From time to people log in and ask for info about the healthiness of vegan food for children, ask whether it's OK to feed kids on a vegan diet, and for tips about doing that.
We already have many posts about this topic, including some threads which comments critical questions from others and some extreme, isolated cases where a vegan kid has become sick and someone insist that the child became sick because the child didn't eat animal products. Sigh. So - here are some links for those of you who want to read more about the healthiness of a vegan diet for kids, including stuff written by people who (like myself) have healthy lifelong vegan children, and/or know people who have vegan kids.
I don't necessarily agree in everything which is written in these articles, but here you go:
The Littlest Vegans. Feeding children a vegan diet is growing in popularity. (http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-03-19/entertainment/bs-fo-vegan-family-20130320_1_vegan-diet-vegan-pizza-love-animals) ("The Parker-Rollins kids, growing up in Lutherville, are among a growing number of children whose parents are raising them vegan, without any of the milk or meat conventionally considered part of a growing child's diet...")
http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/2013/04/raising-vegan-children-part-i-lets-talk-honestly-shall-we/
(Includes some pics of lifelong vegans)
I’ve seen so many vegan children, had the pleasure of spending time with so many pregnant vegans and lactating vegans and vegan infants and vegan toddlers and vegan sassy pre-teens. No, veganism does not prevent the sass.So I’ve had a lot of opportunity to compare and contrast all these vegan kiddos to their omnivorous counterparts. Oh yes I did. I’ve analyzed bone structure and I’ve scrutinized height/weight and I’ve examined hair and eyes and skin and smiles and everything else I could think of. I’ve searched for patterns, sought to find some difference between vegan kids and omni kids. Maybe that’s just the scientist coming out in me.
But the best I can come up with is that on average (but not always, by any means), vegan children tend to be a bit leaner than their omnivorous peers. Which obviously makes sense. And maybe – though this is still under review – just maybe vegan kids tend to have a bit more energy.
http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/kids.php ("Many members of The Vegetarian Resource Group are glowing test-imony to the fact that vegan children can be healthy, grow normally, be extremely active, and (we think) smarter than average...")
Real Vegan Children (http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/realveganchildren) ("Mothers of the children below were vegan during pregnancy, and the kids have been vegan since birth...")
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2012nl/sep/children.htm
Raising Vegan Children? Been There, Done That… The Kids Are Fine! (http://www.theveganwoman.com/raising-vegan-children-been-there-done-that-the-kids-are-fine/)
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiets/vegetarian-diets-advantages-for-children
http://ofcoursevegan.com/2013/05/19/vegetarian-diet-is-great-for-children/
http://blog.seattlepi.com/timigustafsonrd/2012/04/22/can-following-a-vegan-diet-be-appropriate-for-children/
http://www.viva.org.uk/guides/vhfk01.html and http://www.viva.org.uk/guides/vhfk02.html ("Veggie Health for Kids: Every nutrient a child needs and how to get it. A guide for parents showing why vegetarian/vegan diets are the healthiest option for children.")
http://www.petakids.com/health.asp ("Vegan Children: Healthy and Happy. Children raised as vegans, who consume no animal products, including meat, eggs, and dairy products, can derive all the nutrients essential for optimum growth from plant-based sources. Children not only don’t need animal products, they’re much better off without them.") Includes some comments about health risks for people who feed their kids on animal based diets).
http://theveganmom.com/2011/01/11/feeding-your-vegan-baby/
http://www.happycow.net/forum/health/view_topic.php?id=2 (Question with answers from another forum)
http://www.eatright.org/kids/article.aspx?id=6442459333
http://www.nourishinteractive.com/healthy-living/free-nutrition-articles/214-keep-your-vegan-vegetarian-child-healthy
http://bostonveg.org/vegan_kids.html (Contains links to sites/articles/books about healthy veg kids.)
DO YOU KNOW ANY CHILDREN/PEOPLE THAT ARE VEGAN FROM BIRTH? (http://www.veganpoet.com/SurveyResults/veganchildren.html)
http://www.debate.org/opinions/is-a-vegan-diet-health-for-children (a survey with comments)
Raising healthy vegan children (Part 1) (http://stemartaen.com/2010/08/vegan-children-part1/) ("As the mother of four healthy vegan children I get asked a lot of questions....")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0r34J-YFuA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAOsJXgURPg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R4XkL_FKxY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRZwMkOcAyg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA080QuL4D8
http://www.petaindia.com/issues/vegetarian/raising-vegan-kids.aspx ("I am a nutrition consultant by profession and have raised three generations of vegan kids. My children have always been healthy and hardly ever missed school because of illness. Not only have my children had a healthy upbringing, but so have my grandchildren..."
Vegetarian Diets for Children: Right from the Start (http://www.thevegetariansite.com/vegchild.htm) (Adapted from Simply Vegan,3rd ed., 1999, pgs. 194-195)
https://www.facebook.com/SuperHealthyVeganChildrenSuperSaniBambiniVegan ("Share your experience, or those of ur friends, and post all the stuff about Vegan kids!")
http://www.pcrm.org/search/?cid=263 (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine: Vegetarian Diets for Children: Right from the Start)
TOP 25 VEGAN & VEGETARIAN MOMS (http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/top-vegan-vegetarian-mom-blogs-2012) - 2012 (veg mom blogs)
http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/is-it-safe-for-kids-to-be-vegan
Is feeding your children a raw vegan diet nuts? (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2298032/Is-feeding-children-raw-vegan-diet-nuts-This-family-says-helped-beat-asthma-acne.html) ("The family claim to have banished their health problems thanks to the diet...")
Vegan: Great For Kids! (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/vegan-kids-diet_b_877680.html)
Feeding the Mini Vegans in your Life (http://www.happycow.net/blog/?p=1417) ("Being a family of four and a mother to two mini vegans, I am often asked, “What do you feed your children?”)
What should you do if your child wants to be a vegetarian who shuns not just meat but dairy and eggs, too? (http://family.lifegoesstrong.com/article/mom-i-want-be-vegan)
And, finally (for now):
Luiz Antonio, Adorable Child, Sums Up Moral Argument For Being Vegetarian As Only A Kid Can (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/luiz-antonio-vegetarian-where-meat-comes-from_n_3366242.html) (A video I found today showing a little kid explaining to his mother why he doesn't want to eat animals). If only all parents would listen to their children when they reject animal products...
We already have many posts about this topic, including some threads which comments critical questions from others and some extreme, isolated cases where a vegan kid has become sick and someone insist that the child became sick because the child didn't eat animal products. Sigh. So - here are some links for those of you who want to read more about the healthiness of a vegan diet for kids, including stuff written by people who (like myself) have healthy lifelong vegan children, and/or know people who have vegan kids.
I don't necessarily agree in everything which is written in these articles, but here you go:
The Littlest Vegans. Feeding children a vegan diet is growing in popularity. (http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-03-19/entertainment/bs-fo-vegan-family-20130320_1_vegan-diet-vegan-pizza-love-animals) ("The Parker-Rollins kids, growing up in Lutherville, are among a growing number of children whose parents are raising them vegan, without any of the milk or meat conventionally considered part of a growing child's diet...")
http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/2013/04/raising-vegan-children-part-i-lets-talk-honestly-shall-we/
(Includes some pics of lifelong vegans)
I’ve seen so many vegan children, had the pleasure of spending time with so many pregnant vegans and lactating vegans and vegan infants and vegan toddlers and vegan sassy pre-teens. No, veganism does not prevent the sass.So I’ve had a lot of opportunity to compare and contrast all these vegan kiddos to their omnivorous counterparts. Oh yes I did. I’ve analyzed bone structure and I’ve scrutinized height/weight and I’ve examined hair and eyes and skin and smiles and everything else I could think of. I’ve searched for patterns, sought to find some difference between vegan kids and omni kids. Maybe that’s just the scientist coming out in me.
But the best I can come up with is that on average (but not always, by any means), vegan children tend to be a bit leaner than their omnivorous peers. Which obviously makes sense. And maybe – though this is still under review – just maybe vegan kids tend to have a bit more energy.
http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/kids.php ("Many members of The Vegetarian Resource Group are glowing test-imony to the fact that vegan children can be healthy, grow normally, be extremely active, and (we think) smarter than average...")
Real Vegan Children (http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/realveganchildren) ("Mothers of the children below were vegan during pregnancy, and the kids have been vegan since birth...")
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2012nl/sep/children.htm
Raising Vegan Children? Been There, Done That… The Kids Are Fine! (http://www.theveganwoman.com/raising-vegan-children-been-there-done-that-the-kids-are-fine/)
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiets/vegetarian-diets-advantages-for-children
http://ofcoursevegan.com/2013/05/19/vegetarian-diet-is-great-for-children/
http://blog.seattlepi.com/timigustafsonrd/2012/04/22/can-following-a-vegan-diet-be-appropriate-for-children/
http://www.viva.org.uk/guides/vhfk01.html and http://www.viva.org.uk/guides/vhfk02.html ("Veggie Health for Kids: Every nutrient a child needs and how to get it. A guide for parents showing why vegetarian/vegan diets are the healthiest option for children.")
http://www.petakids.com/health.asp ("Vegan Children: Healthy and Happy. Children raised as vegans, who consume no animal products, including meat, eggs, and dairy products, can derive all the nutrients essential for optimum growth from plant-based sources. Children not only don’t need animal products, they’re much better off without them.") Includes some comments about health risks for people who feed their kids on animal based diets).
http://theveganmom.com/2011/01/11/feeding-your-vegan-baby/
http://www.happycow.net/forum/health/view_topic.php?id=2 (Question with answers from another forum)
http://www.eatright.org/kids/article.aspx?id=6442459333
http://www.nourishinteractive.com/healthy-living/free-nutrition-articles/214-keep-your-vegan-vegetarian-child-healthy
http://bostonveg.org/vegan_kids.html (Contains links to sites/articles/books about healthy veg kids.)
DO YOU KNOW ANY CHILDREN/PEOPLE THAT ARE VEGAN FROM BIRTH? (http://www.veganpoet.com/SurveyResults/veganchildren.html)
http://www.debate.org/opinions/is-a-vegan-diet-health-for-children (a survey with comments)
Raising healthy vegan children (Part 1) (http://stemartaen.com/2010/08/vegan-children-part1/) ("As the mother of four healthy vegan children I get asked a lot of questions....")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0r34J-YFuA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAOsJXgURPg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R4XkL_FKxY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRZwMkOcAyg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA080QuL4D8
http://www.petaindia.com/issues/vegetarian/raising-vegan-kids.aspx ("I am a nutrition consultant by profession and have raised three generations of vegan kids. My children have always been healthy and hardly ever missed school because of illness. Not only have my children had a healthy upbringing, but so have my grandchildren..."
Vegetarian Diets for Children: Right from the Start (http://www.thevegetariansite.com/vegchild.htm) (Adapted from Simply Vegan,3rd ed., 1999, pgs. 194-195)
https://www.facebook.com/SuperHealthyVeganChildrenSuperSaniBambiniVegan ("Share your experience, or those of ur friends, and post all the stuff about Vegan kids!")
http://www.pcrm.org/search/?cid=263 (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine: Vegetarian Diets for Children: Right from the Start)
TOP 25 VEGAN & VEGETARIAN MOMS (http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/top-vegan-vegetarian-mom-blogs-2012) - 2012 (veg mom blogs)
http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/is-it-safe-for-kids-to-be-vegan
Is feeding your children a raw vegan diet nuts? (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2298032/Is-feeding-children-raw-vegan-diet-nuts-This-family-says-helped-beat-asthma-acne.html) ("The family claim to have banished their health problems thanks to the diet...")
Vegan: Great For Kids! (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/vegan-kids-diet_b_877680.html)
Feeding the Mini Vegans in your Life (http://www.happycow.net/blog/?p=1417) ("Being a family of four and a mother to two mini vegans, I am often asked, “What do you feed your children?”)
What should you do if your child wants to be a vegetarian who shuns not just meat but dairy and eggs, too? (http://family.lifegoesstrong.com/article/mom-i-want-be-vegan)
And, finally (for now):
Luiz Antonio, Adorable Child, Sums Up Moral Argument For Being Vegetarian As Only A Kid Can (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/luiz-antonio-vegetarian-where-meat-comes-from_n_3366242.html) (A video I found today showing a little kid explaining to his mother why he doesn't want to eat animals). If only all parents would listen to their children when they reject animal products...