Attention all Parents- Please help me with my vegan project!

[Life's 4 Living]

Hi there.

I'm new to the forum, but having lurked here for quite a while now, I know I feel right at home already. I am 14 years old. I have been a vegetarian for 2 years and I turned vegan about 3 months ago. I'm proud and glad that I made the final transition to veganism. It was the best choice that I ever made. I know others here certinaly relate.

Well, the passion I feel for the morals I have in relation to the veggie lifestyle has lead me to bring veganism to my studies at school. I'm from Ireland, and here in your 3rd year of secondary school you take a formal exam called the Junior Certificate in every subject that you study. I'm in 2nd Year now and I'm completing a project for my Junior Cert in Home Economics. I've chosen to make my project centered around veganism in children. The name of my project is "Live and Let Live- Raising a Vegan Baby".
This is where you come in!

I happen to know from lurking around here, that many parents on this forum are raising healthy, happy vegan children as well as some veggie parents who are raising partly-vegetarian or almost-vegan kids. Part of my project is a questionnaire and it is aimed at parents conscious of their children's diet and nutrition, which I'm certain many parents here are. Now, I wish that I could come across some vegan parents in my locality however that is extremely, and shockingly, scarce.

So I'm asking you...
PLEASE help me in my research for my project and fill out my questionnaire which I'll post below. Your contribution will be truly invaluable and will help me in my quest to open the eyes of those who still think that a child without meat and dairy is an unhealthy and sickly child. We know differently! Let's spread the "good news"!

I'd appreciate if any/all parents, whether vegan or onmi, would fill this out. Thank you so much!!


~~~~~~~~~~
give me a moment and I'll post it below

[Realfood Mary]

Hi there!

I am a vegan mum, and my son is a life long vegan (nine years old now.) I do a lot of vegan campaigning, including organising vegan festivals, food fairs, bringing out magazines and books etc, with my partner Neil who also runs Arcnews, an animal rights magazine.

On June the 18th we are bringing out a book written by two vegan mums, including input from tonnes of vegan kids - maybe you could get your local library to order it? And I am going to be in Ireland in July with my son talking about vegan campaigning. I don't know where you are from, but if you are in the Dublin area you are more than welcome to say hi.

Oh, I am Irish too by the way, though I am currently living in the Midlands in England.

Well done on going vegan. How do your family feel about it?

Here is a link to our publishing house by the way, so you can see the front cover of the vegan kids book.
www.magpiehouse.org.uk

[Life's 4 Living]

Live and Let Live – Raising a Vegan Baby

(1) How many children in your immediate family? _________

(2) What age is/are your child/ren? (Please specify each child’s age)

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________


(3) What are your children’s eating habits? (Please mark)

Omnivorous (ie. Meat, fish, poultry, eggs milk etc. included)
Vegetarian (ie. No meat, fish and poultry included)
Pieces Vegetarian (ie. No meat or poultry, however fish is included)
Semi-vegetarian (ie. One of the following is excluded from the diet: met, fish or poultry)
Vegan (ie. No meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs or any food from an animal source)
Other Please specify
__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________



(4) What eating habits did the you/the mother of your children pursue during your/her pregnancies? (See above for technical terms. Please specify each child and pregnancy and the relevant diet)

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________



(5) Did you/the mother of your children experience any problems/difficulties/discomforts during the pregnancies? (Please specify each pregnancy and the specific problems experienced)

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________


(6) Please specify the reasons for:
a. Your/the mother’s specific diet during pregnancy.

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________


b. The diet of your children.

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________


(7) Has/have your child/children shown signs of happiness/acceptance of their particular diet? (Please tick)

Yes
No


Please elaborate (give reason/s for your answer)

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________



(8) Has/have your child/children shown signs of unhealth since adopting their current eating patterns? (Please mark)

Yes
No

Please describe any health difficulties or problems that your child/children have/has experienced.

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________



(9) Have you or your child/children experienced any social difficulties due to your choice of diet? (Please mark)

Yes
No

Please mark any of the following problems that you or your child/children have/has experienced.

Problems eating out, e.g. birthday parties
Ridicule from other parents
Ridicule from health care practitioners

Ridicule from your child/children’s peers
Non-co-operation from other family members

Objection from child
Difficulties explaining beliefs to well-meaning family/friends

Pressure from advertising/media
Other/s, please specify below
__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________


(10) Do you consider your child/children to be compassionate and/or loving to animals?
Yes
No

(11) Have your child/children asked about the origins of products such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy etc.?
Yes
No

(12) Do you think that it is fair to tell children the truth about the slaughtering of animals for food etc.?
Yes
No

(13) Have you explained the origins of meat/fish/dairy etc. to your child/children?

Yes
No

If yes, what was their reaction?

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________


(14) Overall, are you pleased with the decision that you made for your child/children? Are you satisfied that your preferred diet provides them with a healthy, varied and wholesome diet, which provides for all their dietary requirements?

Yes
No

(15) Do you have any additional comments to make on any of the topics covered in this questionnaire?


__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

[Life's 4 Living]

Hi there!

I am a vegan mum, and my son is a life long vegan (nine years old now.) I do a lot of vegan campaigning, including organising vegan festivals, food fairs, bringing out magazines and books etc, with my partner Neil who also runs Arcnews, an animal rights magazine.

On June the 18th we are bringing out a book written by two vegan mums, including input from tonnes of vegan kids - maybe you could get your local library to order it? And I am going to be in Ireland in July with my son talking about vegan campaigning. I don't know where you are from, but if you are in the Dublin area you are more than welcome to say hi.

Oh, I am Irish too by the way, though I am currently living in the Midlands in England.

Well done on going vegan. How do your family feel about it?

Here is a link to our publishing house by the way, so you can see the front cover of the vegan kids book.
www.magpiehouse.org.uk

You're an inspirtation. I aspire to do what you do! It's wonderful to talk to you.

When is it you're coming to Ireland in July? I'm from Limerick (in the South-West) but I might just travel to Dublin if it's possible at the time.
I'll certainly get my library to order your book, it sounds as though it could be very beneficial to my project as well as to me personally, too.

My parents weren't particularily pleased when I made the transition to veganism, however they know that I'm too strong-minded to let their objection stand in my way and so I'm getting on very successfully none the less.
I aim to raise my children as vegans when I'm older and I've helped 4 of my friends already to make the change to vegetarianism. I eat, sleep and breathe a passion for veganism and animal rights.

Where could I get my hands on your partner's magazine, Arcnews? Would that be available on the net somehow...?

Could you tell me any more about your vegan campaigning and what you and your family get up to? I'd love to learn more from you.

[Tofu Monster]

Here ya go:

(1) How many children in your immediate family?

One

(2) What age is/are your child/ren? (Please specify each child’s age)

Boy, 17

(3) What are your children’s eating habits? (Please mark)

Vegetarian (ie. No meat, fish and poultry included)

(4) What eating habits did the you/the mother of your children pursue during your/her pregnancies? (See above for technical terms. Please specify each child and pregnancy and the relevant diet)

Omni diet (her, not me).

(5) Did you/the mother of your children experience any problems/difficulties/discomforts during the pregnancies? (Please specify each pregnancy and the specific problems experienced)

Dunno, I wasn't there (it's a long story). Don't think so though.

(6) Please specify the reasons for:
a. Your/the mother’s specific diet during pregnancy.

She was born and raised in the USSR (as was) and over there, back then, you ate what you could get your hands on. Most soviet folk didn't have the luxury that some of us have, having so much choice, so much available food, that we can pick and choose what we eat. The thought of not eating meat was pretty much an alien concept.

b. The diet of your children.

As I said, my ex wife is a commited meat eater and insisted that our son ate meat. (Quiet man marries loud woman, who do you think's gonna win the arguments?)

(7) Has/have your child/children shown signs of happiness/acceptance of their particular diet? (Please tick)

Yes

Please elaborate (give reason/s for your answer)

(I know what elaborate means, thanks!) My son chose to follow my example and go veggie when he was 8 ( I wasn't vegan back then). This pissed my ex-wife off. So overall, Result!

(8) Has/have your child/children shown signs of unhealth since adopting their current eating patterns? (Please mark)

No, my son's barely had a day's illness in his life, touch wood.

Please describe any health difficulties or problems that your child/children have/has experienced.

None, touch more wood!

(9) Have you or your child/children experienced any social difficulties due to your choice of diet? (Please mark)

No

Please mark any of the following problems that you or your child/children have/has experienced.

None

(10) Do you consider your child/children to be compassionate and/or loving to animals?

Compassionate yes, but you couldn't really say he's an 'animal lover'. Same as me in that respect.

(11) Have your child/children asked about the origins of products such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy etc.?

I don't remember. Probably.

(12) Do you think that it is fair to tell children the truth about the slaughtering of animals for food etc.?

Yes, of course. Should be the law! If it makes them cry, then good. Maybe they'll stop eating them.


(13) Have you explained the origins of meat/fish/dairy etc. to your child/children?

Probably, I don't remember.


If yes, what was their reaction?

I made a deal with the ex wife. I wouldn't force my veggie views on him, but I wouldn't hide things from him if he asked me to explain why I was veggie. He gave up meat when he was eight. I guess that's when he was mature enough to understand the issue and make his own mind up.

(14) Overall, are you pleased with the decision that you made for your child/children? Are you satisfied that your preferred diet provides them with a healthy, varied and wholesome diet, which provides for all their dietary requirements?

No, I'm not happy that my son ate meat until he was eight. But I'm pleased that he eventually made up his own mind not to eat animals, so I know he's not just doing it because it was imposed on him. I'm also not happy that he chooses not to be vegan now that I am, but it's his choice. I guess he could be a filthy chav who goes to McDonald's everyday, so I'll count my blessings.

(15) Do you have any additional comments to make on any of the topics covered in this questionnaire?

Yeah - good luck with it. Hope the above rubbish helps, somehow

[feline01]

[QUOTE=Life's 4 Living]

Live and Let Live – Raising a Vegan Baby

(1) How many children in your immediate family?

2 (twins)

(2) What age is/are your child/ren? (Please specify each child’s age)

Both are 13 months

(3) What are your children’s eating habits?

Both are vegan

(4) What eating habits did the you/the mother of your children pursue during your/her pregnancies? (See above for technical terms. Please specify each child and pregnancy and the relevant diet)

I was vegan throughout the entire pregnancy

(5) Did you/the mother of your children experience any problems/difficulties/discomforts during the pregnancies? (Please specify each pregnancy and the specific problems experienced)

I developed HELLP Syndrome the day I gave birth to them (completely unrelated to veganism). Nearly died and was severely anemic immediately after having them but did not require extra hospital stay or medication. Kids were a month early but both met all developmental guidelines and came home with me.

(6) Please specify the reasons for:
a. Your/the mother’s specific diet during pregnancy.

I was vegan before I became pregnant (for moral reasons) so was not changing that once I became pregnant. I feel that a vegan pregnancy is the healthiest assuming attention is made to proper nutrition (as it should in any pregnancy). I really believe that if I had not had a vegan pregnancy, I would have developed complications. I worked up until 2 days before having my kids which is rare in a twin pregnancy, especially since I was 36 years old when I had them.

(7) Has/have your child/children shown signs of happiness/acceptance of their particular diet? (Please tick)

They are too young to really specify.

(8) Has/have your child/children shown signs of unhealth since adopting their current eating patterns?

Absolutely not!

(9) Have you or your child/children experienced any social difficulties due to your choice of diet? (Please mark)
No

Please mark any of the following problems that you or your child/children have/has experienced.

Problems eating out, e.g. birthday parties NO
Ridicule from other parents Yes
Ridicule from health care practitioners No

Ridicule from your child/children’s peers No
Non-co-operation from other family members No

Objection from child No
Difficulties explaining beliefs to well-meaning family/friends Yes

Pressure from advertising/media No
(10) Do you consider your child/children to be compassionate and/or loving to animals?

Yes

(11) Have your child/children asked about the origins of products such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy etc.?

No

(12) Do you think that it is fair to tell children the truth about the slaughtering of animals for food etc.?

Yes!

(13) Have you explained the origins of meat/fish/dairy etc. to your child/children?

No but plan on doing so when they are older.
(14) Overall, are you pleased with the decision that you made for your child/children? Are you satisfied that your preferred diet provides them with a healthy, varied and wholesome diet, which provides for all their dietary requirements?

Yes

[Realfood Mary]

[QUOTE=Life's 4 Living]

Live and Let Live – Raising a Vegan Baby

(1) How many children in your immediate family? 1

(2) What age is/are your child/ren? (Please specify each child’s age)

Séamus is nine years, one month old.

(3) What are your children’s eating habits? (Please mark)
Vegan (ie. No meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs or any food from an animal source) Breast fed till he was over three. I come from a family of militant breast feeders, so it was easy! I was on a vegan diet when I was feeding him myself.
What eating habits did the you/the mother of your children pursue during your/her pregnancies? (See above for technical terms. Please specify each child and pregnancy and the relevant diet)

For the first five months I was a lacto vegetarian. In the fifth month my milk came through, and I suddenly realised how filthy it was that I was still stealing milk from other babies mouths. So I went vegan because of my son. (The first of many compassionate lessons he has taught me.)


(5) Did you/the mother of your children experience any problems/difficulties/discomforts during the pregnancies? (Please specify each pregnancy and the specific problems experienced)

I had terrible nausea until I went vegan, and passed out on a regular basis, several times a day. I lost nearly two stone in the first three months from constantly vomiting. The nausea completely vanished when I went vegan, though it was a bit too late for my teeth! However, my son continued to gain weight while I was losing it, so I personally probably lost more than two stone, though it didn't affect his development in the womb. (I can't say I understand why, but there you have it.

I was in labour for 36 hours, and cracked my coccyx, as the midwife wouldn't let me move, since Séamus was so big. (In terms of head size, not weight.) I had an allergic reaction to the pethidine that they put me on, and started hallucinating all sorts of weird things. However the arrival of the Séa brought me to my senses!

(6) Please specify the reasons for:
a. Your/the mother’s specific diet during pregnancy.
Moral. There is no reason why anyone should consume a cows milk, other than her baby. There is no need to eat the flesh of a murdered being, or to cause suffering, just because we like the way the victims taste. I wanted to raise my child a moral human being, and there is no way I can do that if I am immoral myself.

b. The diet of your children.
It is wrong to trick children into eating corpses, when you consider that every toddler cries when they find out that they are eating dead animals. I remember how that felt, and the feeling of betrayal when I realised my family had lied to me about what meat was. I had thought it was food, and it was actually a corpse. I wouldn't put my child through that, and I wanted Séamus to make his own choice, and to have the healthiest diet possible until he was old enough to decide for himself.

(7) Has/have your child/children shown signs of happiness/acceptance of their particular diet? (Please tick)

Yes



Please elaborate (give reason/s for your answer)
Séamus is very proud to have been given the chance to be a life long vegan, and he talks to everyone he meets about veganism. When he was taken into Asda on a school field trip they brought him past the meat section, and he told all the children what the meat was. When they got back to school 13 of the children boycotted the meat at lunch time, and one of his class mates persuaded his mother to talk to me. As a result the mother and her three sons went vegan, and her husband, a couple of years later, went veggie. Séamus also converted an Asian sweetshop in Wolverhampton vegan, because every time he went in for his vegan sweets he would look sorrowfully at the stuff cooked in ghee and say, "poor baby cow." As a result the entire family, three generations of life long veggies went vegan.
Séamus has converted other people vegan, but to be honest, we are beginning to lose count! He was interviewed on the radio recently, and I will post a link to it once it is online.



(8) Has/have your child/children shown signs of unhealth since adopting their current eating patterns? (Please mark)

No

Please describe any health difficulties or problems that your child/children have/has experienced.

Séamus has had less than one cold a year, and the only time he was ever ill as a baby was when someone accidentally fed him pizza with cow's cheese on it, and he started bleeding from the bowel. Other than that he is perfectly healthy, and enjoys a wide range of sports.

(9) Have you or your child/children experienced any social difficulties due to your choice of diet? (Please mark)

Yes


Please mark any of the following problems that you or your child/children have/has experienced.

Problems eating out, e.g. birthday parties Yes
Ridicule from other parents Yes
Ridicule from health care practitioners No

Ridicule from your child/children’s peers Yes
Non-co-operation from other family members Yes

Objection from child Never
Difficulties explaining beliefs to well-meaning family/friends Yes

Pressure from advertising/media No - Séamus designed our "We're hating it" teeshirt, with the McDonald's M, and doesn't believe adverts.
Other/s, please specify below

At his previous school his teacher took a turn against him because he was anti the Iraq war. She mentioned that her son was in the military and he said (in all innocence) "Oh, Mrs Gilpin you must be so ashamed." He also said in assembly that instead of praying for the soldiers in the war people should pray for the people they were bombing. And she was very angry when 13 kids turned up refusing to eat meat, though she brainwashed most of them back again. I was called in by the head teacher and told that Séamus should stop saying things to upset the other children (like "that is a dead hen.") I pointed out that Séamus was telling the truth, and it was not my job to teach him to lie.

(10) Do you consider your child/children to be compassionate and/or loving to animals?
Yes - very much so. Before he could talk properly he would pick worms up of the pavement and put them on soft ground so that they wouldn't get scratched (as he explained to me six months later, when overnight he started talking in sentences!)


(11) Have your child/children asked about the origins of products such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy etc.?
Yes - all the time. He used to help me read the product ingredients when we went shopping as he sat up in the shopping trolley. I think it is one of the reasons he is such a good reader - as well as being very knowlegeable about nutrition.


(12) Do you think that it is fair to tell children the truth about the slaughtering of animals for food etc.?
Yes - it is totally unfair not to. Why make your children eat something that you have to lie about anyway? You can only make a child eat meat by tricking his or her senses. Can you imagine a human child behaving like a natural carnivore and eating raw flesh? We disguise this stuff as sausages and burgers just to get it down the poor children, and only let them know the truth of what they are eating when they are hooked. That is completely unjust, and disrespectful to the child.

(13) Have you explained the origins of meat/fish/dairy etc. to your child/children?

Yes


If yes, what was their reaction?

I used to work at an animal rescue sanctuary, so Séamus knew pigs, chickens, etc. On his third birthday my Dad did a lovely meal for him, all vegan, apart from the roast chicken that he insisted on having. When we got to the table though, the chicken wasn't there. My Dad got quite annoyed, accusing me of hiding the chicken. Then we discovered that Séamus was kneeling by a flower bed in the garden, with his hands together. As soon as my Dad got up to him Séamus grabbed him by the hand, looked up at the sky and said "may the chicken fly in heaven like she couldn't do on earth."

More recently my Dad decided to risk chicken in front of Séamus again. This time he thought it would be okay because it was organic, free range, etc. Séamus' response this time was less cute. He scowled and said, "Yeah, but Grandad, it's still a dead hen."


(14) Overall, are you pleased with the decision that you made for your child/children? Are you satisfied that your preferred diet provides them with a healthy, varied and wholesome diet, which provides for all their dietary requirements?

Yes


(15) Do you have any additional comments to make on any of the topics covered in this questionnaire?


Despite the problems we have encountered with idiot teachers etc, I am delighted that my son is who he is, what he is, and that he has the guts to follow his own path. I would never raise a child a flesh eater, any more than I would force a child to smoke or drink alcohol. What people do as adults is up to them, but as children they deserve our protection, encouragment and love. The best way to show love for your children is to show love all round, and both Séamus and I are better people for our adventures in veganism. I hope to carry on learning from him, and would advise anyone bringing up a child to follow the same path.

[kokopelli]

(1) How many children in your immediate family?

3

(2) What age is/are your child/ren? (Please specify each child’s age)

19, 17 and 12


(3) What are your children’s eating habits? (Please mark)

they're all vegan


(4) What eating habits did the you/the mother of your children pursue during your/her pregnancies? (See above for technical terms. Please specify each child and pregnancy and the relevant diet)

The children's father and I were both vegan for about 4 years prior to my first pregnancy, and we've both been vegan ever since, ie including throughout all 3 pregnancies.


(5) Did you/the mother of your children experience any problems/difficulties/discomforts during the pregnancies? (Please specify each pregnancy and the specific problems experienced)

Slight morning sickness, particularly with my first pregnancy.


(6) Please specify the reasons for:
a. Your/the mother’s specific diet during pregnancy.

We were vegetarian for years, then gave up dairy after researching goat keeping and realising that dairy production is both very wasteful of resources and culling of male animals is integral.

b. The diet of your children.

We're vegan so obviously we brought up our children vegan, because it's the healthiest, most humane and economical diet.

(7) Has/have your child/children shown signs of happiness/acceptance of their particular diet? (Please tick)

Yes

Please elaborate (give reason/s for your answer)

They are committed vegans and determinedly reject animal produce. They are very healthy and attribute this partly to their veganism, and believe that veganism is a superior lifestyle.


(8) Has/have your child/children shown signs of unhealth since adopting their current eating patterns? (Please mark)

They have been exceptionally healthy overall.

Please describe any health difficulties or problems that your child/children have/has experienced.

My eldest son experienced occasional mild asthma while we were living in the London area. But no longer since living rurally.

My daughter had an inner ear infection which led to perforated eardrum, because the doctor did not prescribe antibiotics in time, but she made a full recovery.


(9) Have you or your child/children experienced any social difficulties due to your choice of diet? (Please mark)

Not really.

Please mark any of the following problems that you or your child/children have/has experienced.

Problems eating out, e.g. birthday parties.....slight
Ridicule from other parents......no
Ridicule from health care practitioners....no

Ridicule from your child/children’s peers.....no
Non-co-operation from other family members .....no

Objection from child.....no
Difficulties explaining beliefs to well-meaning family/friends...no
Pressure from advertising/media....no
Other/s, please specify below
My kids are home educated, hence they had no problems associated with school.

They've hardly had any contact with health professionals, as they've hardly ever been ill.

We don't have a TV, so no pressure from adverts.

We were vegan before having kids, so our families already understood veganism.

Most of their friends are from vegetarian families, so there have been few birthday food problems, although I did prevent my middle child from eating birthday cake made with eggs when he was 2, even though he wanted to eat some.

(10) Do you consider your child/children to be compassionate and/or loving to animals?

They are not particularly compassionate or loving to animals. They like to observe wild animals, but they've never had pets. I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that my sons shot 2 rats recently, without remorse.

(11) Have your child/children asked about the origins of products such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy etc.?

Yes


(12) Do you think that it is fair to tell children the truth about the slaughtering of animals for food etc.?

Yes. I think it's irresponsible to hide the truth from children.


(13) Have you explained the origins of meat/fish/dairy etc. to your child/children?

Yes


If yes, what was their reaction?

We live surrounded by dairy and sheep farms, all the towns around here have animal markets and there's a stinking slaughterhouse in the town where we usually shop, so they see the cruelty, squalor and thoughtlessess associated with animal farming on a daily basis. It disgusts them.

(14) Overall, are you pleased with the decision that you made for your child/children? Are you satisfied that your preferred diet provides them with a healthy, varied and wholesome diet, which provides for all their dietary requirements?

Yes


(15) Do you have any additional comments to make on any of the topics covered in this questionnaire?

Like Mary's son Seamus, my children discuss veganism with friends and family and have influenced other kids to become vegetarians.

From my own experience, I'd say that not only is a vegan diet ADEQUATE for growing children, it's actually far SUPERIOR to diets which include animal produce. Not only have my children suffered very little illness, they're also exceptionally fit (in my unbiassed opinion

Anyway, congratulations on becoming vegan yourself, Life's 4 Living, and good luck with your project! I think it's a great idea to publicise veganism in your school in this way, there's so much ignorance surrounding vegan pregnancy and child-rearing.

[Gingerlass]

[QUOTE=Life's 4 Living]

Live and Let Live – Raising a Vegan Baby

(1) How many children in your immediate family? ____1_____

(2) What age is/are your child/ren? (Please specify each child’s age)

______________________21 months___________________________________________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________


(3) What are your children’s eating habits? (Please mark)

Omnivorous (ie. Meat, fish, poultry, eggs milk etc. included)
Vegetarian (ie. No meat, fish and poultry included)
Pieces Vegetarian (ie. No meat or poultry, however fish is included)
Semi-vegetarian (ie. One of the following is excluded from the diet: met, fish or poultry)
Vegan (ie. No meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs or any food from an animal source)VEGAN
Other Please specify
__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________



(4) What eating habits did the you/the mother of your children pursue during your/her pregnancies? (See above for technical terms. Please specify each child and pregnancy and the relevant diet)

Very Healthy Vegan Diet (no caffine, chocolate either -but it did like vegan ice cream


(5) Did you/the mother of your children experience any problems/difficulties/discomforts during the pregnancies? (Please specify each pregnancy and the specific problems experienced)

None at all I had a very comfortable preganancy - despite carrying a large child (He was 10lb 3oz when born!!)


(6) Please specify the reasons for:
a. Your/the mother’s specific diet during pregnancy.

Turned vegan a few months before becoming preganant, felt no need to turn back to Vegitarian diet during preganacy ..in fact was spurred on to remain vegan because i felt so healthy


b. The diet of your children.

Both parents vegan, biog choice to decide to bring son up vegan (because of concerns over getting the balance right) did a lots of research..and believe we are getting it right


(7) Has/have your child/children shown signs of happiness/acceptance of their particular diet? (Please tick)

Yes



Please elaborate (give reason/s for your answer)

He seems happy with what he eats( not to say we don't have the odd problem now and again )



(8) Has/have your child/children shown signs of unhealth since adopting their current eating patterns? (Please mark)


No

Please describe any health difficulties or problems that your child/children have/has experienced.

Son was born with heart defect...since had heart operation....(not diet related)....but has made a full recovery and is doing well



(9) Have you or your child/children experienced any social difficulties due to your choice of diet? (Please mark)

Yes (but nothing that has caused any particular problems)


Please mark any of the following problems that you or your child/children have/has experienced.

Problems eating out, e.g. birthday parties
Ridicule from other parents NO
Ridicule from health care practitioners NO (supportive, as they understand we are careful about diet)

Ridicule from your child/children’s peers NO
Non-co-operation from other family members Minor (but respect wishes)

Objection from child NO
Difficulties explaining beliefs to well-meaning family/friends NO

Pressure from advertising/media NOT YET
Other/s, please specify below
__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________


(10) Do you consider your child/children to be compassionate and/or loving to animals?
Too Young to tell

(11) Have your child/children asked about the origins of products such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy etc.?
Too Young

(12) Do you think that it is fair to tell children the truth about the slaughtering of animals for food etc.?
Yes - eventually


(13) Have you explained the origins of meat/fish/dairy etc. to your child/children?


No

If yes, what was their reaction?

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________

__________________________________________________ _______________


(14) Overall, are you pleased with the decision that you made for your child/children? Are you satisfied that your preferred diet provides them with a healthy, varied and wholesome diet, which provides for all their dietary requirements?

Yes


(15) Do you have any additional comments to make on any of the topics covered in this questionnaire?


As this is our first child we feel it is a real learning process we are going through..and support of other vegan parents will be invaluable in the coming years
QUOTE]

[Life's 4 Living]

Hello, folks!


Just wanted to pop in and say thank you very much to all of you who took the time to complete my questionnaire. I really appreciate it.

My project is doing very well and lots of people are very interested in reading it upon completion. I'm thinking about laminating a copy and putting it on display for all who are interested. I see it as having such great potential for vegan publicity and the interest of my fellow students is truly spectacular and quite empowering for veganism, too. I'm so glad to have the oppurtunity to display some "truth" to those who are just waiting to discover it!

Again, thank you all so much for your help. It wouldn't be the same without your support, encouragement and participation.


Live and let live!

L4L (Thanks, Mary! )

[feline01]

If you need more responses, you could also try www.vegfamily.com/forums . Loads of vegan parents there.

[avocado]

Live and Let Live – Raising a Vegan Baby
Her's my one - good luck

(1) How many children in your immediate family? 1

(2) What age is/are your child/ren?
two and a half

(3) What are your children’s eating habits? (Please mark)

Vegan (ie. No meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs or any food from an animal source)

(4) What eating habits did the you pursue during yourpregnancy?

Vegan (and for twelve years prior to pregnancy)


(5) Did you/the mother of your children experience any problems/difficulties/discomforts during the pregnancies? (Please specify each pregnancy and the specific problems experienced)

I had a very easy pregnancy, and a natural birth, but was building a house and probably overdid it because my baby came five and a half weeks early which was very frightening for me because i had to go to hospital just because he was so early (was planning a home birth) but he was very big for dates (though looked premmie) and had no complications which was unusual for that early, he fed easily etc.

(6) Please specify the reasons for:
a. Your/the mother’s specific diet during pregnancy.

I was vegan during pregnancy for ethical and health reasons as I had been for a long time.

b. The diet of your children.

I am bringing up my child vegan as I believe it to be the best diet, I am still breastfeeding and plan to do so hopefully until he self weans.

(7) Has/have your child/children shown signs of happiness/acceptance of their particular diet? (Please tick)

Yes, but he is too young to question it yet, but he is a good eater and we only eat healthy food also, no sweets etc yet.

(8) Has/have your child/children shown signs of unhealth since adopting their current eating patterns? (Please mark)

No, he has always been a healthy little boy, had a couple of colds.

Please describe any health difficulties or problems that your child/children have/has experienced.

We havent had anything but colds since his birth maybe a couple of times a year, he doesent get as sick as me or the other kids, we once had baby panadol which I regret for a high temperature with teething but nothing else.

(9) Have you or your child/children experienced any social difficulties due to your choice of diet? (Please mark)

Yes

Please mark any of the following problems that you or your child/children have/has experienced.

Problems eating out, e.g. birthday parties YES, but not much yet, just the cake cos people make such a big deal about it - we now take another healthy vegan cake with us!
Ridicule from other parents NO
Ridicule from health care practitioners No

Ridicule from your child/children’s peers NO
Non-co-operation from other family members NO

Objection from child NO
Difficulties explaining beliefs to well-meaning family/friends NO

Pressure from advertising/media
Other/s, please specify below NO, we have no television

(10) Do you consider your child/children to be compassionate and/or loving to animals?

He is a bit little yet to know but he never squashes bugs or anything so i suppose so and he loves talking about animals, we don't have pets.


(11) Have your child/children asked about the origins of products such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy etc.?

No

(12) Do you think that it is fair to tell children the truth about the slaughtering of animals for food etc.?

Not too early, but unlimately yes, but I would go easy on it, hasnt come up yet, wouldn't want to horrify him. do you mean the details?, NO I wouldn't go into detail.

(13) Have you explained the origins of meat/fish/dairy etc. to your child/children?

I have said cows milk is for baby cows, he just parrots it back. He understands different people eat different things, ant-eaters eat ants but we don't eat ants etc, He says we don't eat cheese because I said that once but has no idea what cheese is!


(14) Overall, are you pleased with the decision that you made for your child/children? Are you satisfied that your preferred diet provides them with a healthy, varied and wholesome diet, which provides for all their dietary requirements?

Yes, I have studied nutrition a bit.

(15) Do you have any additional comments to make on any of the topics No
Life's 4 Living is offline Report Bad Post Reply With Quote

[VeganJane]

Live and Let Live – Raising a Vegan Baby

(1) How many children in your immediate family? ____1_____

(2) What age is/are your child/ren? (Please specify each child’s age)

______She is five____________________________________________ _______________


(3) What are your children’s eating habits? (Please mark)

Omnivorous (ie. Meat, fish, poultry, eggs milk etc. included)
Vegetarian (ie. No meat, fish and poultry included)
Pieces Vegetarian (ie. No meat or poultry, however fish is included)
Semi-vegetarian (ie. One of the following is excluded from the diet: met, fish or poultry)
Vegan (ie. No meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs or any food from an animal source)
Other Please specify
__pieces vegetarian (in our house called fishertarian - basically no meat or dairy)____________________________________________ ____ _______________





(4) What eating habits did the you/the mother of your children pursue during your/her pregnancies? (See above for technical terms. Please specify each child and pregnancy and the relevant diet)

__I ate no meat or poultry - I turned vegan in January of this year, but have previously been more of a regular vegetarian (without the fish).____________________________________________ ____ _______________



(5) Did you/the mother of your children experience any problems/difficulties/discomforts during the pregnancies? (Please specify each pregnancy and the specific problems experienced)

_I had lots of difficulties eating and keeping things down. I lost weight during my pg! Fortunately the baby didn't. This was not veggy related.__________________________________________ _______ _______________


(6) Please specify the reasons for:
a. Your/the mother’s specific diet during pregnancy.

_With respect to the pg there was nothing special___________________________________________ ______


b. The diet of your children.

My husband is an omnivor eats absolutely everything without reservation, I do feed him vegan at home, but we eat out a lot. Our daughters diet is now a compromise, between my vegan and his eveything, it is also socially easier for her to follow, peer pressure exists even at 5 years of age and when the others have pizza she wants it and yes there have been issues and also acceptance._______________________________________ ___________ _______________


(7) Has/have your child/children shown signs of happiness/acceptance of their particular diet? (Please tick)

Yes



Please elaborate (give reason/s for your answer)

__My daughter knows it's about the animals and she loves the animals and sometimes she seems quite happy about standing up and being who she is._______________________________________________ _ _______________



(8) Has/have your child/children shown signs of unhealth since adopting their current eating patterns? (Please mark)

Yes


Please describe any health difficulties or problems that your child/children have/has experienced.

__1 particular issue at a birthday party they were making pizza and she wanted the pepperonni, she gets veggy pepperonni at home and couldn't see why she couldn't have it. At 5 years of age explainations sometimes don't cut it._______________________________________________ _ _______________



(9) Have you or your child/children experienced any social difficulties due to your choice of diet? (Please mark)

Yes

Please mark any of the following problems that you or your child/children have/has experienced.

Problems eating out, e.g. birthday parties there were only a couple of birthday parties where this was an issue
Ridicule from other parents - only from one parent - who was a former vegetarian - guess he had mega guilt
Ridicule from health care practitioners - never only praise

Ridicule from your child/children’s peers - no
Non-co-operation from other family members - my sister once had no suitable options for my daughter

Objection from child from time to time
Difficulties explaining beliefs to well-meaning family/friends no

Pressure from advertising/media
Other/s, please specify below
__________________________________________________


(10) Do you consider your child/children to be compassionate and/or loving to animals?
Yes
mostly, sometimes the cat is treated more like a doll, hand lotion was not made for cat fur.

(11) Have your child/children asked about the origins of products such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy etc.?

No, but I have told her

(12) Do you think that it is fair to tell children the truth about the slaughtering of animals for food etc.?
Yes
I think they need to know why in small doses and in easier to handle terms, we are what we are.
(13) Have you explained the origins of meat/fish/dairy etc. to your child/children? yes very simply said, like saying steak is from cows



If yes, what was their reaction?

__She showed that she understood, but there has been nothing graphic, as far as I know she could think of steak as a present that cows buy in stores. Althoug I have read her a couple vegan books . .. meant for children so she should understand._______________________________________ _________ _______________



(14) Overall, are you pleased with the decision that you made for your child/children? Are you satisfied that your preferred diet provides them with a healthy, varied and wholesome diet, which provides for all their dietary requirements?

Yes
I think I'd have trouble being stricter with her diet at this point, when she is older she can make her own choices.

(15) Do you have any additional comments to make on any of the topics covered in this questionnaire?


No