Raising Vegan Children

A vegan does not eat any foods that contain animal products. This means no beef, chicken, fish, pork or veal; no milk, cheese, butter, eggs, sour cream, or cottage cheese. Instead a vegan eats fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and legumes.

Related Topics
Vegetarian Diets
Weight Management

Is a vegan diet healthy for an active, growing child? Absolutely. Children raised on a vegan diet eat more fruits and vegetables than their meat-eating counterparts. They are sick less often, and don't have as many food allergies. Even vegan junk food is healthier than regular junk food, containing fruit juice instead of sugar, and whole wheat flour instead of white flour. Family and friends may worry that your child will be ostracized at school if he brings tofu and sprouts. So send your child to school with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, apple, carrots, and fruit-sweetened cookies and no one will know your child is eating a "special" diet. At birthday parties, find out what the host is serving and drop your child off with the vegan equivalent of those items.

Feeding Vegan Babies
The breast milk of vegan women is refreshingly void of many toxins and pesticides that are found in the breast milk of meat-eating women. This affords a vegan baby an even better chance for short and long term health.

Feeding Vegan Infants
The first foods any child eats are usually mashed fruits, soft veggies, and iron fortified rice cereals. All of these items are vegan so nothing special needs to be said for starting solids. Avoiding cow's milk and eggs are probably good advice for the first year of any child's life anyway. After that, simply give your vegan child samples of food from your own plate and see what she likes.

Feeding Vegan Children
As your child gets older you can incorporate the things most kids enjoy eating. Below are some suggestions for things most vegan children will enjoy and will ensure that he has a well balanced and varied diet:
Spaghetti with tomato sauce
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Chicken-Free nuggets (soy protein nuggets that taste just like breaded chicken)
Baked french fries with ketchup
Burgers, hot dogs and sandwich slices made of tofu and other meat substitutes
Whole wheat bread (3-4 slices each day)
Grilled soy cheese sandwiches
Mashed potatoes
Veggie pizzas with soy cheese
Oatmeal with apples and cinnamon
Pancakes with pure maple syrup
Waffles with fruit
Barley and vegetable soup
Romaine lettuce salad
Vegetables, including green leafy and deep yellow vegetables
Baked potato with broccoli and tofu sour cream (non dairy)
Rice and beans
Vegetable stew
Spinach lasagna
Calcium-fortified orange juice
Calcium-fortified soy milk (3 cups each day).
Iron-fortified cereal with calcium-fortified soy milk
supplements: a vegan multivitamin to provide Vitamin B12 and zinc, and extra iron and calcium
Snacks:

Fruits, cut up into bite sized pieces for children under 4 (4-5 1/2 cup servings with at least 2 servings of citrus fruit or juice each day)
Raisins
Trail mix
Applesauce
Fresh berries and sorbet (all fruit without sugar)
Fruit smoothies
Popcorn
Vegans can't eat white sugar, and most candy is made with it. But there are some vegan chocolate companies that make some good stuff, and a gummy bear substitute that isn't bad made with fruit juice. Vegan cakes, donuts, cookies, and pies are abundant though.

Is a Vegan Diet During Pregnancy Safe?
During pregnancy it is vital to maintain a healthy diet for the safety of the developing fetus. Pregnant vegans have a tremendous advantage since their diet is naturally high in the vitamins and minerals the baby needs. As long as her diet is varied and incorporates a reliable source of B12, a vegan woman can be reasonably sure she is meeting her daily requirements. A visit to a registered dietician who specializes in vegan diets can help ease her mind if she is unsure of her particular diet. Also read Pregnancy, Children, and the Vegan Diet by Dr. Michael Klaper, the bible for pregnant vegans.
Suggested foods
It is important to eat a varied diet during pregnancy to ensure an adequate supply of many vitamins and minerals. Below is a list of some food choices that are healthy and rich in the nutrients a woman needs during pregnancy. These items are good choices even for non-vegan women.

Breakfast:
Whole grain cereal with soy milk
Whole grain pancakes with pure maple syrup
Fruit smoothies
Oatmeal with dried fruit or apples and cinnamon
Whole wheat toast with all fruit preserves
Lunch:
Romaine lettuce salad with chopped vegetables and low fat dressing
Veggie sandwich on whole grain bread with avocado, lettuce, tomato, and onions.
Baked potato with broccoli and tofu sour cream (non dairy)
Falafel sandwich with humus or tahini
Split-pea soup
Dinner:
Whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce
Sweet potatoes
Vegetarian pizza with no cheese
Vegetable stir fry with brown rice
Potato-lentil stew
Vegetable stew
Spinach lasagna
Snacks:
popcorn with nutritional yeast
dried fruits
grapes
fruit juice with sweetened cookies
nuts
trail mix

Handling The Opinions of Others
It isn't always easy being a vegan. Not everyone understands the nature of the diet or how healthy it really is. The best way to deal with people who challenge the safety of a vegan diet is to arm yourself with information. Read Diet For A New America by John Robbins. This book provides wonderful documentation of the ill effects of the standard American diet and describes how healthy a plant based diet is. Also, when dealing with the opinions of family and friends, remember that you don't take medical advice from your insurance broker, so don't take advice about diet from anyone isn't an expert.

Handling Holidays
It's important that a vegan child not feel different just because their diet may not be shared by those around them. During holidays it's wise to find vegan equivalents to favorite holiday treats. For example, a vegan Easter basket can include vegan chocolate eggs and plastic eggs with coins in them. Halloween can be tough, but one idea is to get together with other vegan parents and have a Halloween party. Let the kids dress up in costume and enjoy activities like bobbing for apples. Serve vegan cupcakes and confections in the shapes of monsters, and carve pumpkins too. With a little forethought and creativity, a vegan child can enjoy the same holidays non-vegan children do.

Bottom Line
Raising a vegan child is just as exciting, rewarding, and filled with challenges as raising any child. But providing your child a vegan diet will give him an early start on leading a long and healthy life.