Ok I'm putting this here just in case. I hope it doesn't become a big debate but I'm curious.. for those of you that are vegetarians do you or will you make your children follow a vegetarian lifestyle also?, or are they going to be able to choose.

I have been a vegetarian for about 3 yrs and DB is definitely a meat eater but there are tons of recipes that can go veg or non-veg so I just make it both ways, so when we have kids I will probably just continue to do things the same way.

I'm a vegetarian but my kids are meat eaters. So is John. I'm not going to force them to stop nor do I expect it. We have found ways to get them their meat and me to get my food without it so we have had no issues. I either make 2 meals or I make 1 without any meat for dinner. Johnny gets meat at every lunch, I get frozen meat that just has to go in the oven without any prep work(that is pretty much the only way I can cook meat). Breanna does as well. She eats lunch at school during the week and then during the weekend I do the same for her that I do for Johnny. John tends to make his own lunch so he just gets what he wants. So far the baby food that we have given Evan has not had any meat in it but I wouldn't say I'm raising him to be a vegetarian. I was the same way with Johnny. I waited a bit before introducing meat. I focused more on the veggies and fruits. To this day Johnny loves fruits and veggies. I doubt that has anything to do with it since Breanna loves veggies and fruits, too. I can't remember how long I waited to give her meat. Probably not to long. Being my first I was in a hurry for her to get big and do things.

I don't have kids, so I honestly don't know yet. And I haven't been vegetarian long enough to really make an educated decision at this point.

No I wouldnt make my kids vegetarian. In the same respect I would NEVER impose any of my beliefs on my kids, I would encourage education and enable them to make their own decision

As long as they're in my house, my kids will be vegetarian - just because I have no idea what to do with meat and find it (personally) rather disgusting. So, I won't have it in my house. Once they're old enough, if they want to have meat while we're out to restaurants or whatnot, that's their decision. I won't force my lifestyle on them, but I'd hope they'd recognize it as a healthy and feasible choice.

I just can't have it in my home. I'm too OCD and paranoid for that.

I have been veggie for 12 years. DH is meat eater. We've always cooked two main entrees, or made a veggie meal for dinner. My daughter is a meat eater. She will not have the option of being vegetarian until she is 16. I know that you can be completely healthy as a vegetarian, but it's very very easy not to be. Candy and carbs become the food sources. Not a good thing (I know, I went that way at one point). Until she is old enough to conciously make the decision that she doesn't want to eat meat and give me a good reason, she will eat the same as my husband. She needs the nutrition, and however hard we try, there are some things vegetarians are deficient in (unless that are serious health nuts and work way too hard on balancing their diet). My doctor attributes me being 5 inches shorter than they had expected (and having some bone issues) to be turning vegetarian at a young age. I will not allow that to happen to my child. Whether or not that prognosis is accurate, I'm not risking it with her.

But, having said that, she does eat a lot of soy, quorn, boca, etc. She loves the boca sausages and I love that they nuke in a minute! She usually gets a ham sandwich or something soy meat like for lunch because it's easier, and then has proper meat with my DH at dinner.

Now he's on deployment, she will still be getting meat, but I expect she'll have a bit more soy too since it's easier when I'm only cooking for us.

As to having meat in the house. I will debone a shoulder of lamb, stuff a turkey, whatever. I can cook with meat for other people, but I will not eat it myself. My reasoning is that I do not want to sacrifice a life for my meal when there is something else that I can eat. I also know that I couldn't hunt, kill, skin, prep, cook and eat any animal, so therefore I don't think I have the right to eat it when someone else has done the work for me. My DH has done all of those, so I have no problem cooking meat for him, or any other guest in my house. It doesn't offend me seeing someone else eating meat, it's just a personal choice that I don't eat it myself.

I am a vegetarian and so are both of my kiddos. If they want to eat meat at some point that is their decision, just like I made the decision to become a vegetarian. As of right now they don't find meat appealing. They are proud to be vegetarians and are very healthy and right on track with their growth.

Also I don't feel like I'm "making" my kids be vegetarians, they just eat what I eat and it was a completely natural thing just like I'm sure it is for people that eat meat to give their kids meat. It's really not a big deal for us.

I am a vegetarian and so are both of my kiddos. If they want to eat meat at some point that is their decision, just like I made the decision to become a vegetarian. As of right now they don't find meat appealing. They are proud to be vegetarians and are very healthy and right on track with their growth.

Also I don't feel like I'm "making" my kids be vegetarians, they just eat what I eat and it was a completely natural thing just like I'm sure it is for people that eat meat to give their kids meat. It's really not a big deal for us.

Yeah that makes alot of since.

Oh on a side note your girls are adorable!

I don't know if I should post here, since I am not a vegetarian, but I will anyway. My kids would be totally happy if I never made them eat meat. It is the absolute last thing on their plates that they eat. They always eat their fruits and veggies first, then their starch, and then the meat, and usually it is because I make them take a couple of bites. I know the alternative protein sources, so I don't think them being vegetarians would be a bad thing. And if you are vegetarian, and therefore don't have meat in the house, I don't see how it could be harmful to teach your kids to eat that way. There are much worse things you could do, such as feed them cheetos for breakfast.:lol

If you're doing it right, then great! I think my problem growing up was that both of my parents we not veggie so I ended up just eating loads of carbs. My sister is a vegetarian who doesn't like vegetables, except potatoes. It's weird to watch her eat.

I think you can be healthy with your kids, but I know I'm not the healthiest vegetarian (I just don't have time) so I want my daughter to have better nutrition. Plus my DH is not veggie. If he were, I think I might think differently. Each to their own though.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm mostly one, if that makes sense. I rarely ever eat meat, and if I do, I'm pretty much forcing myself to, because I hate meat. When DH was deployed, I was a vegetarian.

That being said, no my children won't be vegetarians. DH isn't one and they'll be mostly eating what he is. That is, unless they want to be. I'll let them decide.

I have been a vegetarian for a little over a year and it was a personal choice only I made. I won't force them to anything they don't want. I will however educate them about being a vegetarian and if they choose that road, so be it, but if not DH is there to cook the meat for them ;)

I am thinking about becoming vegetarian. I need to do a little more research, but I am not a big meat eater as it is. I don't think veggie parents feeding their kids veggie foods at home is any different than meat eaters feeding their kids meat at home. My husband and I drink soy milk, so if we have kids they will drink it too just because that's what we buy and always have bought. With all of the hormones and antibiotics in meat I am surprised more parents aren't going the veggie route until their kids are past all of their developmental mile markers.

Hmm, I just feel the need to add - the trick is that so many people don't know what to eat as vegetarians. And yes, if all you're eating are carbs, it can be very unhealthy. But, properly balanced, it's an extremely healthy lifestyle choice, especially in the long run.

I've been vegetarian for my entire life, so obviously that alters my views on meat (makes me squeemish and whatnot). I am not tall, but I'm probably as tall as I was ever gonna get considering my biological mother is 4'11 and I was a micropreemie (I'm 5'3). I've never had any health problems related to being a vegetarian. And I was one long before there were all those cool soy products out.

But, yeah, I wanted to add that a lot of my vegetarian insistence comes from the fact that my parents had both been vegetarian for about 15 years when they had me, and I've been that way my whole life. More power to those who have switched, and who can accommodate meat-eaters in their house - I'm just not that flexible.

And, if anybody new to being vegetarian needs tips - I do know what I'm talking about. Promise. And my parents were health nuts to boot.

Yeah that makes alot of since.

Oh on a side note your girls are adorable!

Thank you!

My trouble is keeping my meal balanced. I cook a good meal for DH but then forget about me so throw something in at the last minute. I love veggies, but it's not worth cooking a veggie lasagna or something like that for one person. I do eat a lot of soy, but I don't want my DD to fall into the bad habits I had growing up. I have no idea if being veggie actually had anything to do with me being shorter, it might have just been a doctor who wanted to make a point, but I don't want to risk it with my little girl knowing my own eating habits. I'm not big, I'm 134 and 5 ft 4, but I had to fight to keep the weight down. I want to be about 10lbs lighter but can't seem to shift it.

I should also mention that I grew up in England where food is very different from over here. I guess, when I think about it, DD is more veggie that she is meat-eater. She eats more soy and stuff of my plate than from her Dads. I'll be interested to see how this works now he's deployed and I'm not buying more meat for the house (except for her sandwiches).

When DH is deployed, I'm pretty much a vegetarian. It's just too much trouble to cook the meat type stuff he likes for one person (i.e. a pork chop or a steak or whatever). I wouldn't force Lydia to be vegetarian although that's mostly what she is anyway too (she prefers her fruit and veg and starches to any meat that we give her).

There are plenty of good meat substitutes out there anyway, if you wanted to have your kids eat vegetarian, they probably wouldn't even know it with the Chic patties and soy burgers and whatnot. Heck, I fix stuff for DH that he doesn't know is completely vegetarian because I use soy crumbles or whatever.

But if you wanted your kids to be vegetarian and they wanted to eat meat and were old enough to know the difference, I would let them. Vegetarianism is a lifestyle choice and one that children should be free to make on their own, IMO.

I'm not a veggy person but I don't have a problem with it. We like our meat but if someones wants to go that way..big deal. They can get proten different ways through Peanuts or beans.

I just don't see a problem.