Should Children Have A Vegetarian Diet
June 27th 2008
You will often here parents who are vegetarians ask the question, what effect will a vegetarian diet have on my child.
If you consider that as children grow the body is preparing itself for future life, bones and tissues are been formed, the brain is developing rapidly then it is easy to understand that the nutritional needs of a child will be much greater than the needs of adults.
Parents who choose to bring up their children as vegetarians are actively helping them grow not just physically but also morally. Nutritional research ha shown that a vegetarian diet can provide all the nutrients necessary for the development of a healthy child.
I want to focus in on the very young child, those in the 1 - 5 age bracket. At this point in its life the young child is completely dependant upon others, mainly its parents, for food.
Care must be taken to ensure that the child’s diet as regards choice is as wide as possible.
Just as with non-vegetarians there is a risk that adults will insist that children should eat this or that food. Remember children at this age can be very fussy and if they are determined to refuse a particular food they should not be forced to eat it.
Whether vegetarian or not, it is vital that children have a well balanced diet. This is particularly important during the pre-school years, as this is a time of rapid growth and development. The nutrients to particularly watch are calcium, iron, zinc, protein, vitamin B12 and vitamin D.
An advantage of starting your child off early on a vegetarian diet is that it helps form good eating habits, as likes and dislikes are formed in these early years.
As adults we aim for a diet high in fiber and low in fats but that is not what a child’s body demands Pre-school childrengrow very rapidly, they need lots calories (dietary energy). Diets too high in fiber or very low in fat will not provide them with sufficient concentrated energy or nutrients.
Young children should have frequent meals containing food of relatively high nutrient and energy density, although common sense must be used as children’s appetites will fluctuate on a regular basis.
Keep a ready supply of fruit, home made cake and scones within reach. It is difficult to do but try and avoid shop-bought sweets and salty snacks such as crisps.
If the child is not prone to being overweight then there are other steps you can take to increase the energy density of their food. Add vegetable oil to foods like mashed lentils or beans. Always have some fresh or frozen fruit juice or vegetable juice at hand.
Try to include as wide a variety of foods as possible, bearing in mind that children may be fussy or find some foods too strong in taste. Offer nut and seed pur
Tags: children, diet, fruit, nuts, pulses, vegetables, vegetarian