Great post. Thanks for your perspective on this! I’m always surprised at how many vegan and vegetarians parents I see that are raising their children as omnivores. I guess it is a lot easier but I don’t know if I could do it. Then again, I should probably weigh in on the subject when I actually have kids :)

Great article. I’m only twenty, so I’ve some way to go before I have children (university first, eh!) but I’ve a feeling when the time comes, I’ll be raising children with a non-vegan husband. I would want to raise my children vegan, but what if the future hubby says no? What would you do in that situation?

Thank you for this wonderful post Sayward. I don’t have children – yet – but it’s interesting to read your perspective. It’s a difficult decision to make for me, because my husband is vegetarian and my parents are omnivores (or I should say ‘flexitarians’). This gives me something to think about :)

Great post, although you’re preaching to the choir here (to me, I mean, not your readership in total). I read this over breakfast, and Nina said to tell you “thank you for all the vegan people pictures!” [vegan people = vegan since birth people.] Looking forward to your supplement post!

Great post, Sayward! Several of my friends are raising their children vegan, and every one of them is healthy and thriving. We are lucky here in Cleveland (Ohio) to have a registered dietician specializing in vegan nutrition for all life stages, Anya Todd http://www.anyatodd.com/ (she’ll be speaking at our first veg fest this June 1st). I like that you emphasize “versions” of the vegan diet, as it is entirely possible to eat primarily junk food that is still technically vegan, or on the other end of the spectrum – to be overly restrictive with fats, etc. And oh yeah, thanks for the Joaquin Phoenix link ; )

Thank you for this – first, for your honesty/openness and second for ALL the pictures of those hubba hubba vegans. Yum indeed. My personal choice was to leave a fully vegan diet and re-become vegetarians after our kid was born. I bought into the argument that children’s developing brains need cholesterol and there’s not much more important to me than the brain (my husband and I are academics). Our fully vegetarian/whole foods three-year-old is as you described the vegan kids you know – under the average weight, incredibly bright, rarely sick, and never (NEVER) stops moving and talking at top speed. I also believe that you will go on to explain in further posts how a parent can supplement/work hard at getting the cholesterol etc into a kid but with two demanding careers (and tenure to achieve) we went with the easy route. Local organic “humane” eggs and cheese has been the easiest solution for us to balance nutritional needs and our time constraints. It’s what works for us and I appreciate the implication in your post that you’re not going to judge us for our choice. (But, personally, I still believe that no one ever needs to eat animal flesh for their health; that’s my line).

Just to be clear, I mean weaning in the U.S.-sense (cessation of breastmilk) We have started a variety of solids. :)

that photo of the two of you, teeny waits and mamma, is the sweetest thing ever

Monika, I always read your comments here but didn’t realize your daughter’s name in Nina. So is mine! She is about 10 weeks old.

i like this! i am currently contemplating how to best raise my currently unborn as a vegan. especially with my husband not being a vegan. i think it is important to remember that you are dealing with an individual person…at some point it has to become a decision. i realize that point comes later…i am curious how other parents have dealt with the questions that come with the realization that their diets are different from loved ones. sayward, i bet you are going to cover this in a later post!

I pumped for 15 months and you know what? I wish I had had the courage to stop sooner. I had HORRIBLE post partum depression and often wonder if it was worth pumping that long (I only stopped because we moved halfway across the country), giving my daughter breast milk that was full of stress hormones and such.

I had breastfeeding difficulties too. BTDT, and SO MUCH EMPATHY. I wasn’t vegan yet when my daughter was 1-2 years old, she did not become vegan until she was five, but is a lifelong vegetarian. If we had been, I’d have gone for a commercial organic fortified soymilk, with special attention to making sure she got extra fats, maybe by mixing some coconut milk in there, and making sure to put a little ‘butter’ on her vegetables.

I get the same “real childhood” line of bull from my sister . . . who has a nine-year old daughter in a training bra and 40 pounds overweight. Makes me sad for my niece.

Fantastic post. This is just what I needed to hear. I’m a new vegan and have been concerned about transitioning my children as well. I’m excited for your next post. Thank you. :)

Hi Sayward!
Just want to say thanks so much for the posts on raising mini vegans. where i live, unfortunately, i am kind of alone. it really helps me to connect with other parents who are going through many of the same things, even if you are on the other side of the country. right now my son simon is 2 1/2, and has turned into a veggie hating machine. its horrible. he was so good about eating everything i gave him for so long, and he has had green smoothies every day since he was 6 mos, and now he’s refusing everything! im trying so hard to be creative and hide things, present them differently, give them cool names etc. but he is way too smart for that! it really sucks, but i keep telling myself he’s growing great, is super smart and has lots of energy. and overall, he DOES eat ok! just not what i necessarily would like =) so i am trying to be patient with his PBJ, coconut kefir, fruit & pretzels and hummus for lunch EVERY day! thanks again for sharing your knowledge with us! so glad to have you back and that you are feeling better now!!

Thanks for this post Sayward, it’s a subject that I think about a lot since I have a son close to Waits’ age. I’m not totally vegan anymore (I usually call myself a dairy avoider), in part because I live in France which is so not vegan friendly. But the biggest issue has been with my omnivore partner who was adamantly against our son even being vegetarian, on principle (we’ve had many an argument about this).

We actually rarely have meat at home, but our son is in day care and I just couldn’t face fighting that battle given the French attitude towards vegetarianism – the best I could muster was claiming that he was allergic to dairy. But it frustrates me because I think his diet is far from what I would want it to be, both inside and outside the house, and I’m worried that he’s getting a taste for food I’d rather he not be eating. But I feel a little overwhelmed even about what to feed him at home, and have a hard time managing to make the meals I wish I could given my busy work schedule. Part of it is simply not knowing what to make, so I look forward to hearing about your ideas (and I loved seeing your pictures of what Waits was eating! ) and any suggestions you might have for books on feeding veggie kids.

You need to keep your comments respectful in this community. Consider this your only warning.

I enjoy your posts immensely and must admit I’m past all the “childrearing”. I’m 56 yr. but can relate so much to all the conflict with choices. I have 5 children and they all eat a varied diet but are very conscious of their health, and there is some issues with digestion. We were vegetarian for years, and then became less dedicated when I worked fulltime. My husband and I have been vegans for 5 yrs. and my one belief that makes me know this is the right choice is that we are doing something VERY wrong, meaning our health care system and the belief that following a SAD will supply nutrition. I can’t believe the number of overweight people I see and how many people are unwell. My kids know that when they need some “homecooking”, they can come here for some good food and lots of health info. It’s my job as their mother. A mother’s work is never done! ha.
I wish I had gone vegan years ago and had raised them vegan. To me, there is no other option. Keep the information flowing and know that if just one person makes the change, it’s all worthwhile.

You poor thing! I feel your pain…pumping is the WORST! I went through a lot of suffering over how difficult and miserable breast-feeding was in the beginning. It took almost 4 months before my son figured out how to latch correctly and we had to supplement with Earth’s Best Organic Soy Formula at first (because I could only get out 1/4 ounce at most every time I pumped). I bought into the hype that formula was poison and felt like such a failure that we had to give him formula for a bit; but you know what? It saved his life and he thrived on it!

Yes, “breast is best” if you can do it, but not everyone can do it. Many lactation consultants and judge-y moms who produce tons of milk and have babies who are talented nursers will make you feel like you just didn’t try hard enough, but sometimes you just have to know when to quit for your own sanity. Even though my son ended up breast-feeding for almost 3 years, I would NEVER go through all that stress of pumping 6-8 times a day and taping a nursing device to my nipples ever again. Ugh.

I am sorry breast-feeding was such a big disappointment for you. I wish I could give you a big hug. Make sure you take good care of yourself first and foremost.

If you decide to stop pumping, you have I wish I could give you a big hug

Have been following your website for about 8 weeks now, love reading your articles. My wife put me onto a vegan diet about two months ago after watching a program called ‘Forkoverknife’. Now our family of four are vegans. What a magical healthier energising and calming way to live. I cannot understand why we had not changed sooner. We are so grateful for your informative and concise website, look forward to every tomorrows insites. Warmth n care to you n yours, thank you, Pedder Clan

Frankly, I don’t think I can take another “touting the merits of a ‘well-planned vegan diet’ for children” blog. A vegan diet, especially in 2013 when most grocery stores in North America carry intentionally vegan products with the “V” word written boldly across the packaging, has never been easier. Ugh! These blogs irk me because they schmeck of “exhaustively researched, carefully monitored vegan diets might not kill your baby”, and fail to comment on the fact that most omni kids eat chickens and apples with the skin peeled off and very little else. Clearly, kids are hardier than we give them credit for, how the hells else could children in Third World countries who eat rice every third day survive at all. So, unless you’re a vegan mom feeding your vegan babe tofu and bananas and very little else, this vegan-on-vegan fear-mongering needs to stop. Have confidence in your ability to feed your baby tofu, bananas, quinoa, kale, chickpeas, lentils, walnuts, zuccini, brocolli, squash, yams, hemp seeds, spinach and them growing big and strong and kind and the envy of every omni mom who picked up green apples instead of red.

Thank you for this!! I think the rigidity of some vegans hurts the cause. It’s so stressful to be unsure, but to feel you can’t reassess. I am pregnant right now, and struggling to find things I can stand to eat. I’m having to consider if TOTAL vegan ism will sustain me right now. It HAS to be acceptable, for some of us, to have something between 0 and 100%

How old are your kiddos?

This post reflects how I feel as a parent raising a vegan 10 month old daughter. Living in South FL, I only know one other mother who has raised her children vegan, so this is unchartered territory for us. Our pediatrician is very understanding about our vegan lifestyle, as long as our baby stays healthy and gains enough weight. She recommended feeding her foods that are naturally fatty, like avocados. I’m also looking in to giving her coconut milk (also fatty) instead of whole milk when she turns 1.

To “No”: there is this saying ‘before judging me, make sure YOU are perfect”. I believe you used to be a happy cheese/egg eater too? I was.
YES to Information and Respect
NO to Shaming and Judging