On the other hand, you might not be a vegetarian yourself, but your child is currently in a vegetarian "phase," where she won't eat meat, but doesn't get the healthy foods to make up for the lack of nutrition.



Whatever the reason, you are curious about whether or not a vegetarian diet is a maintainable, healthy choice for your children. You may have worried that placing your child on a vegetarian diet could potentially stunt her growth.

These concerns may have prevented you from choosing a vegetarian diet for your child up to this point.

These concerns all carry weight. In fact, if a vegetarian diet is poorly planned, it can cause severe long term health issues, most notably for children, who are developing and growing--and who don't have sufficient stores of vitamins.

If you aren't well prepared to put your children on a vegetarian diet, you definitely shouldn't. But, if you have done your due diligence and you are familiar with the nutrients vegetarians commonly lack, then you know that these problems can simply be overcome with some meal planning.

You're also aware that putting your child on a healthy vegetarian diet can dramatically improve her health in both the short and long term. It could also reduce her contact with animal products that have preservatives and additional hormones, both of which have been linked to developmental problems.

If you have not researched vegetarian diets thoroughly, but you are anxious to start your child on one now, please note that you should start by ensuring that you plan meals to boost amounts of certain nutrients (that many vegetarians lack):

1. Protein: Ensure your child is eating enough protein by adding more sources, such as soy beans, wheat, isolated soy protein, and nuts.

2. Calcium: See that your child is getting enough calcium by adding calcium-fortified foods and leafy green vegetables to her diet.

3. Iron: Infuse more iron to your family's diet by increasing servings of pinto beans, soy beans, tofu, and cereals.

4. Zinc: Enhance your child's zinc intake by increasing his servings of almonds, peanut butter, and mushrooms.

If you plan to compensate for these frequent nutritional deficits, you can absolutely place your family on a vegetarian diet without the negative health consequences.

Disregard the mythology on vegetarian diets and focus instead on research and meal-planning.