Nutrition for a 1 Year Old

Hmmmm... although I think the reason is kind of silly, I have to say that my parents and I were vegetarian until I was 2. That said, its really hard to find diverse proteins that my child will eat - and if hers will eat tofu... more power to her. But the poops are still going to be stinky.

My son is 13months old and he eats meat. His poop smells just as bad when he doesn't eat meat as when he does! The more solid foods he eats though, the less runny and messy his poop is!

Hi S.,
I read your post and your profile description through a couple of times. It appears you have some very firm convictions about child-bearing and rearing, some of which are a little off the norm and that is fine. I am also sure that your concerns about your friend and her child are coming from a good place. However, this is a teeny-tiny thing in the grand scheme of things to be worried about. As long as her daughter is getting a dose of iron/protein from an alternate source, she is going to be fine. A good source we have used is multi-grain Cheerios. It has 100% drd of iron. Your friend has the perogative to make whatever decisions she wants to about her child. You are risking hurting your friendship by voicing an opinion about something that is none of your business. Just as you wouldn't want to hear any criticisms of your parenting decisions such as choosing to nurse your child until age 4, extend the same courtesy to your friend. And remember, words like "selfish" and "unrealistic" are very subjective - and hurtful to friends.
Good luck,
Mary-Claire

You probably didnt like it when others commented on your decision to breast feed till 4...right? But couldnt that decision be argued selfish and psychologically damaging? Let your friend be the parent of her own child. This is a choice she GETS to make for HER OWN kids. When one judges others they hold the mirror up to themselves for the world to see.

Poop is still poop and will stink no matter what. I agree your friend sounds like she has some interesting views on the matter but honestly, as long as the child is not being put into danger, it's not any of your business. She's entitled to raise her child however she chooses, just as you are. Like it was your choice to breastfeed your child until he was 4, it's her choice to feed her alternative foods that contain protien as opposed to having to feed her meat. As parents we have many choices and it's our individual right to choose what we want to do. Personally, I would be terribly offended if a friend tried to tell me how to parent.

I'll begin with by saying that, in my opinion, poop is poop and it all smells and is gross! And, I too think it is a little strange or odd for her to make that decision but.....

it's her child and her choice.

To put it into perspective, and I think you'll totally understand this, I read in your 'a little about me' that you breastfed your son til he self-weaned at the age of 4. Many people probably think that was selfish and unrealistic and odd, but you know what? That was your child and your (and his) choice! I'm sure some people gave you a ton of grief over it and it probably annoyed or irritated you to have people trying to tell you what you should or should not do with your child.

Many people make it through life without eating meat and do just fine. Even if it seems strange or selfish to you, please keep in mind that it is her decision how she wants to raise her child, and try to be supportive of her.

As long as she understands nutrition and how to make a complete protein, feeds her child the appropriate combinations of food. The child will be fine and she will have stuck to whatever conviction "I won't feed a canivores diaper" falls into. You seem to have some strong convictions as a parent as well and probably no one could tell you how to raise your child, what to feed it and how to love it. So unless this child falls into a failure to thrive category, I would say nothing.

Be a friend to your friend and not a parent. This is her time to make choices about what to do and not to do with her child. She will appreciate you more as a friend than someone telling her what to do all the time, and just because you did all the things you did, doesn't make you a better mom and her not as good as one. Ask yourself why you are so concerned about this? Do you feel the need to feel right and make yourself feel better in the process? This choice is not hurting anyone, and it is about her and her child, not you. Don't make it about you.

The reason your friend doesn't want to give her child meat sounds kinda ridiculous, but meat is not necessary in a well rounded diet. Protein is found in many many other foods besides animal flesh. Children do not need massive amounts of protein. As long as she gives her child adequate amounts of other protein sources, such as beans and lentils, or tofu and even dairy, the child will be fine. Meat is not necessary to thrive.

My daughter is 15 months old and has eaten very littel meat. Not because we don't want her to eat it, she just won't. I talked to our pediatrican, and she is not concerned. We give her alternate sources of protein.

Secondly, I think you have to be careful about giving too much advise to a fellow friend/mom. She obviously has her reasons, and you also have very strong ideas. My thought is if the friendship is important, let her make her own decisions.

Goo luck!

It isn't really any of your business as to what someone else feeds their child. That being said, my experience is that my child's poop does not vary based on whether she has had meat versus veggies. It seems to vary more child to child. My little one is a big pooper. She poops 3 or 4 times a day and it is just as likely to be smelly from veggies as from fish or meat.

I have been a Vegetarian for 7 years, 2 years ago I started to eat fish occasionally. My husband eats everything, however meat in small amounts (maybe 2/week). Our daughter, now almost 2, eats everything (if she eats it..;)). I have my principles and my believes, but I am not a missionary. Because we eat so little meat/meatproducts at home we mostly buy organic. That kind of makes it o.k. for me to give it to her. My daughter is a bad eater and the tiny pieces of meat she consumes may make up for other missed protein or iron sources. I decided before she started to eat solids that she would make her own decision about this when she was older.
As long as your friends kid's diet is varied and nutritious, I don't see a reason to include meat. I suppose it could be difficult to introduce this at 3-4 years old, but rather because of established preferences.
The reason she gives is silly, because of stinky poop, come on. Maybe she just didn't want to engage in a long discussion about vegetarian toddler care...
Anyway I think its fine as long as the child's diet is varied.

And Concrats on your breastfeeding!

Your friend must have lost her mind. That baby needs meat for the progression of digestion. She can't just act like it doesn't matter. Meat can help bind the poop also. Vegetables are what causes the gas and sloppy diapers.

you could mention how important protein is in a diet and where is he goign to get his protein from , you cold scare her about diabetes and that woith out protien could make it worse and prediabetic in older years due to increased carbs etc. You could tell her your feelign s on this and tell her you see where she is coming from but instead of taking away when a child is working on potty training or biting or what ever it is important to reward teh good behaivor not necessairy start taking away from the child. Also ask her what her pedatrician feels about it and if he suggest she see a nutritionist to make up for the protein and and vitamins which a child need especially the iron at that age. IF she sees a nutrtionist to heelp make up for what he is lacking that might be a good solution.
good luck
J.

Wow! That is some really strange thinking on your friend's part. I am a vegetarian but feed my son any (healthy) foods he wants. His movements did not get any worse when he started eating meat. If anything, they are the yuckiest when he has eaten more fruits and veggies. I hope this was just something dumb that she said without thinking and not her actual approach to her child's nutritional needs. Yes, it probably would be harsh to introduce meat when the child is already 3 or 4 years old. Hope she gets a clue.

Hi S.,
Our little 14 month old likes chicken and turkey and it doesn't make her poop really smell that different. And we use and wash our own cloth diapers so we smell a lot of poop. The more variety the child gets now, hopefully, the less picky they'll be when they get older.

S.

Your friend is a little nutty :) That is probably the weirdest reason I have heard for not feeding your child meat.
My daughter is almost 2 and is a vegetarian. While IMHO meat poop stinks worse...vegetarian poop is no walk in the park either.
Meat is extremely difficult to digest, so her kid may or may not have issues when they introduce it. I rarely eat meat myself, and I know that when I do I feel pretty ill...but some of that might be psychosomatic because if I think about it I think it's gross LOL

For the record, protein and iron needs are extremely easy to meet using a vegetarian diet. There are lots of easy "complete proteins" that are vegetarian. It is a myth that meat is the best protein. There are as complete (and much healthier) vegetarian options...it's not all about tofu or soy meat substitute either ;)

I do think your friends reason not to give meat is selfish. If she plans to provide her with a healthy well balanced diet and is giving her other sources of protein no biggy. However, if she isn't planning on doing this I think it is irresponsible. She does need a good source of protein whether it's legumes and beans or meat. I think that at first her body would react to it, by creating a lot of gas, perhaps constipation or diarrehi. She will have to intergrate it slowly because it is a different protein enzyme so her body, kidney etc will have to get used to it. I don't think anything major would happen to her though.

I think vegetarian poop is probably just as gross as meat-eater poop. It smells too!

I agree with you-it seems to be a selfish & silly reason to not feed a child meat. I would think though that as long as the child is getting all of the nutrition s/he needs, it will be fine. Introducing meat later may be difficult because that's about the age they start getting really picky and introducing new foods can be challenging.

I usually am not so harsh but I think you need to mind your own business. Not having meat will not harm her child in any way.

There is nothing wrong with a vegetarian diet for a child. Non-organic meat is full of chemicals and hormones. We can get plenty of protein through other sources such as tofu, combination of grains and legumes (rice and beans, hummus and pita, etc.), edamame, cheese, etc. This IS your friends decision, although it's nice that you care about her child. Maybe you could suggest your friend do some reading about nutrition for her child. I use the book "Super Baby Foods". Just be sensitive to the fact that most people don't take well to unsolicited advice when it comes to child rearing.

Hi S.,
My son is 15 months now and he will not eat meat, his choice. When I spoke to his pediatrician, she said all the protien he needs right now he gets from his whole milk. We have tried chicken nuggets and turkey dogs, all of which my dogs end up eating because he feed the food to them from his high chair. I think as along as the child is healthy and the pediatrican is okay with her decision it should be okay. Just some thoughts.

I think the only advice I can give is to give no advice at all. The great thing about having kids is that you get to impress your life and your feelings on them because they are yours. Granted, if she was hurting her child in any way you'd step in out of protection of both her and her child. But many people go without meat their whole lives and are completely healthy. When you were raising your child your way, the last thing you probably wanted to hear was what to feed your child, when to wean, when to go to the doctor. Afford her the same benefit of the doubt and trust her, she's your friend.