Ask the Editor

My omnivorous husband and I (vegan) were raising our son vegetarian. Now he is 25 months old and is only saying less-than-a-handful of words. My husband is blaming me for our son's delayed speech. I have been a vegan for the past 14 years and know how to balance my green diet. How much truth lies behind those accusations? - Abigail

Dear Abigail,

The short answer is that all children develop at different rates and your child could be well within the range of normal. I've read that boys tend to develop their speech more slowly than girls. And I know plenty of women with kids that age who say the same thing about their children.

If you are concerned that he is not meeting his speech milestones, have him evaluated by a qualified pediatric speech therapist. You may also want to check in with a vegan dietician to make sure his diet is well balanced and that he is getting enough calories, fat, protein, DHA, etc.

If he is meeting all of his other milestones, there's probably little to worry about. If he's very underweight or developmentally delayed in other areas, then you may want to have him evaluated by a health professional. Rest assured that a vegetarian/vegan diet does not inherently cause problems like you are describing. I'm sorry your husband is blaming you and the diet. That doesn't seem fair to me.

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