Parenting Tips with Melanie Wilson

Melanie Wilson is vegan mom to Kalli MacKenzie. She is the owner and editor of Vegetarian Baby and Child Magazine (www.vegetarianbaby.com), a writer, educator, and researcher. She is currently working on her first book on vegetarian parenting. Her articles have been published on iParenting.com, MomsOnline.com, and will soon appear at VegDining.com. She is also an accredited La Leche League Leader.

Question:

I am dating someone who is not a vegetarian. She eats meat infrequently, but I am trying to figure out the best way to handle raising children in this environment. Do you have any insight to how other couples may deal with upbringing children when one parent is a non-vegetarian?

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Answer:

Raising children.many veg/non-veg couples are perfectly happy until you throw kids into the mix! It's one thing to accept the eating habits of those adults that we love, but it's quite a different thing to even consider bringing children into the world as meat-eaters. As parents we are completely responsible for the physical and moral development of our offspring. So we feel a tremendous burden when considering that our partners might have very different ideas about health and nutrition when it comes to little ones. Keep in mind that many parents have differing ideas about nutrition, though they are not always wrapped up in animal rights issues, etc. Still, the same rules apply. The key to dealing with any difficult issue is open communication. Talking before children are born (preferably before they are even conceived!) is ideal. Parents must come to agreement on such issues as what children will eat, when and if exceptions will be made, how to handle family and friends, etc. They must agree to revisit these issues on a regular basis and to support one another when sharing these decisions with others. Finally, both parents must be willing to compromise, if necessary. If you cannot discuss these topics and come to some sort of agreement before you get married, just think how much more difficult these trials will be to navigate later. Be honest with each other and with yourselves about what is most important to you, and what you can live with.

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