Vegetarianism in childhood

[CraftyLittleLady]

For parents who are vegetarian or vegan, do your children have the same diets as you do? I have friends who are not vegetarians, but ironically, one of their sons is.  From toddler age, he just do not like the taste of meat.  Up to now that he's 10 years old, he just continue with his vegetarian diet.  No matter how his parents lure him to eat steaks and other meat dishes, he just do not like them.

[Bastelmutti]

The vegetarians I know have veggie kids. I am in the opposite situation, like you mentioned. My DD is a vegetarian and the rest of us are omnivores. I usually make either veggie food (sometimes with a meat option on the side) or a meat dish with a veggie option on the side. My other DD doesn't eat cooked vegetables or stuff with sauces, so I'm always leaving something plain anyway.

[Trekky]

I was similar to this kid, I never really liked the taste or texture. Would occasionally eat chicken or turkey, but no red meat.  And I wouldn't eat fish that looked like fish!  (so I would only eat fish fingers or fish cakes).  By the time I got 11 I was really interested in animals, so officially became vegetarian (all my family eat meat).  This actually made meals times easier as I wasn't trying to be forced food that I didn't like.

[theintermission]

I became a vegetarian when I was about 10 years old.  No one in my family is vegetarian and at the time, I didn't have any friends who were either.  Like the boy you mentioned, I just didn't like the taste of meat.

It was hard for my mom to make foods for me at first  (I had cereal for dinner a lot) but it got a lot easier.  Now it's just natural for my family to leave a little bit of sauce or whatever without meat for me.

[TurtlesMama]

My parents were meat eaters and I was vegetarian. It was pretty tough since my mother was not down for buying or cooking veggie friendly things. My husband recently went vegetarian, so we are all vegetarians now.

[dharma_rebel]

I'm vegetarian, but my daughter is not. Her dad and I are not together, and he eats meat, so she eats it there. She will also eat it with my other family members. I will often make her a piece of chicken to have with dinner, and I am guilty of buying her the occasional Happy Meal.

[Belladune]

My son is 5 and really doesn't like meat either.  I offer it, but he mostly lives off veggies and bread and cereal.  he will eat eggs, and the occasional meat, but i mostly have to sneak protein in the bread he eats.

[CraftyLittleLady]

Does anyone have an explanation to this?  Why does a child become vegetarians without a cause?  I mean, they didn't know anything about animal rights yet, as adult vegetarians do.  Is it just simply a difference in taste buds? Maybe.

[lapoli]

Both my husband and I are vegetarians (and I'm mostly vegan) but our son will be raised eating meat since we have access to locally raised animals who have lived healthy, ethical lives.

[Belladune]

Does anyone have an explanation to this?  Why does a child become vegetarians without a cause?  I mean, they didn't know anything about animal rights yet, as adult vegetarians do.  Is it just simply a difference in taste buds? Maybe.

so far as I know, there is no explanation for it.  all I know is it is quite common.