Vegetarian Advice: Teen Wants To Go Veg, Dad Not

Almost teen wants to go vegetarian, Dad won't change his diet

My son is 2 months shy of 13. He recently decided to become a vegetarian.

I know people have different issues on what you can and can't eat. He wants to know what he can eat... Can he eat fish or fowl or are they a no no???

I want to support him in this BUT I am not changing my diet - R. T.

Savvy Vegetarian Advice

Dear R. T.,

The vegetarian nutrition report should help answer your questions. My advice is that your son convert to vegetarian diet gradually, and maybe not go completely vegetarian until he's able to do his own cooking and clean up, and contribute to the food budget. He should aim for a five year vegetarian plan. That would accomplish a few things:

• It wouldn't put him at risk for malnutrition, which is what often happens when young teens who are still growing suddenly go totally vegan.
• It wouldn't put you under a lot of stress about his diet.
• It would give him time to learn about vegetarian nutrition, cooking, social adaptation and so on.
• It would give his body time to adjust to a vegetarian diet. Bodies don't do well with dietary 180's.

I don't blame you for not wanting to change your diet, but if you keep an open mind, you could learn a lot about nutrition in general, and perhaps find your diet improving, which couldn't do any harm - right?

Let me know how it goes - Judith Kingsbury, Savvy Vegetarian

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