Do you give your vegan child supplements?

Question

I am a vegan, and I am pregnant and raising her vegan but I don't believe in artificial vitamins so would b12 be a neccesary and how often should I give it to her?

Answer 1

My children are 1 and 3 , and are being raised on a vegan diet. We've found a very good source of B-12 is in nutritional yeast. I try to mix in a couple of teaspoons a day into there meals, like mixed into spaghetti sauce, casseroles, or rice. They also drink soymilk that is fortified with B-12.

Answer 2

Infants and young children have different nutritional needs than adults do.  In particular, any deficiencies they have while they're still growing can potentially cause lifelong problems; they need lots of nutrients in order for their skeletons, muscles and nervous systems to grow and function properly.  I'm not saying you can't raise your child vegan, but you'll need to educate yourself pretty thoroughly to make sure they're getting all the nutrients they need.  You might want to ask your doctor if they can recommend any groups to contact for information, and you'll want to be extra-careful to take care of yourself while you're pregnant (and if you're planning to breast-feed, while you do that as well).  Ruling out artificial vitamins and minerals will make your job even harder - you might want to leave yourself the option of bending your rules on that, especially as children are notoriously picky eaters and it can be hard to keep them on a healthy diet even when you don't restrict what they eat.

Congrats, and good luck!

Answer 3

Well I don't have a veg@n child but I have studied this a bit. B12 supplements aren't 100% necessary but you may want to use it just to be careful while she is still a small child. I hear twice a day but follow the instructions given.

Answer 4

According to the US National Institute of Health, "with appropriate food choices, vegan diets can be adequate for children at all ages." The American Dietetic Association also considers well-planned vegan diets "appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy and lactation," but recommends that vegan mothers supplement for iron, vitamin D, and vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 deficiency in lactating vegetarian mothers has been linked to deficiencies and neurological disorders in their children. Some research suggests that the essential omega-3 fatty acid α-linolenic acid and its derivatives should also be supplemented in pregnant and lactating vegan mothers, since they are very low in most vegan diets, and the metabolically related docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is essential to the developing visual system. A maternal vegan diet has also been associated with low birth weight, and a five times lower likelihood of having twins than those who eat animal products.

Several cases of severe infant malnutrition and some fatalities have been associated with a poorly planned vegan diet, and provoked criticism of vegan diets for children. Parents involved in these cases were convicted on charges ranging from assault to felony murder. Addressing criticism of veganism, Dr. Amy Lanou, an expert witness for the prosecution in one of the cases, asserted that the child "was not killed by a vegan diet" but that "the real problem was that he was not given enough food of any sort."

Answer 5

Please be VERY careful with this!  I read an article a couple years ago about a family thinking they were doing the right thing by feeding their children a vegan diet.  This lead to lots of medical problems and 2 children dead from neurological problems relating back to insufficient diet.  Make sure you are highly educated on the proper foods, vitamins, minerals, and calorie intake required for the developing body of a child.