I think my son is going to be a vegitarian?

Question

My son is 1 year old, and he LOVES his fruits and vegitables but he will not eat meat or potatoes. I am worried that hes going to be a vegitarian or that he wont get all the proper nutrition because of the lack of meat. The only type of meat he will eat is sliced deli meat or hot dogs. For snacks he eats finger fruits like blueberries, raspberries or vegies like diced carrots or yams. I dont know how to get him to eat meat, this has been going on ever since I introduced him to meats at like 6 months old.(my pediatritian said that it would be ok to start then because of my sons appetite) any advice or similar situations?

Answer 1

I have four children.  None of them have really eaten meats at 1 year of age, probably largely because of meats being harder to chew.  But the older three all love meat now, and I'm sure the 4th will when she's a bit older (14 months now).  Don't worry about it.  

Answer 2

You can raise him vegetarian and still healthy just so you know.

http://vegetarian.lifetips.com/cat/9166/...

http://www.ehow.com/how_11242_raise-vege...

if you dont want to, you can always try to hide it in foods, try to snak it into him lol.

most babies dont like meat

Answer 3

If the first taste of meat I got was pureed stuff and then unidentified ground body parts posing as hot dogs, I'd probably never want to eat it, either.  

Try putting gravy on his meat to help disguise it a little. Give him a drumstick or a rib or even a piece of sausage (NOT hot dog) like kielbasa and let him play with it. He'll get the idea.

Since we're not actually meant to be meat eaters, he's not missing out on any nutrition with his diet.  Find alternate sources of protein and iron for him, but don't force meat on him now.  He's going through a stage.

Answer 4

Enjoy it while you can.  My son was the same way when he was that young.  Now it takes just about everything to get him to eat right.  All he wants is meat.  He does likes some veggies, but he loves meat.

Answer 5

Most kids are like that they go through the phase of not really being to sure about meats then most find one or two things they like.  For my oldest son the first thing that he ate that really had the protein was peanut-butter at around 16 months old but before that he wouldn't eat anything that was meat and so I had to have him drinking protein drinks.  

Answer 6

You sound exactly like me with my first child! I wouldn't worry about it. My daughter was the exact same way growing up. And now she is a vegetarian. Not a full blown vegan though. She just doesn't eat meat. My pediatrician had told me that some kids do just naturally grow up that way and not to worry. There is plenty of protein in fruits, veggies, and dairy for a child to survive without meat. With my daughter, the pediatrician told us that if we feel that uncomfortable about her not ingesting the same amount of protein as she would eating meat that it would be perfectly ok to give her a kids multivitamin 2 or 3 times a week. Some kids do just naturally grow up vegetarians and really, I wouldn't shy your son away from it. Think of how healthy of a kid he's going to be because he's choosing a fruits and veggies over a greasy burger!

Answer 7

it's very common for young children to not care for meat.  It's mainly the texture.  Most young children may even develop the habit of chewing on meat and sucking all the flavor out of the meat then spit it out.  Just be patient and don't make a big deal of it.  

Answer 8

it may be a sensory (texture ) issue. My older son had some major oral-sensory issues as an older baby/ toddler. One of his first sentances was "no thank you mommy. I don't like meat". He still has some problems to this day and he is almost 13.

You best bet is to keep offering him potatoes and deli meat in different forms. Oscar meyer makes a lunchables Jr that has diced meat, a little cheese, and mini crackers. They come in a 2-pack for about $2.30. they are the perfect size for little guys. they even have one with small chicken fries, graham cracker sticks, and apple dip and one with teddy grahams, cheese, and yogurt dip.

Just a hint...peas are a great source of protein. My son loves the "steamfresh" ones in the idividual packs. He will go get them and cook them himself. Of course he is almost 3, but he has been doing this for a while

Answer 9

My oldest will be 4 in December and the ONLY meat he will eat is chicken nuggets. It's been this way for almost 2 years. I've tried disguising other meats and he always notices. (like putting meatloaf in his mashed potatoes...putting ketchup on his hotdog/kielbasa---he loves ketchup but will not eat the meat).

He can get protein and iron from other foods such as eggs, peanut butter and greens. Sounds like your son likes healthy foods so that's good. He's still young so he may grow out of the stage he's in. I would just keep offering it to him--he may try it.  

Answer 10

I wouldn't worry - since he's only one, his palate will be constantly changing for many years. :)

Answer 11

mommy....you don't need to worry about it!!  It is probably just a faze, but even if he doesn't eat meat, he will be just fine.  

Vegetarians can be very healthy, and there are plenty of ways to get him the nutrients he needs without eat.

Just some of many ideas:

http://www.thelaboroflove.com/articles/r...

http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_f...

http://www.drspock.com/faq/0,1511,1012,0...

Answer 12

WAAAAAY too early in his life for him to be determining his future dietary restrictions.  He's doing what all 1 year olds do.

Don't force him to eat things he doesn't want.  I would however recommend limiting the fruits and going with more vegetables.

Nothing wrong with being a vegetarian.  You can get plenty of "proper" nutrition without meat.

Answer 13

Just keep introducing him other kinds of meat. When I was little I refused to eat beef, chicken, and pork and ate all my vegetables. Finally, by the time I was 4, I realized that meat is delicious and now at 17 I can't get enough...I still eat loads of veggies though.