The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Eating for Kids - M.s.j., Dana Villamagna [16]
Watch for the P-word to come into play for your tween. Being vegan may or may not be the “in” thing with the popular crowd at your child’s school or homeschool group (although take heart, it’s getting cooler all the time). If it’s not, she may become embarrassed about what she was once so certain of. This is not only unsettling to her, but often it can be a little more than discouraging to you, the parent. When this happens, it’s time to talk.
In Talking to Tweens: Getting It Right Before It Gets Rocky with Your 8- to 12-Year-Old, Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer emphasizes how important friends are to a tween’s blossoming self. Sure, they still rely on us to get most of their security and sense of belonging (even though it may not seem like it sometimes), but they have to be able to try on new ways of being, too, to strengthen their own identity.
“Different friends like to do different things, and these additional activities can be sampled, alongside different cultures, food and ways of living [italics added] as they visit different homes,” writes Brewer.
Depending on the strength of your child’s opinion on the matter, you might want to consider allowing your tween to choose whether she wants to sample her friend’s food choices when at the cool family’s home. Or you may choose to instruct your child in the fine art of declining politely. Maybe even prepare a yummy vegan dessert with your child to take to the friend’s house.
Most importantly, talk to your child and find out her thoughts and feelings. This will help clarify the right course of action to take. And remember, your child isn’t the only one who gets to share her feelings. Express your feelings about what’s going on with her, too, just perhaps in a more moderated, adult way. Don’t judge or dictate; just share feelings. Keep the dialogue flowing, and help your tween check her motivation. Let her know there’s a balance between trying new things and caving to peer pressure because she doesn’t want to be perceived as “different.”
Reasons to Be a Proud Vegan Kid
We’re all different, and there are many reasons to be proud of the vegan difference. Here are some talking points your tween can use to express her pride in being vegan:
I’m kind to animals: I don’t eat them.Every day, more than 30 million birds and mammals and 45 million fish are killed for food—but not for me! 10 billion animals per year are confined on farms.
I’m saving the environment. I save an acre of trees from being deforested every year by being veg. Food production for a veg diet takes 300 gallons of water, while a meat-eater’s diet requires more than 4,000 gallons per day to produce!
I’m not clogging my heart with cholesterol and fat.Twenty-five percent of American kids ages 5 to 10 have elevated cholesterol. 90 percent of kids’ diets contain more fat than the recommended level.
I don’t just run with the herd.I think for myself about what I eat!
Ways Kids Can Show They’re Proud to Be Vegan
To help encourage your child’s pride in her vegan lifestyle, here are some fun ways you can support her:
◆ Buy her a cool veg-message T-shirt or bag from Petacatalog.org.
◆ Offer a great vegan snack she can take to class.
◆ Visit a farm sanctuary, and help your child give a class report on it.
◆ Volunteer together at an animal shelter.
◆ Help her write a letter to the editor of your newspaper or a kids’ magazine about why you’re vegan.
◆ Help her get politically involved by writing letters to politicians about law changes (like Proposition 2 on pig crating in California) or other animal issues.
◆ Let her choose a veg-positive bumper sticker for the family car (or her bike, guitar case, locker, etc.).
Grandma Knows Best
Okay, this is where things can get really messy, if handled poorly. If one or more of your parents or extended family either frowns upon, complains about, makes fun of, or completely disregards