Brining up your child vegetarian

It's amazing how people who wouldn't dream of telling you how to conduct your marriage or your finances are quite happy to wade in with advice (or instructions) on child rearing. Nothing excites people's minds more than hearing that you are going to raise your child as a vegetarian. I've heard comments on my decision to bring up my son vegetarian, ranging from 'that's child abuse' to 'that's sinful'! At the time of writing he's two years and nine months old and is bursting with health and vitality.

Having said that, you won't be surprised if we tell you that it's perfectly okay to raise a child on a vegetarian diet. There have been many studies undertaken, and they have all proven that vegetarian children end up just as tall, just as intelligent, just as healthy as their meat-eating peers. In fact, just as for adults, a vegetarian diet is much healthier for children, helping to protect them against later heart disease, cancers, etc.

Even though this section is about weaning, the first thing we would say to you is not to be in a hurry about offering solids. After years of putting babies on solids at maybe only weeks old, it is now realised that the best time is 'towards the middle of the first year' (World Health Organisation). La Leche League recommends not worrying about solids until the baby is about six months old.

However, as in so many things, the best expert on when your baby needs solids is your baby himself! You will know that he is ready when he starts showing curiosity in the business of food - maybe trying to grab food off a plate. Another sign is an increase in nursing that lasts longer than two to three days. An increase in nursing that only lasts two to three days would probably be because he is going through a growth spurt and is working to increase your milk supply, or because he is fighting off an illness. He may not even show symptoms of this illness, so you mightn't even know that the battle has been fought!

There will probably come a time at around three months of age when you might think the baby is ready for solids, because he is nursing more often, particularly at night. But what is happening here is that the baby has suddenly realised that the world exists and he develops a fascination for it, and this distracts from nursing during the day, so he has to make up for it at night. Or, say the baby is nursing and someone comes into the room. Before, the baby would have carried on, now he might well turn around in curiosity to see the newcomer and then want to interact with them. Because the feed was interrupted, he will need another feed sooner rather than later. This stage doesn't last too long because experience quickly teaches the baby that the world will still be there after the feed. So don't panic and think you are back forever to frequent feeds. Neither is this a sign of readiness for solids - four months is really the earliest you can expect a baby to want solids.

On the other hand, there are some babies who show no interest in solids until seven or eight months old. If this is the case, don't worry, although it can be difficult as you will get lots of 'advice' from people around you, so be warned. As long as the baby is nursing regularly and has plenty of energy and a good skin tone, he or she is getting enough food.

There are many advantages to later weaning - the baby will be able to sit up by herself, which will make feeding her easier. Moreover, because she has indicated she wants to try this new skill, there is no battle involved. Later weaning also decreases the risk of allergies and reactions.

So what do you feed your baby? The first foods are really only for practice of this new skill, so don't worry about the lost nutrition if the food goes everywhere except into the baby! Half a teaspoonful of fruit or vegetable purée is a good start. I mashed potato with breast-milk as my baby's first taste. As breast-milk is naturally sweet, it's good to use foods that are also naturally sweet, such as carrots and fruit. If you don't find the idea off-putting, try mixing breast-milk with any one, or a mixture of, carrot, potato, apple, pear, and banana. Avocado makes a very good first read more