One of the dilemas of raising children is what to put into their mouths to make them healthy strong individual adults. With childhood obesity, juvenille diabetes, and overall obesity on the rise, some parents have turned to the whole vegetarian lifestyle in an attempt to prevent any of the forementioned issues. I find this to be a grave (and possibly fatal) mistake. Many parents (and even adults without kids) turn to vegetarianism as a means to diet and gain a healthier lifestyle, however they are often misguided and make such a change hastily with little or no research and doom themselves to a plethora of unhealthy fatty calorie loaded food guarenteed to pack on the pounds NOT shed them.
Without lean meats, children have the options of dairy (if they have not taken the vegan route which allows NO animal products what-so-ever) eggs, and legumes as their protien sources. Sure you can receive partial proteins from these sources, however they do not provide complete proteins which our bodies need to make essential amino acids needed for brain, eye, bone, and overall body health (children need all of these things to grow, I have a significant example of this for later). If our bodies are craving certain proteins we are more likely to over-eat in an attempt to supplement them by snacking. Bags of potato chips, mounds of cheese, full fat yogurt products, and bottles of soda ARE NOT healthy alternatives to lean meat. Eating tons of these foods certainly will not help with dieting or healthy eating. It is much better for everyone involved to actually have a HEALTHY lifestyle. Watch foods with saturated fat or high percentages of fat, get a balanced meal (with protein, veggies, and some carbs) three times a day with healthy snacks in between, make sure to get at least 30 - 60 minutes of exercise daily, and monitor sweets, sodas, and juice drinks while drinking PLENTY of water. MOST importantly make sure your child is getting the correct foods and calorie amounts correct for him or her as based on the food pyramid and their age. http://www.mypyramid.gov/
Now granted I understand MANY of the vegans and vegetarians in the world follow such practice due to their religion and I have no problem with that. I do however have a serious issue with people who put their childrens lives in danger because of ignorance. Case in point, a baby boy died in May of 2004 after his parents fed him soy milk and apple juice and that was about all.. The baby was 6 weeks old and weighed only 3 1/2 pounds when he died of starvation. You can look it up on google, just type in "baby death vegans". The parents were found guilty of several counts and sentenced to life in prison in 2007. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18574603/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
Just because you do it for yourself, it doesn't mean you should do it for your children.
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