Sunday, 27 March 2011
-
Not Your Typical Pesky-Eating Kids
Two weeks ago, my cousin Kaeli who is 9 and Kyler who is 7, told me about their favorite foods, which included plenty of fruits and vegetables. They didn't mention any meat though.Most kids I know love their meats, especially their chicken nuggets, cheeseburgers, and hotdogs. They eat meat on a regular basis and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Kaeli and Kyler enjoy their corndogs, cheeseburgers, and meatballs too, except that their “meats” are really filled with vegetables!
This is because they are pescatarians.
People have many different views when it comes to feeding their children. I know people who have kids and they feed their children lots of greasy, processed foods. I think this is extremely ignorant, especially since their child’s heath is literally in their hands. Not to say that a child’s eating habits have to be among the strictest, but keeping them healthy is always top priority.
My Uncle Rafael and Aunt Yesenia decided that they were going to raise their kids as pescatarians before they were even born.
Before Kaeli was born, my aunt ate meat but it wasn't until she got sick from her gall bladder that she decided to become a pescatarian. She started to educate herself on food and the more she read about meat, the more she did not like what she was finding out. My uncle always ate meat but now only eats it occasionally. Since giving up meat almost 10 years ago, my aunt says that she feels much healthier and that she won't be going back to eating it.
Kaeli and Kyler are very fortunate that their mom cooks them home-cooked meals everyday. My aunt also makes sure that they get their protein elsewhere such as from nuts and soy products.
Besides eating healthy, my aunt makes sure that the kids stay active, Kaeli is in gymnastics and Kyler plays baseball and soccer. For a 9 and 7 year old, my cousins are in amazing shape. They both have more muscles on their arms then I do (they make push ups and pull ups look easy) and Kyler even has a little six pack!
Maybe when the kids get older they will want to try meat (besides fish) or maybe they will stay pescatarians. In the meantime, I think my aunt and uncle raising the kids as pescatarians is amazing and is something I would like to look into for when I have kids in the future.
What do you think of raising kids as pescatarians or vegetarians? Would you raise your kids like this or do you know anyone who does?
RecommendRelated Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to ireallylikefood's IReallyLikeFood Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in ireallylikefood's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
About the Author
-
- From: Lindsey
- Name: Lindsey
- About Me: I recently graduated Baruch College with a major in journalism. I love cheese and chocolate...together =) I have two boxers and I hate feet. I am also very random. Oh and check out my blog =) http://himandher-again.blogspot.com
Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 0 28 Views: 0 101715 Comments: 0 663 View all posts by Lindsey
Comments (18)
"Would you raise your kids like this or do you know anyone who does? "
probably not. much in the same way i don't plan to raise my kids to follow any particular religion (regardless of what one i adhere to at the time), i think kids should be allowed to grow up and make those decisions for themselves.
and sorry.... but a kid having a six pack is creepy. turning kids into miniature adults went out of style a couple of centuries ago.
@too_pretty_to_die@xanga - It's sad, but I don't think the whole "turning kids into minaiture adults" has gone out of style yet, just look at all those child beauty queens. It should really stop, though. Children should be allowed to be children!
I'd raise my children on the same foods I'd eat. If I were vegetarian or pescatarian (or whatever type of diet I choose), then that's how my children will eat until they are old enough to obtain and prepare their food to feed themselves.
I think it's great that they are eating healthy. And that your aunt did her research and continues to get them their protein in a different form. I wouldn't necessarily raise any future kids of mine like that, but if I decided to become a pescaterian at some point I would.
My sister's first daughter was sort of raised vegetarian. When my sister was pregnant she didn't eat much meat. When my first niece was able to eat table food she wouldn't eat meat either. To this day she still doesn't. She says she doesn't like the taste of it. I think it's interesting though.
i was raised vegetarian. love it.
@PrincessPatriotII@xanga - Well, most people still don't get it.
Very cool of their parents! Hopefully they don't eat sea food everyday though - could lead to, too much mercury in the body.
My kids will deffently be vegetarian. My boyfriend is vegetarian and i'm vegan.
I'm kind of bothered by your comment, "they get their protein..." you mean complete protein? In that case, it's a myth. What you REALLY need/mean is amino acids. amino acids are the building blocks. Too much protein turns into fat.
I eat all natural/ all organic and buy my meat from a farm a few hours away that is all free range/ small no harm to animals ect. I plan on raising my children with this same diet I eat.
When my niece and nephews come to visit, they know the rules that they must at the VERY least try the food I am making.
My sister feeds them nothing but processed food so I like to open their eyes and taste buds to new things.
um, kids used to generally be muscular. Who said anything about turning them into little adults? -they're just healthy!
This sounds good.. I'm not sure how exactly I'd plan my (or my kid's) diet, but I do plan to be intentional about it... real food.
i've just come across a story of some kids (children of a food blogger) who have eaten escargot and sardines among some other very, er, interesting food that i wouldn't have the guts to eat at 18 haha. it's cool that kids will try so much if you bring them up to be open.
but anyway, i'm pescatarian as well. i don't rely on fish, but rather give myself the option of eating fish if i would like to. i don't really plan on raising my kids that way, but at the same time i'm not going to go out of my way to have them eat meat. if we're out eating and they want to try something, then go for it. i think it would be sad to limit someone who is growing every day to such a strict unnessescary diet. how would they learn to be adventurous & open to trying lots of different things? plus, i don't want to push my beliefs on them anymore than i would a friend.
Mmm, fish.
My daughter doesn't really like meat. She will eat chicken nuggets and this "butter" chicken that I make, but that's the only meat she'll really eat. I'm fine with that because my husband and I don't really eat other meat. I love fish and my daughter really likes Tuna, so being a Pescatarian wouldn't be such a big deal for us. In fact, I think it's a great diet.I wouldn't force my beliefs on my kids. If they wanted to eat meat, I'd let them, but I'd just make sure it was healthy. I don't think it's fair to bring your children up on a completely meat-free diet. Lots of people who are vegetarian from birth struggle to ever eat meat without getting sick, and I don't think that's fair on the child. They should have the freedom to eat meat when they older without having to worry about getting sick because their stomachs and body aren't used to it.
I think it works well for some people but you still need to be careful that you child is getting the protein and nutrients that they need. A child can have a healthy diet with or without meat. We do not eat a lot of meat in our house but my toddler gobbles it up when it is served. His favorite foods at the moment are peas and any kind of bean.
Hilarious how stupid the girl who compared feeding your children in a way you think is healthier is similar to putting them into beauty pageants... I love these articles but always end up annoyed with the people who answer them with ignorance.
Shocker: Kids aren't naturally predisposed to eating processed foods *gasp*. I actually read an article on this once, which found that large percentages of kids like (among other foods), broccoli, brussel sprouts, and fish. I'm not surprised.
Kids pick up on societal expectations. There's also an interesting lesson to be had in scarcity...I spent my first 6 years in Russia in the late 80's/early 90's. There was food, but not an abundance or a variety of it; sometimes there were eggs, sometimes there was flour. My parents recall 2-kilo blocks of frozen seaweed. Fresh fruits and veggies were incredibly scarce and/or expensive in winter. I remember having the best time EVER going to my grandma's, who had a giant garden, in the summer, and being able to eat all the peas, strawberries, tomatoes, and cucumbers I wanted.
Kids don't have to hate veggies, or fish, or meat, or anything; but you can't love what you've never had...or what was forced down your throat. Leaving the options open seems to be the best method here.
I think you should let your child pick what foods they want to eat. My parents are not picky eaters by any means, my mom has worked at a million restaurants so her and my dad will eat just about anything. But for whatever reason growing up I refused to eat meat, and I don't know where I learned what one was, but I started calling myself vegetarian. Now, I eat some meat, not very often though. My parents tried to make me "normal", but it did not work. Until this day I still have never had a hamburger/cheeseburger or chicken.
My daughter will pretty much only eat chicken and I am the same way. She doesnt like processed sugary snacks. She eats fruits and veggies all day long. i make all of our meals at home and from scratch so we eat really healthy. Giving youur child hot dogs.. and processed chicken nuggets.. is .. well, gross. I cant even buy those kinds of thinngs at the store. Or more so I cant get myself to buy those things at the store. I dont see any other way of feeding a child to be good other than fruits, veggies, protein, wheat, carbs, and a little bit of sugar. I want my children to be healthy and have good eating habits as well as exercise... Not eat cheeseburgers and sit on a couch all day.
Children should be able to make their own choices on what food groups they allow in their diet. Parents really need to stop being helicopters. That was a personal choice your aunt made, and having her children banned from meat is ridiculous.
My current boyfriend grew up banned from meat. He hated it, said it was embarrasing when he had to go home from friends house's because he couldn't eat what they were having for dinner. And when he got to high school he began eating meat. He LOVES meat, he eats at almost every meal, and I've never seen him touch a salad. He says it's about time he's enjoyed himself after being deprived and restricted for years. I think his Dad suppressing what he couldn't eat just made Riley want to pig out on meat even more and hate vegetarian food.
Also Riley is very healthy, other than being diagnoised with type 1 diabetes (which he got before he started eating meat)