r/tifu • u/CompetitionExtreme36 • May 29 '24
TIFU by making my child vegetarian. S
I have a 6 year old son. We went to a fair a few months ago and there was a display of livestock that the public could pet.
Me, trying to be jolly, told him that he'd be eating them for dinner someday.
My son was shocked and asked me how was that possible. I told him that meat is made by killing animals and cooking them. He then asked me what all the meats were. I told him that it's chicken, beef, steak, sausages, salami and mutton.
Later that night at home, I noticed him seperating his dinner. He removed all the meat pieces from the rice and only ate the rice. My wife asked him what was wrong and he said he doesn't want to eat animals.
Thankfully, he's fine with milk and eggs. However, he continued refusing to eat any meat. A week passed and we went to the doctor. The doctor said that it's probably just a temporary phase and we should feed him vegetarian alternatives for the time being.
We now buy canned beans, lentils, greek yoghurt, olive oil, whey protein, soy nuggets and plant-based patties/sausages. We also order a cheese pizza for him.
It's been a few months now, and I've bought iron and B12 gummies for him. Even my wife and I are starting to go more vegetarian.
TL;DR: We went to a fair and there was a display where the crowd could pet livestock. I told my son he'd eat those animals soon, and he's a full blown vegetarian now.
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u/Alexis_J_M May 29 '24
If your kid is eating eggs and dairy you probably don't need the B12 supplements -- they are usually only recommended for vegans, not vegetarians.
However, I'd recommend reading up on how to build a balanced diet for vegetarian kids, as their needs will be different than adults.
BTW, your whole family will probably be healthier if you reduce the amount of meat in your diets, for example get a veggie lovers pizza for the whole family to share instead of getting pepperoni for you and "a special cheese pizza" for your kid to make them feel like their choices are an inconvenience to the family.