Becoming a vegetarian is not only good for you being an adult, it can also be very good for your children. If you want your children to have a taste of a vegetarian lifestyle, you can start it early for them. Eating habits are set in early childhood and if you choose a vegetarian diet it will not only be beneficial for your children in future but it will also expose them to a variety of wonderful and nutritious foods.

There are many benefits that your children can get from going for a vegetarian diet. If your children eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes there are more likely to be slimmer and healthier and they're likely to live longer. It is easier for you to build a healthier, nutritious diet from plant foods in comparison to animal products. Plant foods are always the preferred source because they provide you with sufficient energy and protein along with other important nutrients like fibre, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.

Complete nutrition

When you go for a vegetarian diet for your children, you are providing them complete nutrition. Vegetarian diets can provide excellent nutrition for all stages of childhood. Solid foods generally start from the middle of the first year of life. You can start with some soft plant foods like ground, cooked cereals, mashed fruits and well cooked vegetables. Toddlers and young children will enjoy a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, grains and other plant-based products. It can be easier for you is to make such diet interesting for them if you help them in preparation of the food. It will make them more curious about the food they are consuming and they will find delight in learning how to cook. You can also take them to visit farmer's markets and other markets when you buy fruits and vegetables. You can take them to gardens and allow them to work in the gardens so that they know how the fruits and vegetables grow. This will make them more interested in fruits and vegetables which they later consume in their lives.

Adolescents who are raised on vegetarian diet often have an advantage of a healthy weight and a better health. They often do not suffer from problems like acne, allergies and gastrointestinal problems which are often common in children of their age who eat meat.

The children who go for a vegetarian diet they have a more gradual growth than that of non-vegetarians. They may grow a little slowly but they will catch up later. Eating vegetables and not meat does not make them shorter, weaker or stunted. Such slow growth can help them to grow without higher risk of disease later in life.

In many cases it is seen that diets that are rich in animal protein such as meat, eggs and dairy products often reduce the age of puberty. Nature has probably designed the human body to grow more gradually at a faster rate.

The most important reason for going vegetarian may be to ensure that they have a healthy dietary habit because dietary habits are an established at a young stage. People who go for animal products are often lured by more processed and synthetic foods including chicken nuggets, roast beef and French fries. Such choices at an early stage and also at a later stage in life may result in severe health issues such as obesity, cancer, heart problems, diabetes and others.

References

1. Go Veg Starter Kit
2. Vegetarian Diet
3. Eating Vegetarian