Vegetarianism is becoming an increasingly widespread diet. An appropriately planned meatless diet can be an alternative to a meat diet. However, a problem may arise when children are vegetarians, as their growth and development require different nutrients, and their dietary needs could stay unmet in case of inappropriate meal planning. The aim of this research was to acquire data on the attitude of vegetarian parents towards their children's diet and the type of their children's diet.
This research is based on the quantitative data collection method. I was interested in the reasons why adults opt for a vegetarian diet, what attitude vegetarian parents have towards their children's diet, whether such parents are aware of the potential lack of nutrients in their children's meatless diet and how they ensure their children have an appropriate diet. The research comprised 120 people who are parents and vegetarians. The survey was prepared in the 1KA software and published on online forums during the period between March 2021 and May 2021. The questions included therein were drafted differently (open- and close-ended), with some of them offering the possibility of justifying the provided response.
Vegetarian parents mostly do not encourage their children to opt for a meatless diet, they mostly consider their children's desire for a meatless diet and most children whose parents are vegetarians are not vegetarians themselves. It is different, though, with those vegetarians who are vegans. These only rarely offer meat and meat products to their children, and they also deem more important that their children are vegan.
The most important reason for being a vegetarian in adults is moral and ethical, as they remove meat from their diet because they know where meat comes from. Not wanting to encourage that, they do not eat meat. They have a positive attitude towards their children's diet, and they do not force vegetarianism upon them. If their children decide to become vegetarians following their example, they accept their children's wish.
Parents are aware that vegetarian children may lack individual nutrients, yet they do not make them consume dietary supplements. They are convinced that nutrients can be consumed by having a diverse diet. Most vegetarian parents were not critical of ensuring a vegetarian diet in preschool and at school, and schools are not obliged to ensure a vegetarian diet if children do not have a medical certificate recommending a certain type of a diet. One of the respondents also believes that schools do not offer a vegetarian diet and that the staff is not familiar with this diet; in some cases, the respondents draw attention to the meat diet being forced upon children or children being mocked by their peers because of their dietary preferences.
For appropriate growth and development, children require all nutrients, which are ensured through an appropriate mixed diet and which may be lacking in case of a poorly planned vegetarian diet. It is important that parents have enough knowledge about food and provide their children with food ensuring their healthy growth and development.
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