A Healthy Plan for Your Vegetarian Toddler

by Ashley King

A lot of people believe that putting a toddler on a vegetarian diet isn’t healthy. But it can be perfectly safe as long as your child is getting all the proper nutrients.

Some of the advantages of a well balanced lifetime of vegetarianism include lower rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and cardiac problems. If you raise your toddler on this type of diet, she won’t be inclined to dislike them later on.

The number one concern with your toddler’s nutrition on a vegetarian diet is to ensure that your child gets sufficient calories and nutrients. Your toddler needs enough calories to ensure that she has enough energy to grow properly and put in a hard day’s play. This needs to take her not only through the important toddler stage but right through the more challenging adolescent years.

It may be somewhat of a challenge to develop a well-rounded vegetarian toddler menu that will give him enough iron and protein. Some toddlers are already finicky at this stage and have such small appetites that it can be hard to get them to down enough vegetables or beans to receive all of their nutrients. Therefore, if you have a vegetarian toddler, make sure you serve nutrient-dense food. That is, the smaller the foods that can be packed with nutrients, the better.

Soybeans and tofu are an excellent source of protein for grownups and children over four. For toddlers, however, they shouldn’t be used as the main source of protein. For your littlest ones, complement the tofu or soybeans that you serve with soymilk that has been fortified with vitamins and minerals. In addition to providing some protein, it will also improve your toddler’s diet by providing calcium, and vitamins A and D, which can frequently be hard to get in a vegan diet.

Iron can be found in many vegetarian foods. Kidney beans, lima beans, green beans, and spinach are all first-rate sources of iron. Unfortunately, unlike iron originating from animal products, the iron in vegetables can be tough for your body to process. But serving food high in vitamin C along with those beans or spinach can make the iron easier for your toddler to absorb. Tomatoes, oranges, broccoli, red peppers, and cantaloupe are all good sources of vitamin C.

It will take quite a bit of effort on your part to bring up a healthy vegan child. You may have to supplement your toddler’s meals to make sure they get all the nutrients their little bodies require.

Vitamin B-12 may be especially hard for vegans to get enough of. While vegetables contain some B-12 vitamins, the body does not easily absorb these. Your toddler’s physician can help you decide on a B-12 that is suitable for toddlers.

A meal plan that doesn’t take calcium into consideration can also be harmful to your little one’s health. Calcium is important for strong bones and assists in ensuring the body’s normal development and growth. Give your toddler calcium-fortified soymilk, but check that it also contains other nutrients that your toddler needs for a balanced diet.

Ideally, all parents, whether they themselves are vegan or not, should think carefully about what their children eat. The years all the way from birth to adolescence are the years when habits are set down about eating, when growth rate is high, and to a big extent, when the size of essential nutrients such as iron and calcium are determined.

About the Author:

Ashley King is the mother of an active toddler, and is a contributor to Toddlers Now where you\’ll find lots of great information to help you raise your little one.

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