GRAND Magazine - January 2009 - (Page 26)

It doesn’t have to be a Vegan Cake; it can just be a Delicious Cake. nutritional needs met. The thing is, I don’t think Sam’s grandmother is really worried about any of this. Her concern, I think, is something more like this: “Why can’t a kid just be a kid?” Why? Why no hot dog at a baseball game? When his best friend in third grade throws a birthday party at McDonald’s, why does he have to be the one strange kid who brings his own lunch? Why do we have to go and make an issue out of birthday cakes and Thanksgiving dinners and barbecues and all the simple things that we enjoyed as we were growing up? To that question, there’s no easy answer. To that, I can’t just point to a pile of research and say, “He’ll be perfectly fine.” These are the questions I’ve asked myself since my wife and I decided we wanted to have a child, and I still haven’t found an answer that satisfies completely, though I have found bits and pieces that at least give me hope. Part of the answer, I think, has to do with values. We make sacrifices for ourselves, and we hope that the small sacrifices we ask of Sam will turn out to be worth it in the end—that these sacrifices will give him a foundation for making his own tough decisions. And I think it has something even more to do with taking the focus off denial. It’s not about what we can’t have. It’s not about limitations but abundance. A vegetarian birthday party doesn’t have to focus on a lack of hot dogs and hamburgers; it can be about what is there, from the food, to the friends and family, to the games and the music. A vegan cake doesn’t always have to be a Vegan Cake; it’s easy enough to let it just be a Delicious Cake, and to let everyone enjoy. And I think the answer has a lot to do with accepting the notion that we will learn as we go, that it has something to do with trial and error and with support from others. What will I do when Sam is invited to a steak house to celebrate his middle school girlfriend’s birthday? I don’t know. I haven’t even a clue. But I’ve got a lot of time to figure that stuff out; and in the process I will get to know Sam better, get to know his values, his interests, his preferences. Along the way, there are plenty of people I can turn to for advice on the day-to-day: friends, family, even whole Web sites (like www.vegfamily. com) devoted to this very issue. My wife and I have made the choice to raise our son a little differently from most of the people around us. There will be days when this will make him stand out a little from the rest, when some kid teases him; when, because of the choices we’ve made, he doesn’t get exactly what he wants, exactly what the kid next door has. Our hope is that, having had these choices made for him, he will grow up healthy, happy, and with an understanding of the values that brought my wife and me together all those years ago. That he’ll look back years from now not with regret over all the little things he missed out on but in fond remembrance of all the good he had, all the joy he was a part of. That answer, I think, will have to satisfy even the most concerned critic. G Some common nutritional concernS, and a few Simple SolutionS Concern Vitamin B12 deficiency Cause Solution Because B12 is only found in animal Many foods are fortified with B12, and vegetarian formula vitamins products, including dairy and eggs, strict are widely available (some of which deliver more than 1000% of the vegans will not come by an adequate daily requirement). amount of it naturally. Vegetarians may require more iron in their diet than meat eaters do, because their bodies process it differently. Nuts, beans, whole-grain breads, and fortified cereals are all excellent sources. Iron deficiency Bone health Too little calcium and protein in the diet, Eating plenty of leafy greens, nuts, beans, tofu, broccoli, tempeh especially in women and girls. and soy milk should provide all the calcium and protein a body needs for good bone health. Adequate exercise and avoiding junk foods are a plus. There is some evidence that vegan babies grow more slowly than other children. According to the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine, it’s nothing to worry about. Vegan babies might grow more slowly for a while, but they eventually catch up. Slow growth Sources: The Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine (www.pcrm.org); Help! My Child Stopped Eating Meat, by Carol J. Adams (with nutritional information by Virginia Messina, M.P.H, R.D.); Vegetarian Resource Group (www.vrg.org). 26 GRAND JANUARY 2009 http://www.vegfamily.com http://www.vegfamily.com http://www.pcrm.org http://www.vrg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - January 2009

GRAND�Magazine - January 2009 Grand View Contents Isn't it Grand? Grand Central Tips on Teens Grand Gestures Toddler Town Help! My Grandson's Being Raised Vegan! Cover Story: Casualties Leader of the Pack Reunions Together Time Resources Grand Finale

GRAND Magazine - January 2009

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