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Raising A Vegetarian Child

© Tara Gillet-Liloia

Parenting is not an easy job to begin with, and parents of vegetarian kids need special resources to keep their kids healthy. Vegetarianism has increased in popularity during the past few decades, leading to an increase of vegetarian-oriented literature and programs. The following are kid-friendly resources for parents of vegetarians.

The Au Grand Bois Summer Camp offers a holistic camp for children and adults. The camp curriculum stresses environmental awareness and respect, health through recreation, and vegetarian whole foods. The camp day is structured to the individual tastes of each camper. The activities available include hiking, woodworking, wilderness survival skills, organic gardening, swimming and canoeing, crafts, writing, yoga, and theater.

The 565 acre, smoke and alcohol-free site is located near Ladysmith, Quebec in Canada. Campers dine on organic, vegetarian or vegan meals. The 3:1 camper to staff ratio facilitates individual attention and a very personal camp experience. Au Grand Bois also offers a family camp that includes the activities above and adds family workshops for your entire group. You can find more information at the Au Grand Bois web site.

Vegetarian teens who want to discuss issues with other vegetarians can join the Veg-Teen e-mail list. All aspects of vegetarianism are welcome, from spirituality and animal health to recipe exchanges. To subscribe to Veg-Teen, send e-mail to listproc@envirolink.org with subscribe veg-teen in the body of your e-mail.

For teens who would like to have a vegetarian or vegan snail mail pen pal, they can submit their name and address to The Vegetarian Youth Pen-Pal Directory. Print this registration form and mail it to the Vegetarian Youth Pen-Pal Directory at the address on the form. You can request a directory and communicate with vegetarian teens from around the world.

The What is a vegetarian? web site is a great resource for vegetarian children. The site includes ordering information for a children's book explaining the reasons for the vegetarian lifestyle. The site explains that this book "delivers a basic ethical concept as to why we do not eat meat." Three percent of the sale from What is a Vegetarian? will be donated to the Farm Sanctuary; a non-profit organization that rescues farm animals.

Also available from What is a vegetarian? is a vegetarian T-shirt for adults and children. The front of the shirt asks the question, "What is a vegetarian?" and the back answers with an emphatic, "I am!" Both sides are whimsically illustrated with vegetables and our Earth.

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