How to Support a Vegetarian Teen

Whether your teen decides to become a vegetarian for humanitarian or health reasons, it's important to respect his decision and to support him any way that you can. Parents often try to change their teens' minds about becoming vegetarians, with sometimes disastrous results. By supporting and encouraging your teen, you can make his transition to vegetarianism an easy one.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Help your teen to decide which type of vegetarian he wants to become. A pesco vegetarian, for example, still eats fish in order to take advantage of the nutritional benefits. A vegan, however, avoids all animal products, including dairy, eggs and animal fats and oils.
2. Discuss your teen's decision to become a vegetarian with the entire family. Allow your teen to present all of the advantages of becoming a vegetarian, in case others may be curious and willing to convert and offer support as well. Try to avoid criticizing your teen's decision in front of everyone, which may cause an uncomfortable rift to develop in your relationship when she decides to go through with it anyway.
3. Develop a sample diet with your teen over the course of a week. Select vegetarian books and recipes to find vegetarian dishes that will appeal to your teen, using ingredients that he already likes. Don't forget about packing an appropriate lunch for school every day, since few high school cafeterias feature a vegetarian menu.
4. Learn how to separate the facts about vegetarianism from the propaganda before you give information to your teens about why they should still eat meat. Before you present facts about the need for protein, you should remember that vegetarians are less likely to have heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and cancer. In addition, vegetarians are far less likely to contract food poisoning than their meat-eating counterparts.
5. Support your vegetarian teen by allowing her to cook at least one vegetarian meal for your family a week. Have her discuss the importance of a vegetarian lifestyle with everyone and report on her experiences since she converted.

Tips & Warnings

• You might want to schedule a visit to the family doctor for your teen before she decides to become a vegetarian. There might be medical issues that may be complicated by eliminating meat from the diet, such as an iron deficiency or other type of anemia.