Is Raising a Vegetarian a Good Idea? (continued)

Vitamin B-12: Vitamin B-12 is found naturally only in animal products. For vegetarians, Vitamin B-12 can be added to the diet through fortified soy or nut milks, as well as nutritional yeasts and fortified breakfast cereals.

Zinc: Zinc is present in a wide variety of foods, particularly in association with protein foods. A vegetarian diet often contains less zinc than a meat based diet, and so it is important for vegetarians to eat plenty of foods that are rich in this vital mineral. Good sources for vegetarians include dairy products, beans and lentils, yeast, nuts, seeds and wholegrain cereals. Pumpkin seeds provide one of the most concentrated vegetarian food sources of zinc.

Calories: The nature of vegetarian diets, along with their (typically) lower fat content, can make it harder for the caloric intake to be high enough for rapidly growing children and adolescents. This makes it especially important to get enough concentrated fats in. Full-fat dairy products, avocados, nuts, nut butters, seeds, and seed butters can provide concentrated sources of calories.

Deciding to raise your child as a vegetarian should be a well-thought-out, well-informed decision. As Mangels points out, "Vegetarian children aren't any different from other children – they need all the same amounts of nutrients." The challenge to parents is making sure their child is getting enough.