Raising Kids Raw

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Permalink Reply by Mica on September 21, 2008 at 5:19am

Hey Mandy

this article has been discussed on here before, check it out!
It's important to take note of things like that, personally I don't take any risks with my own kids considering there are so many conflicting ideas about nutrition even within the raw movement.

I have chosen not to be too strict with my children's diet for two reasons, one is the one mentioned above and the second is for psychological reasons as in, I totally believe that the more I will deprive them of the occasional NON super pure yummy item when they really want it, the more it will be glorified potentially, and the more they might binge on stuff like that when let loose at a later point in their lives.
If we where living more remote or in a community of like minded people this wouldn't be so much of an issue but we don't.
We couldn't live much more urban and most of her friends are living pretty mainstream.
I do the best I can without getting too obsessive or neurotic about food.
My kids are vegetarian not vegan, eat about 95% organic, mostly fruit, nut-milk super-food shakes and smoothies, some veg but neither of them will eat green leafy stuff.
I have to mix green powders into their drinks for that.
They get some grain in the form of oat-cakes or when I make raw flapjacks etc.
They don't drink cow milk but will have the occasional dairy yogurt or organic cheese and they also have eggs sometimes.
For treats they have non refined sugar sweets and raw chocolate, frozen fruit ice lollies or frozen yogurt with no added sugar but fruit in it.
For drinks they will only have pure water or fruit smoothies (which I consider more food though) or fresh juice, usually orange.
The occasional junk sneaks in through other people or sometimes myself but I manage to keep it to a bare minimum.
They're also not vaccinated, get a lot of play, exercise, sunlight and LOvE..................:)

I educate my kids rather than tell them what not to do, BIG DIFFERENCE!
My daughter really gets it ( my lil boy a bit young) and totally appreciates the concept of yummy food that's also good for you.

They are both super healthy and great developed kids, physically and mentally.
I always get comments on how advanced my children are as opposed to some other kids their age.
Of course this is no competition but I can't help but notice that this happens a LOT.

This could be coincidence or simply great genes or whatever, but I rather believe that what I'm doing works and I have no reason to question their diet too much, no matter what others opinion might be.
Of course we're not perfect, most likely never will be (I like being human lol), but who cares anyway?!
We are happy and healthy ever evolving.....

I think it's really important to educate yourself as best as you can and then to follow your instincts as a mother.
Find out what works for you!
If something feels wrong or too extreme or turns into a struggle, modify it.
Most importantly you and your kids need to enjoy the journey and build a good relationship between you AND with food.

All the best with your own journey into parenthood..............:)

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Permalink Reply by Mica on September 21, 2008 at 7:29am

feeding our kids crap food cos we use the excuse that 'they will only eat it at school, parties etc' is the same as giving your kids beer, crack, xtc or meth and saying 'they will only have it at a party oneday'

Yes you're right to a point but I would appreciate a distinction because there is a rather significant one between a piece of chocolate cake nd crack last time I checked.

My point is, you can get away with a lot as long as the fundamental basics are in place...
......and live a very happy, healthy and long life potentially.
But I've known crack, heroine whatever addicts personally and there is no getting away with anything so let's think before we speak hey?!?

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Permalink Reply by Mica on September 21, 2008 at 12:59pm

I'm not sure I'm getting this, isn't this obvious? Am I missing anything here?? lol

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Permalink Reply by Mica on September 22, 2008 at 4:50am

I didn't think you where referring to me personally but still couldn't help but think that this was a slightly ridiculous comment, not at all wrong, but a bit off perspective.

Pretty much all the folks on heroin I knew when I was a teenager are almost all dead now or live a rather pathetic life, well that's what I heard anyway.
One person in my family got into crack about ten years ago, he's off it but it seriously damaged his entire being.
He's 43 but looks like he is in his 60's, all grey hair, deep wrinkles etc. with severe mental impairment.
I don't know that many people personally living on a proper junk food diet, as in SAD coz I don't life in the U.S. maybe?
Don't get me wrong they are here too but I just don't know that many.
Most of my people are cooked wholefooders, some vegan some veggie some meat eaters, not all organic with a fair bit of processed food thrown in.
Non of them has died or is about to of the above mentioned diseases, in fact I've only been to a single funeral in my life and he died of a car accident. But yes cooked wholefood people might not live their full potential as human super beings.
So this is kinda the reality I live in.
If there is people out there who like to commit slow suicide in the form of drugs or junk food so be it.
I feel for their children but ultimately there is very little I can do.
I ultimately feel for all of them actually because having to struggle with any kind of addiction isn't easy to say the least, especially if it's not generally recognized as such.
I mean where ARE the rehab centers for fast food junkies?...:)

I can only live my own path the best I can, inspire my own children and others hopefully along the way and that's about it.
Rarely is one going to change their ways because I blame or shame them.

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Permalink Reply by Deborah on September 21, 2008 at 8:23am

Mica,

I have a 4 year old at home and I am doing pretty much exactly what you described with one exception, my husband eats animal protein (much to my chagrin)....he eats whatever I am eating plus a piece of chicken or steak or what have you and Emma *always* wants what he is eating. He travels a lot and when he is not here, she eats vegan but I agree with you about the point about not having kids feel deprived and having them crave junk food when out of the house. Emma already knows exactly what junk she can get where and that does concern me. I live in a suburb of Manhattan and pretty much everyone around her is mainstream -- school, friends, even extended family. My feeling is this. If I could live someplace remote and control all of her food, it would be raw organic. But since I don't and I can't, I feed her as healthy as I possibly can at home and trust that her youth will work in her favor to process the crap she eats outside. (And by the way, durianrider, I pack lunch for school even though it is available there and I ask playdates to NOT feed her candy and give her fruit as a snack instead so it isn't a free for all outside of home. I also stuff her with fruit before a birthday party so she is too full to fully partake in the pizza and ice cream that is inevitably there.) It is a very hard thing to completely control the diet of a small child in a modern world. I love Emma to bits and I do believe that processed foods and illness are related so of course I want to minimize her exposure. Considering that the average American eats their weight in sugar a year, I know that what I do at home puts her way, way ahead of the pack. As she gets older, she will be able to make more informed decisions for herself but we are just not there yet.

--Deborah

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Permalink Reply by Mica on September 21, 2008 at 1:17pm

Hi Deborah

yes it's well tough raising children "normally" in the modern world having all those other influences around.
I'm still grateful that I live in a place like Brighton where there is a great big alternative scene and so mainstream doesn't necessarily mean fast food culture, thank god.
A lot of other mums I know and choose to hang out with cook at least wholefood stuff and are aware of the most potent poisons like refined sugar and highly processed foods.
I can imagine it's even tougher in other towns and cities.
I just watched "Supersize me" a few days ago (finally) and thought it was horrific to see how some people on this planet feed themselves and when they filmed in those horrible school canteens I did realize just how lucky I am still with my daughters school. She doesn't eat there but even if, they certainly don't have this disgusting frozen meat processed evil crap there or sweets or fizzy drinks, jeeezus!!

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Permalink Reply by Audrey on September 21, 2008 at 8:46am

That's an interesting article. Luckily I don't have to worry about this too much right now because my daughter is still breastfed and gets the majority of her calories from that. I would think that it is possible to raise completely raw vegan children if this is really the most natural way to live. I'm sure we still have a lot to learn about it, though, so I am keeping an open mind. After she is done breastfeeding, I still plan on raising her raw vegan, but I can't say that I won't give her other foods if I decide she needs them for some reason.

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Permalink Reply by Mica on September 21, 2008 at 1:53pm

It's true, when I turned vegan from veggie the first time round about ten years ago I didn't have much of a clue as to how I would get all my nutritional needs met, so I felt and looked terrible after about a year in and started craving the most crazy foods.
Obviously I was deficient.

This wouldn't happen to me nowadays but only because I learned a lot more and this took time, sometimes weeding through a lot of contradicting information for hours on end.
It's like learning a new skill, sometimes not something everyone wants to do quiet frankly as well.
If it's just an adult to worry about it's not such a big deal to make some mistakes I think, with kids different story.

A lot of children tend to be quiet fussy as it is, now if you want to raise them on a strict diet you really MUST know what you are doing in order for them to benefit from a diet varied enough to get all the nutrients they need for a healthy growing up. And I feel one also has to be prepared to be a bit flexible.

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Permalink Reply by Blueberry on September 22, 2008 at 2:47am

Maybe it is good that she spoke out but others also have done like gabriel cousens who has actually done research on vegan children and he says b 12 should be supplemented. Otherwise it is perfectly fine, of course there isn't really very much understood about vitamin b 12, as vegans and animal product eaters suffer it alike

But I don't think it is very constuctive to call people liars conspiracy theorists, and child abusers,most people who have given their children raw plant diets gave it to them with best of intentions, for their health and maybe those who have developed problems were the ones that were listening to david wolfe and shazzie and other raw teachers, a few years instead of doing their own research into raw nutrition. and just assumed as long as it was raw it was good.

Children can digest dairy products up to the age of 3 but we don't have the enzyme renin to digest the casein in dairy, over the age of 3. Bee pollen is a good source of choline and amino acids, you can get ethically sourced too, where the bees aren't harmed.

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Permalink Reply by Marte on September 22, 2008 at 9:10am

I wish these families would agree to speak out about this, because it's so hard to know who to belive when we don't have the oportunity to see these families for ourselves.

And I do find it weird that the only explanation she has for Storm and Jinjees kids is that they eat honey...

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Permalink Reply by Mandy on September 22, 2008 at 7:24pm

I'm wondering if the problem has anything to do with children being malnourished due to the huge amount of fiber in raw foods. I've read many times on this forum (durianrider, if I'm not mistaken) that it takes practice to learn how much food you need to eat to get the calories you need. I can't see a kid eating from instict after they feel full. When you're that young, you know when to stop eating.

There's also the fact that kids need a ton of fat for their developing brains. I wonder if there's some kind of nutridiary or whatever it is for kids...

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Permalink Reply by Mandy on September 23, 2008 at 7:23pm

But do you really think that raw parents trying to raise a raw vegan child wouldn't have enough ripe fruit around? Cause I sure would/will when I do it. I definitely don't buy that being the only problem...

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