There is a possibility that I recently made a bad move or a good move as a parent. I’m not sure which. So, I’m going to tell you what I did, and you can weigh in with your opinion.

My oldest potato……

…..has always been a pretty health conscious eater. But, over the last year, due to some exposure to very unhealthy conditions (I won’t go into the deets) his opinions on food have shifted into the realm of “I just want to eat what I want all the time”.

Now, let me sidetrack a moment to say this: I believe it is my responsibility as his mother to teach him about proper nutrition. I want him to live a long and healthy life, I want him to feel good and make good choices for his body. So I feed him lots of vegetables, fruit, and legumes. He hates it, but he understands that I’m just forcing these things on him because I love him.

However, he’s a kid. I do not expect him to eat a healthy grown-up diet all the time. I also do not expect him to be a vegetarian if he doesn’t want to be. (Though I do sincerely hope that if he doesn’t grow up to be a vegetarian, he will practice portion control and humane choices when consuming animals). Most of the time these days, we eat really healthy. But if he wants a fast food burger every once in a while, I’m okay with that. I don’t think I should completely deprive him. (Mostly I’m just a sucker for when he very politely says, “Pleaseeeeee Mom”).

Anyway,

I’ve had a hard time recently getting him to eat his veggies. (Note: veggies are the main course in our house.) So, one night, after a dinner of roasted vegetables, I told him there is a “movie” I wanted him to watch on Netflix.

I’ve been wanting to see this documentary for a LONG time, so I was excited to see it on Netflix. I had already seen about the first 20 minutes of the film, and I decided to finish watching the entirety of it with him.

He was interested in the film, but not overly so. I watched him intently, curious as to how much information he was absorbing.

That was two nights ago, and I am surprised by the effect it had. Very surprised.

He no longer wants to eat any form of meat, dairy, or eggs. Milk, cheese, ice cream….he’s certain that eating these things will give him cancer.

He ate salad for lunch at his school yesterday (with only vegetables on it, no cheeses or meats or eggs), and refused to drink milk with his lunch. He drank water.

Last night for dinner, he requested a big salad. I made us all a spinach salad with lots of veggie toppings, but I also purchased a Amy’s pizza to have with it.

I had to CONVINCE him to eat a serving of this because he didn’t want to consume the small amount of cheese on the pizza.

Basically, my ten-year-old is scared to death that certain food items is going to give him an array of horrible diseases and he wants to eat a solely vegan diet.

Also, I bought some all fruit popsicles for dessert, and he would not eat one of the two kinds I purchased because he was certain it must contain dairy products.

(He also informed the kids at the lunch table that they milk they were drinking was going to give them cancer and kill them. )

So. On one hand, I’m very happy that my son absorbed the information in the film and wants to put it into practice. Very happy. And proud. I think a lot of kids would have dismissed it. HOWEVER, I do not like that he is scared to death of certain foods because he’s afraid the foods will KILL HIM.  I feel really bad about that.

Here’s my dilemma……

Do I encourage his new dietary choices? I have a good opportunity here to promote the healthiest diet imaginable for my child. BUT, I do not like this terrified frame of mind he has adopted. As his mother, it hurts me to see that I scared him. So my other option is this….. Do I try to talk the film down, and convince him to continue eating food items that he is currently scared of?

And here’s what I know about asking other people’s opinions: A person’s opinion on this matter is going to depend on their own personal eating beliefs.

If one is a big meat, dairy, egg eater, they are probably going to say “talk the film down…get him to eating these foods again’”.

Whereas more veggie conscious people will most likely say, “promote it! this is a good opportunity”.

Even though I know opinions will be biased, I’m okay with that.

My own thoughts on this matter are to try a teach him a balance. Eating these foods in small quantities is ok, as long as the bulk of his diet is fruit, veg, and legumes. BUT, if he WANTS to eliminate all other foods…..shouldn’t I let him?

Lastly, I would highly encourage anyone to watch the documentary. It’s very interesting.

Here’s the trailer: