Yes, its only parents or other family members who teach their children what should they do or what is right for them. No matter however old the kids are, Parents, Grandparents are always guiding them, teaching them. Being vegetarian is not a sin infact it saves them from committing sin. Its upto the kids to decide what they are doing is right or wrong. Parents can only try to stop them from doing something wrong. They usually are successful in doing the same till the kids are younger but when they are grown up they can only say or suggest but cant make them do it. Atleast these days. Times have changed. So the kids must listen and decide for themselves.
to the author:am a single girl whose parents are looking out marriage proposals. i was brought up a vegetarian;so is my whole family my grand parents and uncles and aunts (though most of them are only partial non vegetarians today). i strongly believe that being a vegetarian is good for ones health. recently i had a groom come and see me(the case fissled out any way).when i told him i am vegetarian and that(like u)i dont like to hurt animals. he laughed at me and asked if i was a menaka gandhi follower with full of mockery in his voice.this incident made me to think "why cant these people just leave us alone?" we dont go about telling others not to be non vegetarians(atleat i dont)Cant they stay the same way? anyway it is nice to know certain people are still around who feel that being a vegetarian is good. i would never allow my children to have non veg food. people may feel am hard on them but as parents Do we allow our kids to make mistakes and burn their hands? No na. this is no different form that.more over when we eat meat we also give our selfs the privilage of turning into canibals(mentally not physically).
Nothing of such kind of views should be pressed upon kids. My whole family is non-vegetarian and I am the only vegetarian in my house. But no one forces me to eat non-veg. At all family gatherings food is prepared separtely for me without any issues. It should be for individual person to decide. You have made your choice on your own decisions. let them also see the world and then come to the decision
Women are the best teachers may it be a house or in the society.So I shall assert myself that Zelda has taken the right step in educating her daughters.Great job!Task though might seem difficult will lead on to a path of good eating habits.This also develops good emotional skills in us like control of anger,anxiety etc. Vegetarianism has long history and correlation with our body system.For instance,non-veg eaters or in the terms of bio-nomeclature,the carnivores are developed with sharp canines and more flat molars.The intestinal tract of their body system is short.In lieu wherein,herbivores have a long tract;the outcome of which the undigested matter remaining for a rather long time to be thrown out. Thus,educating kids about food is making them learn a new etiquette of the society.Also,when there are numerous rich sumptuous veg foods available,where is the need to consume the flesh of a killed living being. The decision making startegy involved here is not at all left to the freedom of growing ups since this is the right age for them to get educated about what is wrong or right?As she says,after allowing them to assimilate such things,CHOICE is ofcourse theirs.Til then MENTOR
hi zelda i fully support u on ur decision to make ur daughters veges. apart from humane value our scriptures do not allow us to eat non veg. infact a human body is not made to eat non veg food. pl tell ur daughters the spiritual angle also of not eating non veg food or so to say taamsik food. as far as possible we should have saatvik food only. i will add one line further... anything or any food which has not been offered to god should not be consumed... and taamsik food of any kind including onions, garlic, fish eggs and non veg are not offered to god. i would love to interact with u...i ahve 2 daughters too and exactly same situation is in our family. my husband a non veg and rest of us strict veg. cheers on ur effort. good luck
My own situation is similar to Zelda's and my feelings too are. I completely agree with her way of thinking. We are not making/forcing a "decision" for/on our children. Rather we would like our child(ren) to make an informed decision about what they choose to eat when they reach an age where they are in a position to do so. This is no different from parent(s) choosing which form of day-care or which school is the right one for their toddler/little child.
It should also be appreciated that Zelda is not trying to change the eating habits of grown-ups who (presumably) know the facts well enough to make the choice that is right for them.
Bravo Zelda! I do wish your daughters stay vegetarians for life just as I wish my own little daughter does!
i do not think it is right to force your children to eat or not to eat what you think is right or wrong. when the children grow up, they can decide themselves what they would want to follow. it actually is wrong to tell them that being a non-veg is not good when their father does like non-veg food. it might make the children think their father is not doing it right or give a negative image of their father. the children should be given atleast a taste of what it is like to eat non-veg when everyone is the family does that, and then they can choose whether they want to eat or not.
