A man has opened up about a parenting issue that has nearly torn him and his partner apart.
In a candid message to columnist and author Jane Green, the desperate father-in-question revealed that he and his wife have been raising their toddler vegan since birth because that was something the girl’s mother was “adamant” about doing.
Worried that the lack of meat could negatively impact the child’s development, however, the dad decided to start giving his child meat behind her mother’s back.
“I have always been a big meat eater – I love nothing more than a great steak – but my wife decided to switch to a plant-based diet when we first started trying for a baby and was convinced that it played a part in us being able to conceive,” he wrote.
“When our daughter was born, my wife insisted that we also raise her as a vegan, which I was really worried about to be honest, but I agreed because I wanted to give the mother of my child anything she wanted at that point!
“Cut to four years later and my daughter is thriving. She loves food, has a great appetite just like her dad, and it’s something that I’ve really enjoyed sharing with her.”
The dad went on to reveal that one day he decided to let his daughter try a burger that he was eating for lunch while the girl’s mother was away from home.
Since the child loved the taste of meat, the father continued to gradually feed bits of meat to his child whenever his wife wasn’t looking.
“Which was all great until recently when I slipped up and fed her some chicken at a picnic without even thinking about it. My wife flipped out, started screaming at me that I was ‘poisoning’ our daughter and that I had no idea how she was going to react to the meat,” the man added.
“At which point I had to confess that I’d actually been feeding her meat for a while now and that admission sparked another furious argument. Now, my wife is threatening divorce and says she doesn’t know if she can ever trust me with our daughter again.”
Asking the internet for advice, the father pondered whether he was wrong for breaking his wife’s trust or his partner is just overreacting.
What are your thoughts on this matter? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to SHARE this post with your family and friends. For more news and stories, follow us on Facebook!
I think she is over reacting!!! Although as far as the trust part, you should have told her the first time your daughter wanted a bite of your burger and really enjoyed it!!! There should have been a serious discussion about you think she should be able to have meat and decide for herself what she wants to eat!!! I’m assuming that you still have meat at home even if you have to cook it yourself!!! She can decide the things she likes and doesn’t like on her own!!! And I would bring up your concern about your child’s health if she takes you to court!!!
Being vegan is the choice of some adults. To impose it on a young child is wrong. Children have different needs to grow strong and healthy, such as meat, poultry, eggs, fish and milk. Children are people too. Let them make their own choice when they are older.
You are completely in the wrong. You lied to your wife, knowing how much it meant to her. She can (quite rightly) no longer trust you.
A vegan diet has been proven to be healthier because a diet high in meat actually has a higher rate of heart attacks etc.
You knew how much this meant to your wife, hence why you have hidden it.
I don’t see why people think that a child not having meat is an awful thing to do? Killing an animal and eating it is something someone can choose to do when they understand the ethics of doing so. The child can choose to eat meat when they are old enough to understand that they are eating the flesh of an animal slaughtered for their consumption, not out of need, but out of greed.
What a load of rubbish
I would talk to her pediatrician and see what he/she says.