Parent Under Fire For Secretly Feeding Vegan Friend’s Child Meat Because She Looked “Pale”
A parent asked people on Reddit what they thought of her decision to give meat and dairy to a child’s friend, who was being raised as a vegan.
The anonymous parent said they only did it because the girl was “much smaller and paler” than their daughter and asked people on Reddit if they thought they made a mistake.
They wrote:
“My daughter and her friend M are both 12 years old and like to have sleepovers every now and then.
“M’s family maintains a strict vegan diet where she isn’t even allowed to drink milk. Her parents are nice people although a bit on the neurotic side.
“M is bright young girl and she’s a good friend to my daughter but I noticed how much smaller and paler she is compared to my daughter. I think it’s likely tied to her family’s diet.”
The person said that every time the girl comes over to play she serves a “big meaty meal” for everyone.
They wrote:
“Last weekend I made some cheeseburgers and steak for them on the grill with a big glass of milk. M absolutely loves it and always politely asks for more (which I happily provide).
“For snacks I give them some of my venison jerky. For breakfast I typically make a big plate of scrambled eggs and bacon again with a big glass of milk.
“Despite her size M always wolfs down whatever I make. And I have to say every time she leaves it looks like she has a healthy glow to her.”
They went on to say that maybe they did the wrong thing, but couldn’t stand seeing the child looking so “malnourished” and knew they’d likely be in big trouble if they let the parents know.
The parent thought that the girl probably lied to them about her meals, but asked Redditors:
“Am I the A**hole for letting my daughter’s vegan friend eat meat?”
And the comments came flowing…
One person wrote:
“You are not her doctor. This isn’t your choice to make. Undermining her parents’ dietary choices is going to do more harm than good for her.
“To jump from a strict plant based diet to one heavy with dairy and meat and then to go right back to strict plant based, that shocks the body so to speak. If you’re concerned about her health, talk to her parents.”
Another said:
“She isn’t even allowed to drink milk’ umm, yeah obviously? Vegans don’t do dairy.
“If you have concerns about her being malnourished, talk to her parents, or CPS if you suspect abuse. Feeding long term vegans animal products can make them sick.
“Tbh sounds like you just don’t agree with / don’t like her parents and are doing this to spite them.”
And a third added:
“Not your place to decide how someone else raises their kid.”
Some people thought the girl was old enough to make her own choices on the matter, with one person commenting:
“I think it’s a big FU to force personal diet choices on a child who is old enough to decide if she wants to eat meat or not.
“OP isn’t sneaking ground up meat into the kids tofu, he or she is offering it and the kid decides to eat it or not.”
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