Taliesin, the Vegetarian

Well, Taliesin has decided he no longer wants to eat meat. He's been questioning the ingredients in meat for the past few weeks. It started with asking, "Mom, why do people catch fish?" I answered him that some people like to eat fish. This led him to try a fish stick of Kelsey's, but he couldn't bring himself to eat it. Next, came chicken nuggets with his Happy Meal. He asked my sister the other night while eating his happy meal, "What are chicken nuggets made out of?" She told him chicken. He then decided that he would just eat the breaded part on the outside, but not the inside of the chicken nuggets. He has also been questioning me about my veggie burgers. I explain to him that they are like hamburgers, but are made out of vegetables. Now he has decided that he thinks meat is yucky and does not want to eat it. I explained to him that if he decides not to eat meat that he does need to eat other things - like beans, peanut butter, and veggie meats to make up for the vitamins he would be missing. He has agreed to that. Today, he decided to take a peanut butter and honey sandwich to the park for a picnic instead of his traditional chicken and has said he would like to try veggie chicken nuggets. This is quite a decision for a six-year old. But it is up to him. I would not try to influence him either way - to eat meat like his dad or to be vegetarian like me. I think what I'm impressed with is he has made an informed decision - whether he goes back to eating meat again or not. He has gathered all of the facts. And he made his decision. It just could be his unschooling lifestyle that allows him to make such decisions on his own - decisions about what he believes and feels he should practice.

Kandy