Well, being that many homes (and preschools) across the land serve koolaid and sodas (incl in bottles and sippy cups) along with sugar/starch snacks, and heavily processed foods - along with a constant diet of corporate created media & marketing (Neil Postman’s 1983 book The Disappearance Of Childhood predicted that expertly) - if we want to talk about “protecting” children, vegans are one group of many.
SAD industrial culture is really sad… fragmented, cut off from ancestral traditions, and full of cognitive dissonance. And while many parents are doing the best they can to nourish their children, there are some very real cultural, religious, and economic differences along with structured ignorance.
There may well be some vegan kids w/ nutritional supplements and abundant coconut oil who like their family foods and have better brain health than some other kids who are routinely already protein-deficient with less fat and with PUFAs and sugar everywhere.
There was a baby in the U.S. headlines last year or the year before whose mother weaned it at 7 or so months onto a hyper-limited “pure” “forest” diet of berries and soaked nuts - and it died of course (as to why she weaned her child onto that, and why she didn’t utilize milk banks or high grade goat milk formula powders to supplement the nuts n’ berries I don’t know).
I’ve known dairy protein-rich vegetarian Indian children who are much more healthy and functional than the average junk food American child, etc. Many vegans eat a TON of processed junk foods - including tofu and soy milk and modern wheat breads. Processed soy often starts with infant formula then is followed in veg/vegan cuisines with tofu and soymilk (unlike tempeh, which is marinated whole bean ) should have a warning label for human consumption due to its enzymatic indigestability for many non North Asians, and also due to its super high phytoestrogens which many children have serious issues with come puberty.
Another part of this topic is the natural tastes of children. Till about age 7 or older, children love the sweeter spices/tastes and hate the spicy/pungent. It’s normal for them to really enjoy fresh fruit and almond or dairy milk, and sweet coconut oil. But even vegan kids reach a point where they want the saltier and spicier, and even the best marinated tempeh can’t match their first taste of good BBQ meat or bacon.
Ideally children would have a range of foods to choose/reject at a meal - including good fats and proteins - and what GRANDPA’s eating and what AUNTIE’s eating, etc etc. A wide variety of tastes and brain development. The problem with certain eating religions or economic circumstances is that range is reduced to “here’s your bologna or velveeta sandwich on white bread” or “here’s your tofu dog on white bread” or “here have some sugary “healthy” gummy bears”.
The lack of actual real foods is a rampant problem throughout the industrial world. Many children’s palates are messed up young by processed foods and constant eating/drinking - and they can’t take pleasure in real foods. Jason Fung MD goes into this in his interview on High Intensity Health when talking about “western” industrial societal injustices and entrainment - how horrified he was when he saw how his son’s preschool was feeding them every two hours and learned it was the licensing law, and that sugar-burning kids are accustomed to it, need it in order to not crash too bad, etc.
