For some time now, your kid has been eating his meat lip service. It was too hard to chew, too strong in taste… Anyway, whatever the recipe, he didn’t like it. Until that famous day when he said: “meat is over! Ended ! Never again ! »Consuming less meat is a growing trend within families. According to a recent Lactel / OpinionWay * study: one in two families with children aged 5 to 18 is flexitarian, meaning that meat consumption has become occasional. In this case, the impetus to reduce or stop the consumption of meat is given by the parents. But it is possible that the kids decide, on their own, to stop eating it. And there, when you’re a family of carnivores, it’s a bit confusing. Even stressful.
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- He no longer wants to eat meat, is this a temporary or lasting refusal?
« At this age, taste and eating habits are well established, specifies Emmanuelle Lefranc, sociologist. If a child does not like the taste or texture of meat from early childhood, then the refusal is most definitely lasting. On the other hand, if
the refusal occurs after 8 years, and results from a decision of the child, it can be only provisional. Even if at this age, the child does not clearly verbalize the reasons for his refusal, it may be related to questions of animal welfare, environmental protection or the risk of a pandemic. In this case, it is possible for the parents to change their negative perception of the food. By explaining to him, for example, that we can opt for meat from farms where the animals are well treated. “
- Meatless food: the keys to rebalancing your plate
“Rest assured, eating meat is not compulsory to grow well,” assures Marie-Caroline Baraut, dietician-nutritionist. On the other hand, a sufficient protein intake is essential! “For that, we recommend 3 or 4 dairy products a day and the regular consumption of eggs, which provide excellent quality proteins because they have all the essential amino acids. You can also bet on vegetable proteins such as legumes (chickpeas, lentils, etc.). Finally, “fish, especially fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, etc.) are strongly recommended to provide essential fatty acids such as DHA, which are essential for brain development. “
* OpinionWay study for Lactel, May 2020.