What to do when your daughter wants to go vegan through puberty?

The other day at dinner: «By the way, I'm going veganfrom now on,» says the 14-year-old. «What does that mean exactly?» her younger brother wants to know. «That I'm not eating anything animal-based anymore.» «Well, have fun, there's not much left!» grins the 12-year-old. The parents look at each other: vegan? When their daughter announced three years ago that she no longer wanted to eat meat, they didn't take her request seriously at first. «Two weeks maximum, she can't take it any longer,» her father was convinced.

But the child remained steadfast, «because I feel sorry for the animals», he announced. And the family gradually adapted their diet. «We don't eat much meat anyway,» says the mum. «Besides, there are lots of great alternatives. So it was a chance for us as a family to try out new things.» But vegan now?

Giving up animal products completely is more than just a trend. According to a recent study commissioned by the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin, almost 40 per cent of young adults are questioning their meat consumption.

12.3 per cent have completely stopped eating a vegetarian or vegan diet - and the trend is rising. Ethical reasons such as animal welfare and animal husbandry are the most common motives among teenagers when deciding in favour of a vegan lifestyle.

Nutrition is a means of setting yourself apart

It is no coincidence that it is precisely in this age group that many choose to do so. After all, adolescence is the time when young people question themselves: Who am I? What do I want? What contribution can I make to a better world? At the same time, nutrition is sometimes also a means of setting oneself apart.

Young people who eat vegan food develop just as healthily as others.

Nutritionist Pascal Müller

Twenty years ago, you might have shocked your parents by telling them «I no longer eat meat». Today, vegetarianism is a trend that the food industry and restaurants, as well as the general public, have long since adapted to. If you want to set an example, you have to be vegan.

But is puberty - when the child's body is remodelling and developing into an adult body - a good time for a radical change in diet? «The German Vechi-Youth study - a study in which participants were able to volunteer - shows that children and adolescents who eat a vegan diet develop just as healthily as others,» says Pascal Müller, a nutritionist at St. Gallen Children's Hospital.

However, representative studies on the long-term course of this topic are still lacking. What is clear, however, is that because adolescence is a time of many physical and psychological developmental spurts, deficiency symptoms are generally more likely to occur during this phase than in more stable adulthood, for example. It is therefore important to have a radical change in diet at this age accompanied by specialists - by nutritionists or the paediatrician, for example.

Take the child seriously and ask for the reasons

However, parents should first ask themselves why their child wants to go vegan, says Karolin Rose, nutritionist at Zurich Children's Hospital. She advises: «As a parent, I wouldn't dismiss it as a phase that will pass.» Instead, it's important to find out: What's really behind it? The peer group? Social media and influencers? Or ecological and ethical aspects? In short: take the child seriously and discuss with them. At the same time, this is a good opportunity to rethink your own eating habits.

It is important not only to leave something out, but also to think about it: What do I eat instead? How will I eat in future?

The second step is to ask the next generation: How have you already learnt about a vegan diet? What do you think about it? And above all: How will you eat in the future? «Vegan is initially defined as «I don't eat this or that»,» says Marianne Honegger, nutritionist in Zurich.

The important thing now is to think about it: What do I eat instead? What does good food look like? «Simply cutting out animal products is the biggest risk from a health perspective,» she says. This requires a certain amount of basic knowledge, but also planning.

Teenagers should share responsibility for shopping and cooking

But what exactly does this mean for everyday family life? «In general, everyone can eat vegan,» says Karolin Rose, «there are very good recipes. The whole family also benefits when the diet becomes more varied because pulses, nuts and seeds are now increasingly used.»

However, it is crucial to involve young people. «Teenagers should share responsibility for meals at home,» agrees Marianne Honegger. In other words, they should prepare dinner themselves or make specific menu suggestions and implement them, i.e. buy and cook the ingredients themselves.

«It's not acceptable for parents to always put two different dishes on the table - young people have to help out here too.» That's why a discussion is needed: What do we contribute as a family? What do you do yourself?

At the same time, mum and dad should make sure that their vegan offspring regularly take the necessary nutritional supplements - in other words, supplement nutrients that are usually lacking in a vegan diet, such as vitamin B12. «In an emergency, it's important to set limits here,» says Rose.

«Just like with children who eat everything: You also make sure that they don't just eat sweets and energy drinks.» The nutritionist also advises a blood analysis once a year to check the supply of the most important nutrients.

Nutritionist Pascal Müller has something else to consider: «Eating a vegan diet can also be a socially accepted way of concealing an eating disorder,» he says. That's why it's important to look closely at the motivation. «For example, if the young person is mainly interested in replacing calorific foods, I would be wary.»