Soymilk and children?

[BethanyB]

Hi. I have four small children (oldest is 5, youngest is 2). We are completely plant-based.

I saw a nutritionist to make sure I was feeding them adequately for their growing bodies, and she said I needed to give them more calories, even though I make sure they have foods like nuts and seeds, avocado, nut butters, and dried fruit daily to ensure proper calorie density and fats for growth.

She said I need to give them soymilk a couple of times a day at least rather than almond, rice milk etc bc it is the highest in fat, calories, etc.

But I know it is best to really only consume smaller amounts of fermented soy products, organic tofu, etc.

I'm stuck between giving them the calories/fat they need, and trying to avoid daily soymilk intake.

Is daily soymilk safe? (I wasn't too worried about it, however I began myself to have soymilk over granola and one or two cups of soymilk a day and I had two menstrual cycles in one month, which alarmed me as far as the estrogenic activity.)

Thanks for your input.

[jamietwo]

Kids don't need milk after they wean from the breast. Let them drink water!

Here's what Dr. McDougall has to say about feeding kids:
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2012nl/sep/children.htm

Good luck!

[BethanyB]

Thank you, jamietwo.

I've read everything plant-based dr's write on feeding children including McDougall's, and theoretically I believe it. However I wrote a food diary on exactly what my kids were consuming for a 2 week period.

We are plant-based eaters, and my kids are not picky at all so they generally eat what I serve. Even with me feeding high-fat, high-calorie choices with meals, they are still not getting adequate calories for growth/development (as told to me by really good nutritionist) so the organic, non-GMO soymilk was highly recommended as necessary.

It seems to be a question of theory vs reality, maybe. Kids eat small amounts, so they need high calorie food. If you wipe out animal products, and also even plant-based milks, it seems very easy to be calorie-deficient.

Herein lies my problem.

[louie]

I saw a nutritionist to make sure I was feeding them adequately for their growing bodies, and she said I needed to give them more calories,

just a question - what was her basis for saying that "you need to give them more calories"?? was she just basing this on a food journal, or did she actually weigh/measure them or do any other sort of tests?

[louie]

also, does she specialize in plant-based nutrition, or is she just a standard nutritionist? i only ask this because many nutritionists/dietitians can be very biased, and basically clueless when it comes to PB nutrition...

[oregonmom]

What was her reason behind saying they need more calories? Are the kids having any growth or development issues? If they are growing and developing normally, I personally wouldn't worry about it. If your kids aren't picky, they are likely getting better nutrition than most kids so you're ahead of the game.