Posted on 10/07/2016 8:47:19 AM PDT by rickmichaels
She was proud to be a vegan, and wanted her son to live like she did. But her family members said she took her food choices too far her diet became a danger, in their eyes, something closer to an obsession than a healthy lifestyle.
She was going to live on water and sunlight, her sister-in-law told CBS Pittsburgh.
When the 33-year-old woman from western Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Hawk, began feeding her 11-month-old child sparse meals of only fruit and nuts, however, that was beyond the pale.
The boy developed what the sister-in-law, Brandy Hawk, described as a severe rash. He seemed to have lost control of his motor skills, she said, rendering his hands useless. Elizabeth Hawk countered allergies were the reason for his apparent malaise, not the diet.
That argument did not convince Jerry Hawk, Elizabeths separated husband and the father of the child. He removed his son from his estranged wifes care, taking the boy to a Children & Youth Services agency in nearby Fayette County. From there, reported Philly.com, the agency transported the child to a hospital in West Virginia.
An attending physician said the lack of nutritious food, according to Pennsylvanias WKBN, caused a failure to thrive. Malnourishment had hindered the boys ability to develop, and ignoring the skin condition could have led to septic shock.
It is not inevitable that a vegan-only menu would doom young children to sickness or starvation, as The Washington Post wrote in July. But a commitment to veganism can make raising a healthy child more challenging, as parents must ensure that a child ingests sufficient calories and the correct balance of nutrients.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalpost.com ...
I owned an art studio where families came to have fun. There was this one couple who came with their young child, probably two years old. The couple were Vegans, spoke about it constantly and how great it was. The poor child was so sickly looking. And she did have a rash on her face all the time which they told me was allergies. 15 years ago and I still think about it.
Is there a law that requires a parent to feed their child meat?
I am surprised that the James Brown look alike in the Whitehouse did not impose it on the public schools.
I dunno. Where do we draw the line? Are the Moms that only feed their kids Doritos, Mac-n-Cheese, Mountain Dew and NO fruits and nuts having THEIR children taken away from them?
Granted, no one wants to see children hurt due to stupidity like either of these examples, but again, where do you draw the line?
I hope THIS kid can recover some brain cells before it’s too late; babies NEED a TON of fat for good brain development.
Babies need fat and cholesterol, their joints and brains especially. I work with a young woman who is a third generation vegetarian. She’s a tiny little thing-cute but with horrible skin. I keep thinking that never having animal protein might have something to do with it. For as much effort as she puts into research and planning her diet you would think that at 20 she would radiate vibrant health. She doesn’t. She is stiff and pretty low energy.
The mom in this article has bought into a false idea that will cause (or has done ) irreversible brain damage to her baby.
Was this mom human, or simian?
it’s not a lack of “meat” per se (especially in an 11 month old) but a lack of sufficient calories (and probably milk) for a growing and developing child. That an adult would assume an adult type diet, especially a “vegan” one, would be good for a baby, is nuts. these people are mental cases. humans are omnivores.
A lot of sugar in fruit and nuts, she’s setting up her kid to get fat, and probably give them diabetes.
Probably not (and rightfully so) but there certainly are laws against child endangerment. The “diet” forced upon this child appears to have had significant adverse effects on his health.
From what I understand, once a doctor diagnoses failure to thrive a parent can lose the child. Starving your kids of nutrition will cause them to be taken away.
If the old adage, 'you are what you eat' is true, this kid will likely end up living in San Fran when he grows up.
I’ve wondered if it were stereotypical, coincidental, or merely anecdotal that every vegan I encounter looks as though they are at death’s door.
We had a keyboard player in one of my bands that relentlessly touted the vegan lifestyle. He and his wife were - and looked - sickly. All the time. I begged them once or twice to eat some damned protein!
How about parents who try to drive ‘demons’ out of their children, or refuse medical treatment for the kids because religious themes? Where does religious ‘liberty’ collide with child endangerment? Anti-vaccination? Should the position of society/government be that you can do/believe whatever you want, but you cannot visit it on your children?
Freedom uncoupled from responsibility seems to be where we are headed.
Vegans (unlike Vegetarians)will not consume milk either because it comes from animals - God designed women to produce milk to feed and nourish their children. Proper nutrition is critical for early development.
God's Law, by His design, says that baby's need something a Vegan diet does not supply.
Back in the late 1990’s, I adopted the vegan lifestyle for 2 weeks. I became weak and was trembling within the first week. I kept losing my balance and had trouble concentrating and was unable to vocalize my thoughts clearly. I told my father and he told me to eat salmon. I got some for dinner that night and it was just like when the scarecrow was given his brain in The Wizard of Oz - my brain needed fats it was not getting from fruits and nuts.
Shame on this mother.
"........before you can say, 'Jack Robinson'."
Vegans are “nuts”!.
Couldn’t the woman at least nurse her child? That might get her the needed fats and proteins.
But maybe not. My sister tried to be a vegetarian but had to give it up when she got pregnant. She had to eat meat to lactate decently.
I am surprised a Vegan could even carry a child to term.
I was going to say something silly like i believe it is in the US Constitution? Glad i did say that.:)
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