SHARON
YNTEMA'S BOOK
VEGETARIAN
CHILDREN
With
her best-selling book: Vegetarian Children: A Supportive Guide
For Parents, (McBooks: ISBN 0-935526-22-6) Sharon Yntema helps
parent guide their kids to healthful, happy dietary choices.
In her practical and inspiring book she uses careful common sense
and the wisdom of her own experience, as well as that of other vegetarian
parents, to cover development issues, the pressures kids face from
friends, the introduction of new foods, and the busy family's approach
to making quick, appetizing meals.
About
The Author
Read
a selection from her book
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Reviews:
Her
advice...is straightforward and compelling. The author cogently discusses
the safety and validity of vegetarianism for children.
-American
Library Association Booklist
One
of the chief pleasures in reading Sharon Yntema's book is the manner
in which the writer takes care to apply the latest research into the
benefits of following a vegetarian diet to the practical realities
of everyday life at home.
-South
Wales Echo
A
recommended sourcebook for parents who are endearing to imbue their
children with an attitude of living humanely on our planet with a
reverence for life.
-The
Clarion Call
About
The Author
Sharon
Kathryn Yntema was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1951. She grew
up on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin islands where her mother first
introduced her to a vegetarian diet. She received a B.A. in
Psychology from Earlham College and an M.A. in Early Childhood Special
Education from George Washington University. Before her son
was born in 1978, she worked as a child development specialist at
the Day Care and Child Development Council in Ithaca, New York.
She still lives in Ithica where she works as the buyer/bookkeeper
for a large independent bookstore. Her vegetarian son continues
to be very healthy, smart and tall, having passed his mother's 5'8"
stature by age 14.
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From
the Introduction to the book
"Raising a child on a healthy vegetarian diet is one of the most concrete
actions of love parent can take. On a physical level,
exposure to healthy foods allow optimal growth and help prevent disease.
On a social level, following a healthy vegetarian diet is a basic
step toward increasing the chance that our planet will survive and
flourish.
Vegetarianism is, for me, the idea parenting medium. It allows
me to nurture a healthy child and imbue him with important social
values. The concept of connection between all living things is essential
to vegetarianism. It leads me to a continuing interaction with others,
widening my own knowledge of the world that I then share with my son.
I try to accept the differences among vegetarians and am willing to
consider openly new information or idea that I had never encountered
before. One advantage of being a parent is that parenting is
a process, not something that is ruined or created in one day.
As my understanding of vegetarianism deepens, my ability to relate
in a healthy way to my family, and to the world at large, also grow.
Vegetarian
Children explores the effects of peer pressure on children and way
in which parents can help counteract the dominance of a meat-eating,
sugar-coated society. Parents need to realize that while they may
be easily able to withstand teasing about their choice to be vegetarians,
children will have a much harder time. In fact, research suggests
that parents who are too strict, without regard to a child's need
for social acceptance, may inadvertently discourage their child from
healthy eating habits. Although the change may be hard to accept,
the complete control one has over an infant's diet is not realistic
as the baby gets older. It therefore seems better to offer support,
encouragement, and most important, good role modeling.”
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Copyright©1987,
1995 Sharon Kathryn Yntema
All
rights reserved
Reprinted
with permission of the publisher:
McBrooks
Press
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Vegetarian
Children
