When my daughter, Jilly, was a baby, she never had colic, ear infections, flu, or any serious illness. My infant son, Dash, is now following her example. My friends think I’m just lucky, but the truth is in what my kids eat. When you get rid of meat, dairy products, and eggs, good health is almost sure to follow.
My decision to raise vegan children scandalized my family. “They’ll be sickly and scrawny,” they warned. In fact, I’ve given my kids a better start in life than the majority of children. But I confess I had moments of doubt in the beginning. True, I’d been a vegetarian for years. But weren’t children different? The list of adult illnesses stemming from a meat- and dairy-based diet reads like a Who’s Who of modern-day killers—heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, stroke. But what about babies? The answer shocked me. Drinking milk has been linked to asthma, allergies, intestinal bleeding, and even juvenile diabetes! That clinched it!
 My pediatrician was skeptical at first. (When my daughter began eating solid food, my doctor had said, “Mix the meat with fruit to disguise it. Babies don’t like meat. It tastes dead to them.”) However, the consulting nutritionist confirmed what I’d already learned: Kids not only don’t need any animal products, they’re much better off without them! She gave me confidence and some easy instructions. Here’s what I found:
• Breast-fed babies are happier and healthier than formula-fed infants. Most babies who suffer from the endless crying and the discomfort of colic are fed dairy-based formula. I passed along protection from illness in my breast milk, and since I’m vegan, I didn’t pass along pesticides, which collect in animals’ muscle and fatty tissue. I even lowered the chances of SIDS—Sudden Infant Death Syndrome—which is more likely to strike formula-fed infants.
• If you don’t breast-feed, soy-based formula is easier on babies’ digestive systems than cow’s milk and is available in powder and liquid form.
• My children have never had a problem with protein, calcium, or iron. Most kids and adults eat too much protein, and because they get it from animal products, they get a whopping dose of artery-clogging fat with it. Too much protein actually causes the body to lose calcium, so drinking cow’s milk is one of the least effective ways to strengthen bones.
 Every day, my kids prove me right. My daughter is now 6 years old. She is tall and strong and athletic. She was playing soccer by 18 months and taking dance class at 3. She has never had bronchitis or strep throat. Her little brother is gaining weight at a rate that astounds his doctors.
There are other benefits, too. My daughter is old enough now to understand that a hamburger was once a cow and that a drumstick came from a chicken. She feels good about doing her part to stop cruelty to animals.
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“How do kids do on a vegan diet long-term?”