When it comes to someone’s personal choices about something, they have the right to pick whatever they want; after all, isn’t that what true freedom means? If a person is coaxed into things, it’s pretty obvious that they will choose to rebel, especially when it comes to food, as everyone has unique taste buds. Am I right or am I right?
This Reddit user was not even being a rebel, he simply wanted to fit in at his new school, so he decided to eat non-vegan food. Well, all hell broke loose after his rigid vegan family found out and guilt-tripped him for it!
More info: Reddit
Being forced to follow a diet is definitely snatching away a person's freedom, but unfortunately, some families still do that
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The poster comes from a family of strict vegans and felt "othered" in school as he always had to explain why he couldn't eat something or couldn't go to a restaurant
Image credit: anonymous
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
After moving to a new school, he decided to eat non-vegan food so he could fit in and not stick out, but he didn't tell his parents as he ate vegan food at home
Image credit: anonymous
Image credits: Katerina Holmes / Pexels (not the actual photo)
He was eating a cheese pizza one day when his younger brother saw him and as he had not told him, he went and snitched to his parents
Image credit: anonymous
His parents threw a fit, shamed him, grounded him, and his dad even threatened to contact his school and tell them not to serve him non-vegan food
In today’s story, the 15-year-old original poster (OP) tells us that his family is strictly vegan and his dad even attends vegan protests. He and his brother were raised vegan, so he always felt “othered” in school as he had to explain why he couldn’t eat anything or visit any restaurants. He has always been an awkward and shy guy, and all these things made him stick out, which must have been quite difficult for him.
When the family moved, he decided not to tell people that he was vegan, and chose to eat non-vegan food when he was in school or with his friends. He felt that as long as he didn’t eat it around his parents, he was respecting their wishes, and it does sound quite reasonable. He also didn’t tell his 11-year-old brother as he knew he wouldn’t get any support from him.
One day, things went completely south after his brother saw him eat cheese pizza at school during mealtime. Unfortunately for OP, he went and snitched on him, and to say that his family was outraged by it is an understatement. They even grounded him, shamed him, and lectured him till he started feeling guilty. Further, his dad also threatened to tell his school not to give him non-vegan food.
In a now-deleted update, OP shared that his parents also took away his phone and even refused to make any meals for him. The poor fellow has been only surviving on beans and mycoprotein that he cooked in the microwave. He ended his update by stating that even though people online had backed him, his dad made him watch the movie Dominion, which made him feel more guilty.
He felt that what he did was not worth it and finally decided that he was going to go back to being vegan as he didn’t want to disappoint his family again. It’s quite a sad story, isn’t it? Just makes you wonder how he’s coping with everything.
People couldn’t help but express their anger about OP’s parents in the comments. They all strongly believed that the boy is his own person and should have the right to make his own choices. People even said that his family is acting like a cult and that veganism is like a religion in his house, that his parents have been forcing him to follow.
Image credits: RDNE Stock project / Pexels (not the actual photo)
To get expert insight, Bored Panda reached out to renowned psychiatrist Dr. Kersi Chavda for an interview. He said, “When a child is growing up, he doesn't want to seem different. He'd like to be part of the same team, he'd like to have parents who look like other parents, and he'd like his lifestyle choices to be the ones that most of his peers would also be having.”
“Especially when he's growing up and likes to eat cake, pizza, etc., it might not be nice for him to not be able to participate in other people's feasts or parties or not be able to go out in restaurants where they don't have the kind of option or stuff he's looking for. This can cause a restriction in socialization, which is also a vital part of the growing up stage.”
Dr. Chavda also pointed out that if everybody in the family follows a particular lifestyle, it might not be so difficult initially. He added that as you grow older, start socializing, and start going to school, you see the various available options, and then you start feeling that you are restricting yourself unnecessarily. It seems like something similar also happened in the case of the poster, doesn’t it?
Another important thing that Dr. Chavda spoke about was that as the teen grows, he might start a relationship with someone who might not be vegan, and it can be tough to always compromise on meals. He added that expecting a non-vegan to switch diets or only eat at vegan-friendly places might strain the relationship, especially with limited options, and they might even break up.
It looks like the rigidity of his family diet might have an adverse impact on his future. A lot of people said that once he grows up and becomes independent, it would be better for him to leave and make his own life choices. They felt that he will be under his family’s control as long as he stays with them.
Dr. Chavda also explained that when a person eats what they have not eaten in the past and faces extreme repercussions from their family, they will again revert to the diet of their family’s preference. That is exactly what happened in the poster’s case, as the extreme reactions like grounding and threatening him might have been too much to cope with, so he went back to the old diet.
Lastly, Dr. Chavda ended the interview with some enlightening advice. He said, “Just because he has a different point of view, it's not necessarily a wrong point of view. Whatever is the best that the person can do depending on his or her own capacity of sustenance is what is right for that person and will continue to be right for that person.”
Now that you know the whole story along with expert insights, let us know your thoughts!
Folks were horrified by his rigid parents and they expressed their sympathies toward the poster, claiming that he had done nothing wrong
In the complex journey of growing up, children often find themselves having to navigate between their family's expectations and their own personal desires. While the pressure to conform can be intense, it's crucial to recognize the unique challenge faced by those growing up in homes with specific dietary restrictions.
In this context, it’s insightful to explore how some families deal with dietary boundaries and the dynamics they create within the home environment.