Parents will often instil their own beliefs into their children through the way that they raise them, and when it comes to following specific diets such as vegetarianism or veganism, it's usually up to the parent to decide how to feed their child.
But one mum on Mumsnet has said she's been warring with her husband over the diet that their unborn daughter will follow when she's welcomed into the world in July.
The mum explained that she follows a vegetarian diet and therefore wants to raise her child in the same way once she's been weaned off of milk - but her husband disagrees, calling it "unreasonable".
And even though the mum has insisted she'll let the youngster decide for herself when she's old enough, her husband still thinks the child should be "made to eat meat" in the early stages of her life.
Get the news you want straight to your inbox. Sign up for a Mirror newsletter here.
In her post, the mum said: "I am pregnant and vegetarian. We're expecting a little girl in July and I'd like to bring her up as a vegetarian, as I don't feel it's fair to make her eat animals until she's old enough to decide she is happy to.
"My husband, on the other hand, thinks she should be made to eat meat until she's old enough to decide. Who is being unreasonable here?"
The mum's question split opinion among other Mumsnet users, as people said they agreed that their daughter should make her own decisions, but were split on which diet to follow in the meantime.
One person said: "I’m vegetarian but brought my children up eating meat until they could choose for themselves. One has now chosen to become vegetarian, but the other is happy to continue eating meat.
"Selfishly, I felt it easier to bring them up eating meat, rather than worrying they weren’t getting a fully rounded diet by being vegetarian if they were picky and also worrying at parties if they ate a chicken nugget."
While another added: "I would have to side with your husband here. The main reason being it will be easier to ensure she's getting all of her essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals etc by eating a variety of foods including meat and fish."
And others tried to come up with compromises, such as allowing the parent who is doing the meal planning to decide what type of meal to serve.
Someone said: "This is a difficult one. Who does the cooking/meal planning? Because I think that realistically, whoever is cooking and preparing the food for the child, more or less gets to decide within reason [what they eat]."
As someone else wrote: "I'd say the fairest compromise is that if you buy her/make her a meal, it will be veggie, and if he buys her/makes her a meal, it can [have meat]. At some point, she will show a preference."
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at yourmirror@trinitymirror.com .
