You may have seen the headlines: Sheila OLeary, a Florida mother, was sentenced to life in prison on Aug. 29 for the starvation death of her toddler in 2019. At 18 months of age, her son Ezra OLeary weighed only 17 pounds not even making it into the first percentile of the growth charts commonly used by pediatricians.

When covering the story, many media outlets dubbed OLeary vegan mom. Investigators said that OLeary told them her family ate only raw fruits and vegetables, and that Ezra was given breast milk as well. His siblings, ages 3 and 5, were also reported to have been malnourished.

Vegans and their supporters say that its unfortunate that OLearys case in addition to a few others that have made headlines over the years is the only example of vegan parenting that many people have heard of.

I dont think that had to do with veganism. I think that was child abuse, Deborah Malkoff-Cohen , a pediatric nutritionist, told HuffPost, noting that the child must not have visited a doctor, as the issue would have been identified much earlier by a pediatrician during a well-child visit.

It saddens me that many people will be scared away from raising their children on a plant-based diet because of these types of headlines, said Dr. Yami Cazorla-Lancaster , a pediatrician who has fed her own two sons a plant-based diet for 11 years.

I am very careful to counsel parents that raw vegan diets are not appropriate for children because it is simply too difficult for them to acquire sufficient calories for growth from raw fruits and vegetables, explained Cazorla-Lancaster, adding that a child who is not gaining sufficient weight would be diagnosed with failure to thrive and treated by their doctor.

Malkoff-Cohen said that cases like the OLearys give vegan diets a bad name. She notes that she has seen adults with inflammation, heart disease and insulin resistance all improve their health by going vegan, and believes that such diets can work for some people.

In a 2016 position paper, currently under review for potential updates, the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics voiced its support for appropriately planned vegan diets for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adulthood, and for athletes.

I have had the privilege of witnessing many healthy, thriving vegan children grow up, and I have no doubt that children can be safely and healthfully raised on an exclusively plant-based diet, said Cazorla-Lancaster.

Like using cloth diapers or commuting by bicycle, veganism is an eco-conscious lifestyle choice that isnt mainstream, but feels right to some parents.

I have followed a vegan diet as a way to extend compassion to animals, said Karla Moreno-Bryce , a registered dietician in Minnesota. Both my kids have been following a vegan diet since conception, and it is very rewarding to be able to share this lifestyle with them.

If youre considering veganism for your family, here are a few things to keep in mind.

Get creative.

Malkoff-Cohen shared a meal plan she had written for a couple who wanted to raise their toddler vegan. It featured items like a chickpea-potato-broccoli patty and red lentil meatballs that sound delicious, but are also a lot of work for the food-preparing parent.

You have to cook a lot more things, she said. You have to be more creative.

Malkoff-Cohen shared a couple of tricks: A serving of cooked spinach can be added into a smoothie for a dose of calcium. You can sprinkle fortified nutritional yeast on pasta and popcorn for a good source of B vitamins.

Some parents hire a nutritionist to help their families navigate this new way of eating. There are also guides from organizations like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Cazorla-Lancaster recommends the books Nourish and The Plant-Based Baby and Toddler .

With the proper knowledge about the key nutrients for kids who follow a vegan diet . . . and how to meet them through plant based foods, parents can feel reassured theyre supporting the growth and development of their kids, and feel proud of following a vegan lifestyle, said Moreno-Bryce.

Plan around key nutrients.

Moreno-Bryce identified calories, fat, iron, zinc, iodine, calcium, vitamin B12 and vitamin D as the ones to keep track of when feeding a vegan diet to your kids, and explained that a variety of plant-based foods from grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds throughout the day and week will cover almost all of these bases.

Malkoff-Cohens meal plan included sources of protein and fat at every meal, as well as daily servings of iron and calcium. Breakfast might be a smoothie with nondairy milk, frozen banana and almond butter, and lunch could consist of a sweet potato black bean burger with avocado and fries.

Moreno-Bryce said that she uses routines, family meals and intuitive eating with her own children to ensure that Im best supporting their growth and development while following a vegan diet.

Cazorla-Lancaster said she recommends that all of her patients take a vitamin D supplement, and that those on plant-based diets add a B12 supplement as well.

B12 is a nutrient that naturally lacks in plant foods, and a supplement, in addition to fortified foods that include Vitamin B12, is the most reliable source, said Moreno-Bryce.

Consider your childs individual nutritional needs.

A kid with a nut allergy will have to work hard to find other sources of protein and fat. A child with a sensitive stomach might experience digestive discomfort on a high-fiber vegan diet. A teen athlete may need to consume a great quantity of protein and calories.

Any of those children, though, might also be committed to an animal-free diet, and willing to try new kinds of fortified milks or other foods until they find the combination that agrees with both their body and their values.

In the case of the vegan toddler that Malkoff-Cohen helped meal plan for, she became more selective with what she would eat and wasnt gaining weight, so her parents decided to add eggs and some dairy products into her diet.

Maybe when shes 10 or eight, shell realize she wants to eat what her parents eat. But I think they did a good thing for her, said Malkoff-Cohen, who said that the child did grow on her adjusted diet.

Plant-based diets are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fiber that are beneficial for health and are often low in the standard American diet, said Cazorla-Lancaster. However, if a child is not getting enough calories, they will struggle to gain weight and grow appropriately.