<p>My D has just finished her freshman year ,and is talking about not living in an upper class house ,but getting an apt. so she can have organic food !! I understand that she is a vegan ,but she recently became dehydrated because she refuses to drink out of bottles that are not BPA free. I told her that I think living in an apartment in Cambridge would be too isolating , and can’t she wait to be totally organic until she graduates college ? Has anybody dealt with this ?</p>
<p>My daughter moved off campus for sophomore year. It is difficult to go shopping cause she doesn’t have a car- plus she recently became gluten -free which I support but it does make food buying more expensive.
She suffered from depression winter qtr & had a horrible time, but she won’t consider moving back on campus. Next year she is moving to a house which is almost as close to campus but more in town so I hope it will be a better fit.</p>
<p>Re: water, can’t she carry her own water bottle?
Hipsters do. 
[Klean</a> Kanteen: the Original BPA-free, Stainless Steel Bottle](<a href=“http://www.kleankanteen.com/]Klean”>http://www.kleankanteen.com/)</p>
<p>If my child made this request, I would let my child know that I am not signing a lease and will not be on the hook for other people’s rent within the apartment. Also, I would not pay more than on campus housing (it does not matter that they would have access to an apartment over summer months) and I would not pay for a car. Isolation, would not be a concern for me, as long as the area were safe. BTW, I discussed all of these issues with my younger son when we were looking at colleges. I told him that when he chose a college he should count on living on the campus for all 4 years for the reasons that I listed above.</p>
<p>It can be cheaper to live off campus & certainly you have more room- D2 did actually enjoy living in a dorm freshman year- but it is mostly freshmen that live on campus & since she took a gap year, she already feels " more mature" than many of the students. ;)</p>
<p>She is going to be moving into a house with at least two other young women ( right now she is living in an two bed room apt), many students live with as many as 5 or 6 students, which could really save money, especially if you do meal sharing- but it might be just as noisy as a dorm!</p>
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<p>I don’t understand this.</p>
<p>I don’t drink out of plastic bottles at all.</p>
<p>Every once in a while, I buy a bottle of Snapple or Nantucket Nectars when and either toss the juice or drink it diluted. We have filtered water at home and in the office and I fill the glass bottles with water and put them in the fridge (at home). At home, I pour the water from the bottles into a glass. At the office, I drink out of the bottle, either at my desk or in the fitness center. Every once in a while, I clean the bottles out.</p>
<p>I don’t get the connection between BPA and the dorm vs an apartment. Do they have a water cooler in the dorm that uses BPA plastic? One could always go for a Brita solution.</p>
<p>BPA has effect on boys more than girls. Look in these day and age, unless you grow your own vegetables, and fetch your water from the springs of Himalayas, you will be exposed to chemicals. I am talking from a perspective of a chemist.</p>
<p>Not to be too snarky, but WATER is a chemical.</p>
<p>Sorry. Also speaking as a chemist.</p>
<p>Great one indeed. 
Putting “synthetic" into the sentence may sound too nerdy.</p>
<p>First of all does the school allow for her to move off campus her 2nd year. D’s school required everyone to live on campus for 2 years. Second, it’s kind of late to be making decisions for next year. Does she have a plan for off campus housing. Both of my kids made decisions for housing late fall semester/early spring. Housing Lottery for 2nd years is done spring semester and room and roommate has been settled. </p>
<p>If it was my kid, I would tell her to deal. Buy a water bottle, deal with the cafeteria. Buy the smallest meal plan and supplement it. Really kids don’t have to get everything they want.</p>
<p>I mentioned the bottles only to show how extreme she is getting .At Thanksgiving I got her Tofurky from Whole Foods .She wouldn’t eat it because it is PROCESSED .Of course she has several acceptable water bottles ,but she forgets or loses them .</p>
<p>Sounds like counseling might be in order.</p>
<p>She will do well by opening her own organic farm.</p>
<p>seems like she could stand to benefit from having to rely on herself for her food purchases and preparation…</p>
<p>Having to incur the expenses of an all-organic and all-natural style of living could have the effect of making her realise that she’s being a bit too extreme. </p>
<p>That is, however, only one of the possible outcomes. The other conceivable outcome is that she will not be able to provide for herself in a way that is conducive to her health.</p>
<p>I think that she’s demonstrating some tendencies (dangerously depriving herself of water for the sake of keeping to her purist comestible preferences) that should not be ignored. They could possibly be indicative of some worrisome mental abnormalities.</p>
<p>If she can’t recognise that dehydration poses a greater danger to her health than BPA, I think it may be time to worry. Don’t expect her to be happy about any imposed moderation, but it might be necessary at some point</p>
<p>Do you think that she is getting compulsive in other ways? Is she performing any rituals, or does she have to have things a certain way or order, or are there repeating behaviors? Does she have fears or phobias?
Is she willing to have a rational discussion about the pros and cons of organic food? How does she respond to arguments against organic food? Does she tolerate the opposite point of view?</p>
<p>Sigh. I’m dealing with it again. Why these danged kids want to move out of a place where they don’t have to deal with a multitude of monthly bills, is right on campus, is furnished, is in good shape to have turf wars with crack dens is beyond me. But mine all wanted to do this. They have plenty of time after graduation to fight with stuff and then they’ll have to do it. Don’t have to practice misery, but they can’t wait. </p>
<p>There are water bottles that are not of that sort of plastic. If she can’t even manage water, and without even having to boil it, I’m not too optimistic about her getting a balanced diet as a vegan. My issue with vegetarians even is that they always have to think about what meal to prepare since getting certain nutrients is not a given when you restrict yourself that way, until you get into the swing of it. I’ve had even long term vegetarian friends end up with low hemoglobin and other issues with their kids due to diet. I don’t have any problem with anyone who wants to do this, but doing it in a healthy way is not easy. Not something I would have the discipline to do. </p>
<p>I threw up my hands when my kids started this off campus stuff. Told them they would get exactly what I would pay if they were in the dorms, and it was up to them to come up with the difference. They assured me that they would be saving all this money. Maybe they did. So they said. But I refused to lift a finger on that endeavor which I do not really support. If they want to do it, they can,but it’s up to them. </p>
<p>If your D does get the apartment, I would get a good book regarding vegan diets and health info, as I wish her well. It’s beyond my job qualifications to deal with this stuff with my kids.</p>
<p>I second the concern about obsessive/compulsive behavior. I would also be concerned about eating disorders.</p>
<p>Please take this in a nice way. It just reminds me of a relative who started acting the same way. She wanted to eat super healthy, wouldn’t eat anything processed and started restricting what kinds of things she ate and how they were prepared. She also wanted to move off campus for the same reasons. Long story short, she had pretty serious eating disorder. Being vegan and organic was just masking more serious eating problems.</p>
<p>I don’t know your d nor do I know what her habits are. I am just relating a story about someone I know.</p>
<p>I am vegan, my oldest is vegan and is doing just fine at college (living in the dorm) and we do strive to eat organically and non-processed mostly but I agree that it sounds like she could be flirting with an eating disorder with all of her restrictions. And if that could be the case living on her own would not be a positive. I hope that isn’t the case but it is something to be concerned about!</p>
<p>Anything in moderation! Tell her that if she moves off campus that she will be exposed to more exhaust fumes from a longer commute, that she might be exposed to chemicals in the paint/carpet of non student housing, etc.</p>
<p>I assume there is a coop or organic food store near campus and that she has a refrigerator for her dorm room. Try to find a balance where you can respect her choices without her becoming the controlling factor in your family. What you tried with the fake turkey was nice, but in future let her eat the green bean casserole or maybe help you prepare a second vegetable dish!</p>
<p>Does your daughter’s school have a “veggie coop” option for living? From the website of my daughter’s school:</p>
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