Here’s a question I haven’t answered in a bit. To be honest, I haven’t shared any updates on my kids in a while so I figured it was time. Do they still eat vegan? It’s a bit complicated, but the short answer is no. Here’s the long answer.
As my girls have gotten older, they transitioned from vegan to vegetarian. I knew that this would happen eventually… once they wanted to make their own food choices. I wrote about that in a post long long ago… but somehow we arrived here as quickly as ever. It was hard for me at first to accept, if I am being honest. But I can confidently say that I believe this is what works best for our family, as my partner eats eggs, dairy, and seafood and we never wanted to make him feel like he was “in the wrong” for his own food choices. I personally do not make or serve animal products (and my kids are very aware of my choices and the why), but if my partner makes eggs or the girls are at a birthday party and the cake is non-dairy, they indulge.
Do they eat meat? No, they still have no interest and I really hope it remains that way. Do I buy non-vegan snacks and other items? Also no. When they do have this stuff, it is always outside of the home while we are at a party, traveling, or with friends. So really, it is pretty few and far between… but I like transparency and maybe one of you are also dealing with the same dilemma as your kids grow. So here’s how I have handled it. Am I perfect and is this the right choice for you? Nope and maybe! There is no right or wrong answer here… just doing what I believe it best for us.
I will always be their guide and will always be honest about my own personal choices, but I do believe they deserve the autonomy to choose for themselves. The last thing I ever want is for my kids to be sneaky or try to hide something from me because they think I’ll be disappointed in them. If they want to eat birthday cake with their friends, I’ll let them eat cake. Is it my hope that they will someday decide to nix it again? Definitely. My own mother was vegan for years before her influence reached me in my 20s. Then my sister. Then my brother. Now she has three children who eat vegan! I’ll educate and guide and model and cook and bake plant-based and hope that the seeds will bear fruit for me someday, too. x
love the transparency! my toddler is also not vegan although i am. i thought she would eat vegan until she was older and could make her own decisions, but with my husband being omnivore and daycare providing meals for her, it’s been hard to keep her strictly vegan. it’s been easier to be more lax about what she eats and i know later when she’s older she can decide to be vegan if she wants!
Hi Riley! Thank you for your words. I love hearing how your family handles this. We are all just doing the very best we can for our family. I am glad you found a balance that works for you, too! x