I hear this quite often - "Don't force your children to be vegan. Let them make the decision".

While in hindsight it's a good argument and everyone should have their own freedom to make their own decisions, there's quite a few thing you need to be mindful of with children.

IS IT REALLY THEIR CHOICE?:

I have received many comments from people about ‘allowing’ my children to make their own decisions when it comes to food, but the reality is - if my children had a choice their diet would consist of pizza, lollies and hot chips. Hardly nutritionally dense.

The whole point of being a parent is to set good habits and to give your children knowledge before becoming adults.

Children's minds are so open and wild as they grow and learn, so giving them a choice on key aspects such as diet, which is vital for their long-term development, isn't at all realistic.

Once they are out of your care, then, of course, it's absolutely their choice to make their own decisions to see if the seeds that you have planted are reflective of who they are as an adult.

EDUCATION IS KEY:

I find that there's quite a bit of sugar coating for children while they are young and a strong disconnect between the animals we see in the wild compared to the animals you see on your plate.

If people are truly against children having a vegan diet, then it's only fair that we ensure that education surrounding where our food comes from is absolutely justified.

While you shouldn't get graphic and let them watch documentaries such as Dominion, teaching them about where and what happens to animals in the animal agriculture industry is certainly something that parents should discuss at some point.

Teaching them will allow them to make informed and educated decisions once they are older, and truly understand the why.

NUTRITION:

There's a lot of concerns surrounding nutrition and vegans, and especially in vegan kids.

Admittedly, there isn't a lot of research surrounding vegan children as veganism is relatively new and having vegan children from birth is even newer. The fact is though - you can receive all essential nutrients from a vegan diet.

There’s been quite a bit of bad press surrounding some vegan parents starving their children, but just like any diet choice, ensuring your children is eating correctly is extremely important - unfortunately about 96% of Australian children don't reach their daily requirements vegetables (just for reference: Children above 4yrs should be aiming for about 4-5 serves of vegetables and 2-3 serves of fruit per day).

There is plenty of great information available online, but offering your children a varied mix of food items ensures that they have a better chance of reaching their daily requirements. Ensure you research correctly the right foods, and supplement if overly concerned.

Getting advice from professionals is always encouraged.

*Let me know some of the ways you teach your children about veganism. Always happy to learn more and teach others