If a parent goes vegan, should the small kids, also?
If a parent decides, for humanitarian reasons, to go vegan, is it reasonable to ask 4, 6, and 8 yo kids (generally upbeat and compliant) to follow suit, at home and away? In any case, how well do kids take that type of request? If it works for a short time (say a month) is it likely to work longer term? Does anyone have experience with this?
Update: It is now a few months and all is not well. The young kids cry when they are at a birthday party and cannot eat the cake. Sigh.
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Just my personal opinion, but:
I think this is a choice you should leave up to your children. Whether or not a vegetarian or vegan diet is good, advisable or even ethically required is very much in debate, with good arguments for both sides.
From a medical point of view, I think the general consensus is that vegetarian is ok for children, if it is carefully balanced, while vegan is (at least) discouraged because it is close to impossible ot meet a child's nutritional needs without supplements. So an important point against a vegan diet is that you may harm your child.
For such ambiguous cases, I think the children's wishes should take precedence. You can explain your choice to them in terms they can understand (even a 4-yo should be able to grasp the basic issue), then let them decide. And I would be very wary about a vegan diet (even if they should choose it), because of the concerns noted above.
At any rate, a decision like whether they prefer vegetarianism over eating the birthday cake should be left up to them, as it's really a very personal decision, and one they should be able to make.
Note: My wife is vegetarian (though not vegan), while I am not, and we let our daughter decide for herself - the result is she ocasionally eats meat, but rarely.
Some nutritionists advise against a strict vegan diet, particularly for very young children, as it can be difficult to meet their nutritional requirements.
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/apr/20/veganism-safe-children www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/vegetarian-diets-and-children
As a parent your primary responsibility is the well-being of your children, so it's important to be very well informed, and base your decision on reliable, and objective nutritional research.
A less strict vegetarian diet may be an appropriate compromise, as long as you're very careful to ensure that they're getting sufficient nutrition.
The most cautious approach may be to simply cut back on meat products, but don't eliminate them entirely.
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