Malachi Craine’s mother, Angel Craine, said they had handed out invitations to his party two weeks ago but no one sent in their RSVPs.
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She was shocked to discover that the children at her son’s school began bullying him for having a dairy free cake.
“They’ve all bullied him and told him they aren’t coming unless he has cow [dairy] in his cake,” she told 7 News.
“I just can’t get over that kids his age already bully vegans. [Malachi] was pretty sad that no one wants to be his friend or come but he’s pretty resilient.”
Angel told news.com.au that they have spoken to the school about the bullying but sadly, nothing has changed.
“He still comes home since then and tells me the kids aren’t being nice to him,” she said.
The 27-year-old had planned to make a chocolate vegan cake for her son’s Pokemon-themed party at the end of October.
Seeking some help, Angel shared her experience and asked for advice from local vegans in her area with children in the Vegans in Australia Facebook group.
“My four-year-old son seems to get bullied a lot for being vegan. Apparently none of his friends want to come to his birthday if he has a vegan cake and are always being rude about him being vegan all the time,” she wrote.
“So I’m wondering if there are any people around northside of Brisbane with vegan children that would like to come to his fifth birthday.”
Her post was given so much support that thankfully there will be 12 children of group members attending Malachi’s party, something the soon-to-be five-year-old is excited for.
“He’s always excited to make new friends and is super excited about his birthday,” she told news.com.au.
And while no parent ever wants their child to be bullied, Ms Craine is proud of her son for standing up for himself and not buckling under social pressure.
“I am proud my son doesn’t let the bullies get to him so much and is still so passionate about being vegan and loving animals,” she said.
Angel had transitioned into a full vegan diet last year but didn’t force her two sons to follow along.
However, Malachi chose to become vegan since January after realising what was in chicken nuggets.
This story was originally publushed on News.com.au and has been reproduced here with permission
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