Because I’m not sure it is.
Situation:
DD is almost 10, school year 5.
Until she was 8 she lived with me (her mum) then she moved in with ExH and Ex-PIL. It’s a long story as to why, but basically at the time it was decided it was in DDs interests to switch.
I have her for 2 overnights every week (Tuesday and Wednesday), have her 1 night every week for tea (Thursday) and have her for 1 full weekend day every week (usually Saturday) – I could have weekend contact overnight but I like seeing her every weekend so this works better than EOWend. This set up means I never go more than 48 hours without seeing her. I also have indirect contact with her on the days she doesn’t see me. On paper however I am down as 104 nights per year and pay above CMS recommended amount due to this. I still do all appointments (DD has SN and a disability often ExH doesn’t come to appointments), all school related things, and I cover all sickness from school/holiday club as my work is far more flexible than ExHs.
When she lived with me she was ExH EOWend for 3 nights (Thursday to Sunday) and 1 night every week for tea.
DD keeps asking to move back in with me due to ExHs food choices but I’m not sure that’s a good enough reason.
I am vegetarian purely because I don’t really enjoy eating meat. I am happy to prepare and cook it for DD but she never wants it, she always wants what I have. I also have made it clear that I am fine with DD choosing the meat options at school for dinner and when we go to restaurants/to family she very rarely does.
ExH and his family are meat eaters so when with them she eats meat. But DD is starting to refuse to eat with them, asking for a none meat option which ExHs family won’t provide as there’s a lot of them that live there so it’s easier to have 1 meal for everyone (at last count there were 4 adults + DD in the house fulltime and then Ex-SILs children stay over with or without Ex-SIL/Ex-BIL 2-3 times a week so often there’s 10 of them there). DD keeps asking to live with me but switch to seeing ExH in the pattern we have now, which ExH isn’t keen on. He keeps saying I should force DD to eat what she's given with me and that I should include meat when I'm cooking for her - I offer DD a choice, she can have what I'm having (vegetarian such as lentil bolognaise) or I can cook her a meat version (beef bolognaise for example) and she always wants what I have.
I don’t feel diet choice is a good enough to go to court over residency, but I also want to listen to DD when she says she only wants to eat meat occasionally. When she lived with me I made her the meat version of whatever I was having until she started asking to try/have what I had and always reminded her she could ask for meat at any time and i'd buy it and cook it for her.
Would you do it? Or is it not a good enough reason? I know it could go against me in court and I could be seen as going against ExHs views, which is not my intention at all, I have no issue with meat and most of my friends haven’t even realised I’m vegetarian as I never mention it.