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A furious mum has fallen out with her best friend over a slice of birthday cake. The food-conscious mum doesn’t allow her child any junk food, but his best friend ‘tricked’ him into eating cake, causing the boy have a sugar rush and be ‘cranky’ for the rest of the day.

The woman says her eight-year-old son attended his friend’s birthday party, who happens to be her best friend’s son. She explained that she doesn’t let her son have any junk food at all, and he usually takes his own snacks to events that are bound to have lots of sugary treats. On this occasion, he took carrot sticks and ranch.

“My best friend bakes a lot, and made a special chocolate cake for her son’s birthday,” the mum explained on reddit. “When it comes to my son, I don’t let him have cake. This is personal preference for his health, not for any allergy reasons, and he is not diabetic or gluten free. My son knows he isn’t allowed to have cake because of the additives.”

“When he told his best friend this at the party, his friend apparently got upset and told him it was ‘good cake’, not bad like I say, because his mum made it, and it was his birthday cake. My son ate cake, got a sugar rush, and crashed, making him cranky for the rest of the day after we left the party.”

‘Am I in the wrong for being upset?’

The incident prompted a confrontation between the mums, who were both at the party.

“I told my friend she needs to have some kind of consequences for her son to teach him not to peer pressure other children into eating things they’re not allowed to have. She said because it wasn’t an issue of allergies or health, that she’s sorry my son was cranky but she won’t be punishing her son or talking to him about it on his birthday.

“She says also that she’ll just that she’ll watch more closely/make sure her husband does in the future, as well as have a chat with him on another day about respecting food habits. (I love my friend, but historically, her and her husband have always said ‘yes’ to their son and not given him any consequences for anything.)

“Both of us were present at the party and did not see them sharing the cake (they were outside eating in the backyard with their fathers and some other parents supervising while we cleaned up) so it’s not an issue of anyone going behind anyone’s back, just teaching children boundaries and respect.

“I let my son stay for the rest of the party and be with his friend, so it’s not like I ruined the day.”

But the mum now wants to know whether she was in the wrong for being upset with her best friend’s son, and the fact that her friend won’t punish him.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

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  • “(they were outside eating in the backyard with their fathers and some other parents supervising while we cleaned up)” then why wasn’t your husband watching him? Why didn’t your husband stop him from eating the cake? I think I read where he only shared a piece of cake with his friend, so it wasn’t even a whole piece?? Surely such a small amount of sugar wouldn’t have made him act out as much as you say? As others have said the other boy and the other mum aren’t in the wrong, they just wanted him to enjoy some cake and have fun on his friends’ birthday. Get over it already!!!!

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  • My kids are not eating much sweets normally but I don’t want them to be left out at the party and had less fun.

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  • No kid wants to go to a Birthday party and not have cake. Surely you could put up with him being cranky for one day.

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  • Lady you are a buffoon! Your suprised your kids best friend shared his cake?? You honestly believe that kid pressured yours?? ????????????
    Kids are kids!!! They share and if your kid isn’t aloud any sweets well you bet your bottem dollar his best friend would sneak him a piece! Because your kid would have been curious!!!!
    That’s kids!!!
    Geez I honestly feel sorry for your kid it will grow up not knowing how to regiment good and bad food…. The minute he’s out of your eye line it will be binge eat till he spews

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  • I think tricked is a complete overreaction. The birthday boy obviously wanted to share his birthday cake with his friend. He knew no different. I’d be more disappointed if the birthday boy didn’t want to share his cake with anyone!
    A little bit of cake won’t hurt & I think this Mum has really overreacted.

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  • To say he was tricked is a bit of an exaggeration. The birthday boy was genuinely wanting his friend to enjoy the party and probably didn’t fully understand the reasons he’s not allowed to have cake. Also blaming an 8 year old when both dads were nearby and could have said no is wrong. When I was a kid a boy in our class was never allowed to have any treats, lollies etc. at every birthday party he would eat as much as he could as fast as he could and would then be sick. I’ve often wondered if he was allowed treats in moderation would he be able to enjoy them without making himself sick. It seems to me this little boy will end up with similar habits.

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  • ‘Tricked’ is over stating it. I thing you risk demonizing and thereby making these forbidden treats way more appealing . Plus is it really worth risking your friendship over?
    We are in a world where Ukraine is being bombed, Madagascar is facing famine, and closer to home 100s of people have lost their homes and livelihoods due to extreme weather…. is a bit of cake really this serious , it seems like a first world problem. Only my opinion of course.

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  • I think it’s an over-reaction. And I’m amazing this child hasn’t had sugar by the age of 8. Is that really true? I had a friend who didn’t allow her son to have sugar, treats, etc. but what I noticed, is when he was at our house or at a party he used to binge and would grab handfuls of lollies, etc. and put them in his pocket whilst trying to swallow the absolute mouthful he had. It was terrible to watch. So perhaps in moderation is better than bingeing. My son also used to tell me how his friend would go to the canteen every day and buy lollies whilst his Mum spruiked that he didn’t eat such things. I’d rather honesty than hidden bingeing.


    • Yes! All he’s learning is how to hide things from his parents.

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  • Wow no sugar at 8? Kept mine off it until around 2

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  • Deprivation and that level of control is very unhealthy for any child.

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  • Children don’t understand why someone else might not be able to eat something, as long as there are no allergies. The parents should talk to their child about the possibility of people having an allergic reaction.
    His friend didn’t want him to miss out on something yum.
    I would be annoyed if it was a parent giving it to the child when knowing ect.

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  • I believe that restricting foods can make them even more desirable. Especially when our brains are wired to enjoy sugars and fats. I hope the mums involved in this can maintain their relationship.

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  • I understand both sides, my son has hardly any junk food as the sugar hypes him up so much and he isn’t a big fan of sweets at the moment. His tried juice but wasn’t a fan so I’m happy with him just having water and milk

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  • I can see 2 sides to this. Good on you for teaching your child healthy eating habits, but occasionally you need to let go a bit and let the kid have some fun.

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  • Good on her for teaching her child good healthy eating habits. I do the same. Healthy eating is important to me and my family. I except my friends and family to respect my decisions on what I give my kids.

    Reply

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