There are a million ways someone can accidentally mess up their kid, and no one in their right mind is under the impression that parenting is easy in any way, but some things are just common sense. Making sure your kid has a healthy diet and is knowledgable about nutrition is good. Being a weird dictator about food and prohibiting your kid from enjoying a slice of cake on a special occasion? Not so good. When one redditor asked r/AmItheAsshole whether she was in the wrong for demanding "consequences" for a little kid who shared his birthday cake with her son, Reddit's answer was a resounding "yes."
The thread's top comment from redditor u/SoImaRedditUserNow went in on OP's parenting practices—blaming OP for her son's “crankiness” and calling her a “fascist.”
Many redditors prophesied that OP's strict dietary rules would inevitably backfire, and that unnecessary repression would only cause OP's son to develop a sweet tooth.
"Ask any kid that was denied sugar by parents. What do they do immediately after being in charge of their own food? Pick all the marshmallows out of the sugar cereal they weren't even allowed to eat before and just eat them like I did…This kid will rebel when they are able. And later might even cut mom off entirely if this is not the only area of control she is crazy about, and I'm willing to bet it's not. Op yta. Loosen up or lose your kid at 18." Said u/EmEmPeriwinkle.
“Absolutely!” Added u/Pennygirl. “This is no different than the kids who grow up with super strict parents and then go absolutely WILD when they go to college and get a little taste of freedom. OP is setting up her kid to blow right through the freshman 15 in his first term let alone year of college.”
Others pointed out the hypocrisy of prohibiting a kid from eating homemade cake but deciding that ranch dressing was perfectly healthy.
“YTA It was cake on a special occasion. Your son isn’t being fed cake daily. Also, you have issues with additives in cake, but find ranch to be acceptable?” Asked u/2cents4free.
“But he had wholesome ranch dressing to eat! We all know there are no additives in Hidden Valley!” Joked u/Dead_before_dessert.
Twitter user @aita_online reposted the thread to Twitter, where users there echoed similar reactions and criticisms.