A frustrated woman turned to Reddit to voice her concern after a recent incident with her sister-in-law and daughters regarding eating.
A Girl’s Night With Aunty Cindy
The Original Poster (OP), a 32-year-old woman, has two daughters named Amy (7 years old) and Rose (5 years old). During their “girl’s nights,” the children frequently visit their 27-year-old aunt (referred to as Cindy).
The girls enjoy these visits as they get to be pampered, and Cindy appreciates the quality time with them since she does not have any kids of her own.
Despite their good behavior, there is one issue that keeps arising during these visits. Amy is a light eater, which infuriates Cindy.
She Lets Her Children Eat How They Want
OP, who grew up with the mentality of “always clear your plate,” understands how harmful this can be to one’s relationship with food. As a result, she allows her children to stop eating if they say they are full (to avoid any pressure to overeat). It is worth noting that they do not throw away the food, but rather store it for later.
Last night, OP’s daughters, Amy and Rose, had a sleepover at Cindy’s. Everything was fine until dinner was served. According to Cindy, she provided the girls with what she considered to be the “proper servings” of Mac’n’Cheese. Amy ate about two-thirds of her meal and then said she was full, leaving one-third uneaten.
Aunty Cindy Pushed Her to Finish Her Meal
However, Cindy persisted in urging Amy to eat more, eventually saying that she wouldn’t receive dessert if she didn’t finish her meal. While this is a common and reasonable approach, Amy refused, replying with attitude, “I don’t want any dessert. I said I’m full!”
Cindy became extremely angry with Amy and went on a rant about respect and wastefulness. She made Amy sit at the table and forbade her from leaving until she finished her entire meal.
She Forced Her to Eat
Amy cried at the table for an hour, taking small bites until she finished all of her food, but ended up not wanting dessert. Throughout the ordeal, Rose, OP’s youngest daughter, was also crying as she hates seeing her sister upset.
Amy reported this to OP, and Rose confirmed the story. Despite this incident, the remainder of the evening went well, as the girls watched cartoons and had a mini spa session.
Upon hearing about the incident from her daughters, OP was filled with rage. She was appalled by Cindy’s behavior, as it not only violated her daughter’s boundaries but also involved body-shaming and forced consumption of food while in tears.
Cindy had told Amy that she was too thin and needed to gain weight, despite the fact that her doctor had declared her weight to be perfectly healthy for her age. This was not the first time Cindy had attempted to pressure OP’s children into eating more, but this latest incident was the final straw.
She Had to Apologize
OP acknowledged that she might have been a bit harsh with Cindy, but she was firm in her decision not to allow her daughters to visit Cindy again until she apologized to Amy. She explained why her behavior was inappropriate and she needed to promise not to repeat it. Cindy, however, believed that OP was encouraging her daughters to be wasteful and ungrateful.
Reddit users were outraged after OP’s daughters were forced to eat beyond their appetite by their aunt. They found Cindy’s behavior disturbing and unacceptable. Many users pointed out that if Cindy was so against food waste, she should consider making smaller portions instead of forcing the children to eat more than they could handle. Some users shared their own experiences with forced feeding and the negative impact it had on their relationship with food.
Kids Need to Develop a Healthy Relationship With Food
The majority of the Reddit users supported OP’s decision not to allow her children to visit Cindy again until she apologizes and promises not to repeat the incident.
Some users suggested that even if Cindy apologized, she should not be left unsupervised with the children. Reddit users acknowledged that what Cindy did was wrong, inappropriate, and could have a significant impact on the children’s relationship with food.
Overall, they believed that OP was not in the wrong for protecting her daughters and standing up for their boundaries.
What do you think? What would you do if were OP?
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The post Her Sister-In-Law Forced Fed and Body-Shamed Her Daughter, so She Banned Visits first appeared on Wealthy Living
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Denis OREA. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: Reddit