Food allergies are an unfortunate but common obstacle that many people have to avoid, and typically both loved ones and strangers alike responsibly avoid exposing allergens to people who will suffer minor to fatal reactions from consuming or even simply being near triggering substances. This Reddit mom’s sister is an outlier of that courtesy, and not by accident — she purposely fed her nephew food he’s allergic to knowing he would have a reaction to it. Get ready to rage, reader.
The mother explains in an “Am I The A—hole” post that her 6-year-old son has allergies, and one of them is food-based. So far his allergies are moderate enough that he doesn’t need an EpiPen, but she shares that she carries one just in case.
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She writes, “My sister has three kids of her own who were blessed with no allergies so they can eat whatever they like. Her oldest (13M) had a birthday party not long ago but I had a work related appointment so I dropped my son off so he could attend. My sister is well aware of his allergies and I asked if she would be serving food that was okay for him to eat. She assured me all was well but I now know it wasn’t.”
“When I returned to pick him up he was covered in a rash and crying,” she shares, continuing, “I immediately recognized it as his allergy acting up and called my sister to the side. I asked if his food had been cross-contaminated but she straight out told me she directly gave him what he was allergic to. I nearly flipped out and had to go outside to calm down.”
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Let us all pause to absorb that the sister blatantly fed her nephew food that would cause him to be unwell and didn’t feel a single ounce of guilt or shame for doing so.
The woman continues, “She defended her actions by saying I was ‘babying’ him and that he needed to learn to grow out of his allergy. She continued by saying she gave her boys everything so that’s why they were stronger and healthier than my son.”
Yeah, that’s not how that works. How dare she belittle her own sister and nephew for an immune response that they can’t control and would surely rather not have to deal with if given a choice?
The mom shared, “She angrily told me that it was her son’s birthday and it wasn’t right that my son was getting ‘special’ food from everyone else. I pointed out that his allergies are nothing for him to feel special about and she countered by saying that if I’m so bothered by his itching I should give him the EpiPen so it could stop.”
What is it with people thinking a child’s dietary restrictions are “special?” Requiring different food from others not only puts uncomfortable attention on those who need it but is also a literal necessity due to negative physical or psychological reactions — not because they’re simply picky or spoiled.
The woman wraps up the retelling of the situation by writing, “I immediately left in my car and when I looked back and saw that my son had cut himself all over from scratching [and] I cried. She called me in the middle of the night and angrily demanded that I apologize to her and her son for ruining his party but I hung up. AITA?”
Redditors are seriously ready to haul the sister to jail, with one user writing, “Your sister didn’t make a mistake. She made a deliberate decision to put your son in danger, despite her knowledge that it would do him harm. That is: 1. Child/Caregiver Abuse; 2. Assault, and a court might make that Aggravated depending on where you are; 3. Making clear that you will not be listened to on this, despite the result.”
Another person agreed, commenting, “Normally I’m not one to say call the authorities, but in this case it should be done. This isn’t some weird prank that can be laughed away. She endangered a child and showed no remorse.” They continued, “Worse is…. One could be concerned for the sisters’ own children. What would she do if one of them had an undiscovered allergy… Would she just ‘toughen them up’ as well? Would she do this to one of her parents when they get old? This woman needs a hard lesson that you can’t treat anyone like this.”
One user pointed out that “food allergies are 100% unpredictable,” writing, “Just because he’s only breaking out in hives now, doesn’t mean his throat couldn’t close the next time he ingests an allergen. Bottom line, your son could have died. Absolutely NTA. And you wouldn’t be at all out of line if you avoided spending time with your sister for a while. For your son’s safety, he should only spend time with people who will respect his allergies.”
The OP provided an update after reading responses to the situation, sharing that she did decide to press charges against her sister. She wrote, “Thank you to all the Redditors that made me realize that I had to get something done because if I’d done something like this to one of her boys she would retaliate immediately.”
She gave more insight into the family dynamic, sharing, “I don’t want to go into full details but the reason I didn’t [initially] report what she did was because she is in a custody battle with her husband for her kids and I didn’t want this to be another reason against her. However I can’t ignore it any longer and although I don’t want her to lose her kids I have to protect mine.”
You would think a woman going through a custody battle would be more conscious of her decisions regarding children — hopefully this situation will serve as a reality check on how she conducts herself as a caregiver.
Even when you’re famous, Mom Guilt is a thing, as these celebrity moms show.
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