Internet blasts stepmom for body-shaming ‘surprise’ on 6-year-old’s birthday

'Yeah, as someone with an eating disorder, this is how you give kids eating disorders,' a user wrote

PUBLISHED MAR 17, 2023

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The stepmother of a six-year-old was allegedly caught under fury for refusing the child a cake on her birthday because she claims it's "unhealthy" and wants her to make "better choices" when it came to food. Lara, 34, claimed her stepdaughter, Gwen, does not have any boundaries when it comes to eating junk food at her biological mother's house so when the child is at her place she tries "to teach Gwen about healthy eating and moving around."

Gwen spends every other weekend with her stepmother, father, and two stepbrothers. Lara claims, "We are a healthful household and we teach moderation and controlling how much we take when we have treats," according to the post she wrote on Reddit. popular subreddit, 'Am I The A**hole?' "However, Gwen is only here two weekends a month, and her mother has the exact opposite attitude. In all honesty that woman's blood type is probably ketchup. Similarly, Gwen is about 20lb (9kg) heavier than a six-year-old girl is supposed to be," she wrote on the social media platform.

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'I owe Gwen a cake and a big apology!'

Furthermore, when Gwen's sixth birthday fell on a Saturday she spent it at her father's house. "We were talking about what kind of cake to have when I asked Gwen about the healthier choice. My reasoning was that she gets all of that garbage at home, and it's just not good for a growing girl," Lara said. The family then settled on some low-fat ice cream so that the child could still eat something sweet on her birthday.

However, when Gwen's mother found out that the girl was refused her basic privilege to have a cake on her birthday she became furious. The stepmother revealed, "She said Gwen started crying because she really did want a cake but didn't want to make a 'bad choice' - she also accused me of fat-shaming her daughter and said I owe Gwen a cake and a big apology.'" Lara added, "I'm just looking out for a child in my care. I never said she couldn't have cake - she should have told us she wanted one."

'Dad needs to step up'

Internet users slammed the stepmother and accused her of body shaming, adding, she will give the child an eating disorder. One user took the comment section on Reddit and wrote, "YTA. She’s 5. Give the child goddamn cake on her birthday and then go for a family walk after. Also FYI, the good choice/ bad choice talk is just going to give her body image issues for the rest of her life." Another added, "The poor child is 5-years-old. OP needs to just stop commenting on her stepdaughter's diet, period. Just based on OP's attitude here, I'm worried this little girl is going to develop an ED by her pre-teens. I can absolutely understand why the Mom was furious. Dad needs to step up and set some hard boundaries with his wife."

A third seconded, "My heart just breaks for this little girl. She's got one home that supposedly doesn't restrict anything, and another home that overly restricts everything. Like, I can totally see this girl having negative feelings associated with food when it comes to visiting Dad based on OP's word choices and not being allowed cake on her birthday. She's going to binge and sneak foods around OP as she grows, because OP's doing the opposite of teaching healthy eating, by telling her to 'make better choices' when choosing food. OP could have easily given the girl a piece of cake, and some berries other complimentary fruit to eat with the cake. It's all about portion control and moderation."

"OP sounds a lot like my own mom. She genuinely meant well and was a nurse so she understood the science behind her food choices for me. But I’m 42 and have a terrible relationship with food even today. Again, my mom meant well, but kids have an amazing ability to interpret situations differently and usually in a way that internalizes lots of negative self-talk. OP, I think you mean well. But please listen to the feedback others are giving you—this isn’t how you help a 6 year old get healthy. You are going to lead her to some heavy emotional baggage that could last a lifetime," read a comment. "Yeah, as someone with an eating disorder, this is how you give kids eating disorders," another user claimed.

Reddit users oppose the stepmother (Reddit)

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