Woman Kicking Friends Out After Their Kid Had a Tantrum Praised: 'Get Out'

The internet has backed a woman who refused to cook a second meal for her friend's child after she left her dinner untouched and cried over chocolate cake.

In a post recently shared on Reddit under the username u/ImSoSorryCharlie, the 30-year-old woman explained that her friends, Mike and Sandra, came over to her place for dinner with their 9-year-old daughter, Charlie in tow. While the night started well, the atmosphere changed as soon as dinner was served.

"Charlie poked at her meal the entire time we were eating and I'm not sure she ate any of it. After we were done, I brought out the chocolate cake. Charlie ate a tiny bite and immediately started bawling. Sandra asked her what was wrong and she cried that she didn't like chocolate. Sandra continued to comfort her daughter while Mike and I awkwardly ate dessert," she wrote.

"A couple of minutes pass and I notice Sandra is glaring at me. I hesitantly asked her if I could help her with Charlie. I'm not good with kids, which she knows, but I wasn't sure what else to do. She huffed and asked, 'Is there anything you'd like to say to Charlie?'"

The poster then said she realized that Sandra "wanted an apology for her kid not eating my food. I thought it might help cheer Charlie up at least, so I said I was sorry that she didn't like my food. Charlie started crying harder and her mom asked me if I had anything she would like instead. I drew the line there."

At this point, the poster told her friend she wasn't going to cook anything else, and while Mike was just silently eating his cake, Sandra tried to convince her otherwise. She then wrapped up their cake and sent them home, suggesting Sandra cook for her daughter there.

"I knew I was about to say something I really regretted, so I slammed my plate on the table and told her to get out. Mike seemed genuinely embarrassed as they left," she wrote.

After talking to the poster at a later time, the couple apologized and explained that the girl was acting out because her grandma was in the hospital. She actually wasn't even a picky eater, just upset.

Soula Hareas, a licensed mental health counselor at McNulty Counseling and Wellness, told Newsweek that when you are invited to someone's home the host wants to make sure you enjoy the evening and goes out of their way to make you feel comfortable.

"The dinner choices were what anyone would call normal dinner options. The mom definitely overstepped in basically demanding the host cook something—this wasn't a restaurant and the woman who invited them was not their personal chef. Regardless of what the reasons were that the mom behaved this way, the host is owed an apology," she said.

"We have all hosted dinner parties and are nervous about everything going well. This is a host's nightmare. Imagine the anxiety this woman was feeling! What if she did cook something else and it wasn't good enough? Should she just keep trying? What if this family is on a budget and spent a lot of money on this meal?

"We all know the price of food has gone up significantly," Hareas said. "Sometimes things like this can be avoided by the host asking if there are any dietary restrictions. Although It doesn't sound like this was the case."

According to Hareas, the women could have easily had a conversation about what was going to be served and the mom could have prepped the daughter about the menu.

"The behavior of the mom also suggests that she needs a bigger lesson: keep family issues at home," she said. "If the issue is that big that causes you to behave this way, then better to cancel than to be this abusive towards a host who did nothing to you but open their home to your family. Any parent will tell you that you should also not bring a child over to a dinner party on a completely empty stomach just in case this happens.

"Give them a snack before they go and if they do not like what is being served then let them know they can eat when they get home but in no way should the host ever be placed in an embarrassing position," she advised. "This mom is just setting her child up for unrealistic expectations of the real world by thinking that everyone is supposed to change their entire plan to accommodate you. That's not how life works, that's not how manners work and this child needs some more of the father's parenting because he sounds a lot more level-headed and mature."

The post, originally shared on the AITA (Am I The A******?) subreddit has gone viral receiving over 13,300 upvotes and 2,400 likes so far.

One user, herdingcats2020, commented: "[Not the a******] she was out of line. If she has a picky kid she should pack snacks or food for her. Crying over chocolate cake. Ridiculous. You did nothing wrong. Mom was wrong. The kid is not your responsibility and catering to her food issues isn't your job."

And Redditor mmslly said: [Not the a******]. Sandra is so out of line, she doesn't see 'the line.' If the child is known to be a picky eater, which we don't know but can only assume that to be the case, then it's Sandra and Mike's priority to make preparations for that. Not the person that is hosting you especially after OP asked! This is absurd and Sandra sounds entitled. Golly!"

User Socialworkerxoxo wrote: "What kind of kid cries over chocolate cake. [Not the a******] your friend Sandra is the a**."

And Individual_Brush_116 said: "[Not the a******] her kid, her problem. She didn't make any comment on the food for her kid when you asked, and you don't go to someone else's invite and demand other food! Also, 9 is old enough to talk, not cry at everything. Both of them need to apologize to you."

Paradox31426 commented: "[Not the a******]. 'is there anything you'd like to say to Charlie?' Did you forget to mention that you're 4 and Sandra's your preschool teacher? Because god**** that is some condescending s*** to say to a person in their own home, especially after they just cooked you dinner."

Newsweek reached out to u/ImSoSorryCharlie for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.