A mother in Singapore became the target of criticism after posting a TikTok video explaining why she doesn’t let her child eat birthday cakes in school during celebrations.
“Do you let your child eat birthday cakes in school?” she asked in the video before revealing that she doesn’t let her son eat such desserts, “although he’s more than welcome to sing and celebrate the happy occasion with his friends.”
The mother highlighted the culture of celebrating birthdays in school with a cake, and when it was time for her son’s special day, he also asked for a cake. He is allowed to have some cake on his birthday but during his classmate’s birthdays, he is only allowed to have fruits.
@roots_to_wings
When it was her turn to prepare her son’s birthday cake, she was told that the cake should be able to be cut into 25 to 30 slices. “So if you think about it…your child will be eating 25 to 30 slices of cake in school in the entire year because there are about 25 to 30 students, am I right?” she asked.
The mother expressed concern that the amount is “a bit too much” as even adults don’t “eat as many slices of cake.”
“We don’t want to associate cakes or junk food with celebrations… I’m just glad that I made a very good decision to let my child eat fruits when his friends have their birthday cakes,” she added.
The video sparked over 1,700 comments from netizens who criticised the mother’s decision. Many touched on the underlying effects of making a child feel left out or the possibility of developing an eating disorder in the future.
“And when he grows older, he’ll learn to sneak eat and lie while feeling guilty about eating the ‘forbidden food.’ Way to start your child on the eating disorder track. Good job!” said a TikTok user.
“Just my 2 cents! Cuz my parents used to restrict what I ate, and it took me four years of healing to develop a healthy relationship with food again!” commented TikTok user Samantha Ng.
Others revealed that students don’t eat that many slices of cake because many parents don’t bring cakes for their child’s birthday celebrations, and some opt for goodie bags instead.
Teachers also commented that the cake slices “are super small” and not like what is purchased at food establishments.
“It’s always these parents that make me wonder, do y’all have THAT little faith in our kindergarten teachers in SG regarding portion control?” asked a netizen.
“I’m a kindergarten teacher, and I have a student with a parent like this. Her face is always sad during celebrations cuz she knows she can’t eat cake,” added another teacher.
Meanwhile, TikTok user Sebastian Oh wondered why the mother needed to explain her parenting decision in a video. “Just proceed with her action quietly; nobody will know. Post video then invited many negative comments, then have to think of how to address these comments.”
The mom then created two other videos: “More about cakes: Part 1 & 2” to respond to concerned netizens:
@roots_to_wings Replying to comments in general here ❤️
@roots_to_wings Thanks for listening, I truly appreciate everyone’s concern for my child’s overall well-being😍
/TISG