This mother was furious after partygoers offered her 1-year old daughter a piece of cake without asking for permission.
Reshni Ratnam and her family recently celebrated her daughter Isla’s first birthday. However, things definitely didn’t turn out as expected, at least that’s what this mom says. She turned to Rendeview to write about how frustrated she was that her daughter was offered a piece of cake without checking in with her to see if that was okay.
“Every milestone is a big deal to us. First birthdays are special to every parent,” Ratnam wrote, describing Isla as her “miracle baby” after she was born at only 29 weeks. As such, Ratnam and her husband pay special attention to their daughter’s diet to ensure she’s in her best health. “We watch Isla’s diet closely and rarely feed her packaged products. We don’t add salt to her home cooked meals,” the mother wrote.
The toddler had never had any sugary sweets before her birthday, which is what made the piece of cake such a big deal to Ratnam. In fact, the seemingly innocent slice actually made baby Isla incredibly sick, since her body wasn’t used to processed sugar.
“Isla was violently ill (projectile vomited everywhere) the night of her birthday and had a terrible tummy for several days after. Her body was not ready for a sugar rush,” Ratnam explained. “In fact, we didn’t want our dear daughter, who only weighs 8kg, to eat cake on her birthday. […] No doubt the photos look good — it’s definitely one for her photo album. She devoured the piece of chocolate cake. But a line was crossed that day.”
Ratnam added that she’s tired of people telling her it’s no big deal or that she should just let it go. “Since the incident, comments have been made like, 'it’s just cake', 'it was her birthday', 'why can’t she have cake? Is she allergic to sugar or flour?” she explained. “The fact our daughter was sick from ingesting so much cake is a sign her little body wasn’t ready for sweet treats.”
She went on, “It is not OK to feed a baby without their parent’s consent. Adults should show some leadership and not encourage children to eat sugar-loaded foods, especially at a young age.” Ratnam added that her daughter will begin eating more sugar as she gets older, but for now, it’s important for people to respect her parent’s wishes concerning her diet. Otherwise, what may be a well-intention gesture turns into a night full of sickness.
Ratnam concluded: “While nothing malicious was intended by giving our one-year-old a sugar hit, we hope in future others are mindful before good intentions cause harm."