A mum has been left furious after her five-year-old son's birthday party was ruined when her cousin's little boy caused a huge tantrum and smashed the cake because he wasn't allowed to blow out the candles.
The mum was excited for the party as her son hadn't had a birthday celebration since he turned two before the pandemic, when he was too young to remember anything, so they invited the whole family to join them.
"One of my cousins, a single mum, has a very unruly six-year-old. He is loud, disobedient, and a nightmare in public. When it came time to blow out the candles and cut the birthday cake, he came and stood directly next to my son," she wrote on Reddit's AITA forum.
"I anticipated what was going to happen next and asked my husband to stand behind this kid in case he tried to pull anything."
As they sang happy birthday, the six-year-old kept trying to blow the candles out, but fortunately, her husband was able to hold the child back and block him from getting near to the cake.
"Eventually my son blew out the candles and the kid absolutely lost it. He threw a tantrum and slammed his entire arm into the cake, knocking it into the table," the mum continued.
"It was so awkward, everyone gasped and got quiet. My son looked up at us and I could tell he was about to start crying. In an effort to not cause a bigger scene, my husband picked him up and whispered to him that we had another special cake just for him (we didn’t) and he seemed to calm down."
In the meantime, the six-year-old was still in the midst of a screaming match while absolutely covered in cake, but his mum was nowhere to be seen.
"I walked him over to the sink and washed him off and quietly told him that he shouldn't have done that to the cake and that he should apologise to his cousin for what he did. He screamed 'NO!' in my face and then ran away," the mum wrote.
"My husband ended up running out to buy a sheet cake that we cut and served to everyone. I spoke to my cousin after the party about what happened since she wasn’t in the room, and she brushed it off saying 'kids will be kids.' I completely disagree. I've been to plenty of birthday parties where the other kids let the birthday boy/girl have their moment."
The mum suggested her cousin should pay for the ruined cake, and in turn her cousin looked at her "like she was crazy." She reminded her cousin how important the party was to her son, since he'd never been old enough to remember his birthday, and pointed out that all he'd remember now was his cousin completely ruining the day.
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"She got extremely defensive and refused to pay for anything. She then accused me of acting like 'the perfect mum' and began to list the ways in which I was in fact NOT perfect. It was a hurtful conversation and we haven’t spoken since," she continued.
"I sent her the bill for the ruined cake and she has not paid us. I actually feel she should pay for both cakes since her kid is the reason we had to get a new one, but I didn’t go that far. My husband thinks she’ll never pay us and that I should drop the issue at this point
"He says that since she’s a single mum it’s probably hard on her and we should cut them both some slack. I understand that, but I feel like that’s just letting her and her son off the hook and this will lead to even bigger problems in the future if we don’t hold them accountable."
The mum then turned to Reddit to question whether she was overreacting about the cake or whether it was justifiable to expect her cousin to pay for the damage.
"You'll never get your money, but I think you made the point. The kid is a jerk because the parent is a jerk. No longer invite them to any parties and enjoy your immediate family because they seem nice," one Reddit user suggested.
Another added: "Your husband is partially correct. The mother will never pay that bill. In the future, you just don't invite them. If the mother asks why, you tell her because that she seems incapable of controlling her kid."
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