Some people are truly adventurous eaters.
The kind of people who will eat anything served to them or eat any food they come across without giving any thought to what it is.
Of course, one doesn’t necessarily need to be “adventurous” to eat any food they stumble upon, as all you really need is an appreciation for free food.
Even so, it’s always worth giving at least the tiniest bit of thought before biting into something, as you might later regret discovering what it was you just swallowed.
Redditor Admirable_Medicine71 had a special way of preparing her infant son’s cereal.
So when the original poster (OP) saw her father-in-law (FIL) indulging in it, she couldn’t help but laugh, as it featured an ingredient he likely wouldn’t have been eager to try had he known what it was.
Unfortunately for the OP, her FIL did not find the situation anywhere near as funny.
Wondering if she had done anything wrong, the OP took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where she asked fellow Redditors:
“AITA For telling my in laws that my toddler has breastmilk with his cereal?”
The OP explained why her FIL was so furious after eating his grandson’s cereal:
“My son is fifteen months (just over a year) and, as such, is still nursing. I don’t see the point in giving him cow’s milk and freezing pumped milk, so I just put my breastmilk over his cereal or in recipes I’m going to make him.”
“He does have cow’s milk, just not regularly.”
“My in-laws are currently staying with us.”
“This morning, I put my son in his high chair, fed him his cereal, and left him to his own devices.”
“My FIL was in the kitchen, so I left to go wake up my oldest.”
“Anyway, I bring her down and find my FIL finishing my son’s cereal.”
“I laughed a little but went along with my morning.”
“When we all sat down to eat, my FIL commented that the milk in my son’s cereal tasted weird, and asked if it was off.”
“I then told him that he had breastmilk in his, our milk isn’t off.”
“I swear he looked like he was going to keel over and vomit.”
“He was angry and asked why I’d watch him drink it and not tell him.”
“My MIL stepped in and agreed; I know he ‘finishes’ everyone’s meals, and I should have told him beforehand.”
“I do agree that I should have at least told him when he was eating it, but tbh, I thought he saw me tip it from the bottle.”
“My husband is on damage control and has agreed with all of us.”
“He understands all POVs, etc.”
“So, AITA? for not telling them I make his cereal with breast milk?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
While the Reddit community was fairly divided, the OP didn’t gain a lot of sympathy, even though her FIL didn’t really either.
Many agreed that the OP should have warned her FIL that her son’s cereal had her breast milk in it before leaving the room, even if they didn’t think it was right for him to be eating his grandson’s cereal without asking first:
“ESH a bit here.”
“You should have told him immediately when you saw him eating your son’s meal that he had breastmilk in the cereal.”
“But also, what full grown adult just helps them to any and all food they just see laying around, especially a baby’s?”- RubixRube
“You’re not the AH for feeding your child, but you are the AH because you saw FIL eating it and LAUGHED instead of saying something.”
“You thought it was amusing.”
“YTA/ESH for not saying anything to your FIL and assuming he saw you pour it from the bottle.”
“There’s a saying, ‘Assuming makes an @ss out of you and me’.”- Confident-Try20
“Is this post for real?”
“You laughed ‘and went about your morning’.”
“Yes, you are the AH for not saying anything and literally laughing.”
“No, you are NTA for giving your child milk from your breast.”
“The world is so weird anymore.”- BoopBoop20
“ESH.”
“You could’ve told him earlier since it’s the polite thing to do, but never in a million years would I eat after a toddler.”
“With all the germy things kids get into, why would your FIL do that?”- PetrockX
Others, however, felt that since the OP acknowledged that she knew her FIL was prone to finish other people’s food, it was wrong of her not to warn him there was breast milk in the cereal, knowing what a likely possibility it was that he would end up eating it.
“‘I made my son’s cereal with breastmilk knowing my FIL would probably finish it’.”
“‘I didn’t tell him prior or when I saw him eating it’.”
“This, from the Judgment Bot AITA, pretty much sums up why YTA.”
“It’s kind of weird for your FIL to just help himself to your baby’s food, but there’s no reason you couldn’t have said something — especially after you saw him eating the cereal.”-HouseZealousideal656
“Why did you laugh and not say anything to him?”
“YTA.”- Aggressive_Plenty_93
“Yeah, YTA.”
“You didn’t have any obligation to warn him in advance or anything, but when you saw him eating it, you should have said something immediately.”- dishonestgandalf
“YTA.”
“You aren’t the -shole for not warning FIL ahead of time.”
“You are an a**hole for watching him do it and not saying anything.”
“You had to guess that this was something he’d want to know.”
I’m not buying your ‘thought he saw’ me excuse.”- SushiGuacDNA
“YTA.”
“You should have told him once you saw him eating it and subsequently laughing at him over this.”-jrm1102
“You’re not TA for telling him.”
“You’re a bit of an AH for NOT telling him.”
“It would have been fair to assume your FIL did not realize what he was drinking and mentioned it ASAP.”
“I don’t think you’d expect him to be willingly guzzling your milk.”
“That said, cows’ milk is a weirder concept if you overlook how normalized it has become.”
“I’m overall going YTA.”
“It would have been easy to just let him know.”- junglemice
“Knowing that he would probably finish it and then laughing when he did but still not telling him makes YTA.”
“It is weird he decided to eat your toddler’s cereal.”- cbostwick94
“I don’t believe you assumed he saw you pour it. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have found it funny he was eating it.”
“If you ‘assumed’ he knew it was breast milk, I can guarantee your reaction would have been ‘omg what the hell that’s so creepy, AITA for being creeped out by my FIL drinking my breast milk’.”
“So yes, YTA, no one wants unsolicited bodily fluids of any kind in them, and as an adult, you should have had the maturity not to giggle and stop him/inform him.”- Bubble-bubble3
“YTA.”
“You saw him drinking it and didn’t say a word.”
“That’s f*cked up.”- Ok-Whole-4242
A select few, however, felt the OP’s FIL had no one to be angry at but himself, as believing shouldn’t have eaten his grandson’s food for a multitude of reasons:
“NTA.”
“FIL had no business eating your child’s food.”
“I hope he’s learned his lesson!”- jmooremcc
“NTA.”
“Why didn’t he ask you if he could finish it.”
“You could have saved the rest for later.”
“By the time you saw him, he had already eaten some of it anyway.”
“In this day and age, aren’t people afraid of getting sick and sharing germs?”- imbex
“NTA.”
“If he picks up and eats someone else’s food (yes, even a child’s after they are done) without asking, when he didn’t make it himself, it’s his fault that he doesn’t like it.”
“And no, the fact she saw him finishing it doesn’t matter – by that time, he’d already eaten it so the damage was done.”- Fun_Guava_08
“NTA.”
“That was hilarious; sounds like something I’d do.”
“Not sure why people are getting bent outta shape. Grandpa wasn’t poisoned.”
“I don’t see it as much different from cows’ milk, except cows’ milk is slightly more processed.”
“I’d keep the gag going for a bit longer, have grandpa guessing what type of milk is in his coffee.”-Greenspark2017
“NTA.”
“You eat other people’s food, you risk not knowing what you’re eating.”
“Breast milk isn’t going to kill him.”
“He f*cked around and found out.”- Alex2679
It seemed like the OP was pretty aware that what happened was an all but inevitable outcome, making the fact that she didn’t warn her FIL ahead of time seem less than thoughtful.
Then too, perhaps this experience might at least teach the OP’s FIL to always ask before finishing other people’s food.
Leaving one to think there were lessons learned on both sides in this scenario.