'Childish' Dad Eating Alone So Daughter Won't Steal His Food Sparks Debate

A post about a daughter who "always eats" her dad's frosting every time they have cupcakes has gone viral on Reddit.

In a post shared on Reddit's Am I The A**hole (AITA) forum, her father (username tycjy) said every week, he gets cupcakes for himself, his wife and their 10-year-old daughter, who steals his frosting.

After several weeks, he decided to eat his cupcake outside before entering the house and told his daughter that he no longer liked cupcakes when she asked why he had only brought two cupcakes. The plan worked for a while until he got caught by his child and she told his wife about "how much of a terrible dad I am to 'steal her frostings for weeks.'"

His wife thinks he's the "a**hole" and that he's "acting childish and should just let her [the daughter] have it.…"

An August 2020 study in the Women & Health journal stated that "Fathers, in particular, have unique roles in determining daughters' protection against" health risks such as "women's body dissatisfaction and maladaptive eating patterns."

According to the study self-esteem, feminist values and psychological empowerment are also "linked with body dissatisfaction and maladaptive eating patterns among women."

The study found that "fathers play a crucial role in promoting daughter's empowerment, egalitarian gender-role socialization, and healthy psychological well-being."

The latest post ignited a heated discussion among Redditors, with many blaming the father for bad parenting.

In a comment that got 23,600 upvotes, user Calm_Initial said: 'YTA [you're the a**hole]. Not for eating your cupcake outside really. But because you have failed to teach your child that she can't always get what she wants or that she isn't entitled to your frosting. That is YOUR cupcake - frosting and all. She has her own and that's all she's allowed to have."

In a comment that got 1,400 upvotes, numbersthen0987431 said: "Honestly whenever a child comes across as an entitled brat I am always pointing the 'blame' at the parents, and not the child. It's like 'you did this, YOU fix it'."

In a comment that got 228 upvotes, user avast2006 wrote: " That is a terrible lesson to inculcate in a person. 'I get all of mine, and some of yours, every single time. It is my natural place to get more than those around me.' What a way to teach someone entitlement."

Several users also believed his daughter was old enough to know better.

In a comment that got 419 upvotes, BrownEyedGurl1 said: "I didn't realize she was 10. OP [original poster] get this under control, although it might be difficult."

In a comment that got 81 upvotes, user siddhananais wrote: "Reading it, I thought 'this is something my kid would try to do,' but that's because he's 2. When I went back and saw this was a 10yo I was really surprised."

User dessa10 said: "10 is plenty old enough to be told no, I wouldn't put up with that crap from my 5yo."

In a later post, the original poster said he and his daughter had "a serious conversation" and came to an agreement that "she'll stop stealing my frostings if I stop stealing her chips, so we're good."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment.