Woman Criticizes Mother-In-Law For Breaking 'No Sugar Rule' & Making Cookies With Her Son
It's not about the sugar, but the lasting memories.
Evgeny Atamanenko / Shutterstock Many of us likely have cherished memories and traditions we created with our grandparents. Whether it be grandma picking us up early from school for a shopping day or grandpa bringing us to our favorite diner for a milkshake date, they hold a special place in our hearts and strengthen our bond with our extended family.
However, when one mother learned that her son had baked cookies with his grandmother, she was mortified and never wanted them to bake together again.
The mother claimed that she had a ‘no sugar’ rule in her house which her mother-in-law disregarded.
In a TikTok video viewed nearly 800,000 times, Mercy Festus' mother-in-law was filmed baking chocolate cookies with her two-year-old grandson, Davin. She was visiting Festus and her family for the holidays and hoped to start a new baking tradition with her grandson.
Standing up on a stool so that he had a front-row view, Davin watched his grandmother whisk the flour, butter, eggs, baking soda, vanilla extract, and all of the other ingredients that go into making cookies — including sugar, of course.
Davin was more than eager to help his grandma dump all of the sugar into the dough. “That’s gonna be one sweet cookie,” Festus was heard saying off-camera.
Her remark did not mean that she approved of what her son and his grandmother were doing together. Festus revealed that she had a strict “no sugar” rule in her home that prevented her children from eating sweets.
Despite her rule, Grandma encouraged her grandson to help her as much as he could with the baking and ensured that he was heavily involved throughout the entire process. As Davin rolled the dough into balls before they went in the oven, his mother even asked him if he was having fun, to which he nodded his head excitedly.
Photo: JasonDoiy / Canva Pro
While the end products looked delicious, poor little Davin wouldn't be able to enjoy his hard work due to his mother’s disputable rule.
Festus felt so disrespected by her son being part of a tradition that involved sugar that she forced her mother-in-law to go home the following day.
“Grandma has to go because she didn’t follow the rules,” the woman said to her children in a follow-up video as the grandmother said goodbye to them.
Festus' husband was not amused, however.
When the woman explained to him that his mother “didn’t follow my rules,” he responded, “You sent her home for that? What is wrong with you?”
He was not the only one who felt outraged.
The majority of people slammed the woman for her harsh food rules, claiming that she was doing more harm than good for her children.
“Strict food restrictions like no sugar create eating disorders and obsessions. my mom was from a no-sugar house so she would binge eat until she was sick on sugary foods when away from home,” one TikTok user commented. “My mom was so strict with us like this as kids. I now struggle so hard to have sugar/candy etc. without absolutely gorging myself,” another user shared.
While it is important to promote healthy eating choices for your children, ensuring that their diet consists of fruits, veggies, and protein, a cookie every once in a while will not send them into a diabetic coma. In fact, research suggests that forbidding children from eating certain foods only makes them crave them more, and can result in eating disorders and negative feelings surrounding food.
Most people were angered by the fact that Festus took a sweet tradition between her son and his grandmother and turned it sour.
“We’re all on grandma’s side … your son will never forget this memory,” one TikTok user commented. “Baking with grandma are some of my favorite memories,” another user wrote.
“Limited sugar is better than no sugar. And this sugar comes with priceless bonding and learning,” another user noted.
Others shared that their grandparents were no longer alive, and would do anything to participate in holiday traditions with them.
Photo: Drazen Zigic / Shutterstock
Grandparents won’t be around forever. There will soon come a holiday when those yearly traditions will only be a memory, so it's important to cherish them while you can. So the next time Grandma comes over to bake with you or your children, throw the sugar rules out the window and have a cookie ... or two ... but who's counting?
(Note: It appears that the content posted by the woman may be satire and should not be taken seriously).
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.