Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app
Continue in app Continue in browser

BoredPanda Add post form topAdd Post
Tooltip close

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here.

Woman Asks SIL To Stop Putting Butter On Her Food In Front Of Her Daughter
238

Woman Asks SIL To Stop Putting Butter On Her Food In Front Of Her Daughter

Woman Asks SIL To Stop Putting Butter On Her Food In Front Of Her DaughterWoman Asks SIL To Keep Her 'Unhealthy' Eating Habits Away From Her Daughter“It’s On You To Parent Your Kid”: Mom Stops SIL From Using Butter, Divides The InternetMom Thinks SIL's Eating Habits Will Badly Affect Her Daughter, Asks Her To StopWoman Asks SIL To Add Her “Slab” Of Butter Outside Of Her Daughter’s View, Drama EnsuesMom Asks If She Was Wrong To Ask Relative To Not Flaunt Her Eating Habits In Front Of Daughter“She Will Add A Half A Stick Of Butter”: Woman Stops SIL From Using Butter In Front Of Her KidMom Fails To Butter Up SIL To Limit Her Unhealthy Eating Habits For The Sake Of Her DaughterMom Asks SIL Not To Put Butter On Food In Front Of Her Daughter, Gets Accused Of Fat-Shaming“Nothing Wrong With Being Fat”: Mom Asks SIL Not To Eat Butter In Front Of Her Kid, Drama Ensues
ADVERTISEMENT

Caring parents typically try to instill the values, views, and habits they consider healthy and important in their children, which usually includes certain eating habits, too.

This redditor, too, wanted her daughter to have good eating habits, which is why she asked her sister-in-law not to slather her food in butter in front of the child. Such a request was not well-received by the SIL, and seemingly split the netizens into camps about it, as they couldn’t unanimously agree on whether or not the OP was a jerk in the situation.

Eating large amounts of butter every day might not be the healthiest of decisions

Image credits: Sorin Gheorghita / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

This redditor asked her SIL not to slather her food in butter in front of her 7yo daughter

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Image credits: Tiger Lily / Pexels (not the actual photo)

ADVERTISEMENT

Image credits: throwRA123334

Healthy eating habits include following a well-balanced diet

While butter might not be the healthiest add-on to one’s foods, eating habits are a highly subjective matter and not everyone is equally interested in following strict food-related regimes. That might be why, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), unhealthy diet, together with lack of physical activity, are the leading global risks to health.

According to WHO’s recommendations, in order to stay healthy, it’s important to align your energy intake with energy expenditure. Also, it’s worth remembering that the total fat one consumes shouldn’t exceed 30% of the total energy intake, free sugars should comprise less than 10% (ideally, less than 5%), and the intake of salt should not be higher than 5 grams per day.

In spite of butter being quite a source of fat—and salt, if it’s the salted kind, which makes it far less favorable health-wise—it might not be as bad for our health as it’s often deemed. According to a registered dietitian, Abbey Sharp, the creamy goodness can fit into a healthy diet, as long as the saturated fat is not replaced with highly processed carbohydrates.

If consumed in moderation, butter might not be as bad for one’s health as it’s been previously presented to be

ADVERTISEMENT

Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels (not the actual photo)

A 2022 study found that, contrary to the common belief that butter—rich in saturated fat—is bad for you, it doesn’t actually seem to have a detrimental effect on one’s health, if consumed in conventional amounts. According to Sharp, such a belief comes from a time when people were taught that fat in general, including the saturated kind, was bad for them, which made the popularity of margarine and similar products rise.

“We know, of course, that replacing saturated fat with fiber-rich foods or polyunsaturated fats may be advantageous, but we don’t want to be replacing it with more highly processed carbohydrates that we were previously taught to do,” Sharp told USA Today.

It’s unclear how much butter the OP’s sister-in-law consumed on the day-to-day and whether it was above the norm, which could result in detrimental effects on her health. Be that as it may, the redditor didn’t want her habits to set an example to her child, as the little ones are often quite eager to copy people’s behavior, be it certain mannerisms or intake of fat-rich foods.

ADVERTISEMENT

Children tend to copy many things adults do, no matter how irrelevant

Image credits: Alexander Dummer / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The OP’s fear that her child might ask for the same butter-infused meal her aunt was having is not completely unfounded. PsychCentral pointed out that children have always been known to imitate the behavior of the adults around them, but a new study carried out in Australia proved that they might copy everything a grown up shows them, even if it doesn’t really make sense or includes irrelevant steps that lead to a certain goal.

According to professor of psychology at the University of Queensland in Australia, Mark Nielsen, scientists have noticed a rather odd effect where kids would copy everything that they see an adult demonstrate, even if there are obvious reasons why certain steps would be irrelevant. Apparently, it’s something other primates don’t do, as chimpanzees, for instance, won’t copy the irrelevant actions and skip right to the ones that actually lead somewhere.

Kids’ tendency to copy adults, together with the likelihood of an uncomfortable conversation about why putting butter on everything might not be good for you in front of the SIL, didn’t seem all that appealing to the redditor. That’s why she asked her relative to add the ingredient outside of the sight of her daughter, but such a request was not well-received by the SIL, nor by some of the fellow redditors, who shared their opinions in the comment section.

ADVERTISEMENT

The woman provided more details in the comments section

Some redditors didn’t think the OP was in the wrong here

ADVERTISEMENT

Others believed the redditor shouldn’t have asked her SIL to hide her eating habits

ADVERTISEMENT

There were netizens who believed that everyone was a jerk, too

ADVERTISEMENT
Ic_polls

Poll Question

Thanks! Check out the results:

Share on Facebook
Miglė Miliūtė

Miglė Miliūtė

Writer, BoredPanda staff

Read more »

A writer here at Bored Panda, I am a lover of good music, good food, and good company, which makes food-related topics and feel-good stories my favorite ones to cover. Passionate about traveling and concerts, I constantly seek occasions to visit places yet personally unexplored. I also enjoy spending free time outdoors, trying out different sports—even if I don’t look too graceful at it—or socializing over a cup of coffee.

Read less »
Miglė Miliūtė

Miglė Miliūtė

Writer, BoredPanda staff

A writer here at Bored Panda, I am a lover of good music, good food, and good company, which makes food-related topics and feel-good stories my favorite ones to cover. Passionate about traveling and concerts, I constantly seek occasions to visit places yet personally unexplored. I also enjoy spending free time outdoors, trying out different sports—even if I don’t look too graceful at it—or socializing over a cup of coffee.

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Author, BoredPanda staff

Read more »

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

Read less »

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

Author, BoredPanda staff

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

What do you think ?
Add photo comments
POST
FreeTheUnicorn
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Discussing healthy eating habits is part of parenting. Have the same convo as when the kid asks why adults are having alcohol and kids aren't. It's not healthy, but adults can choose to partake if they like it. This woman clearly had been building up resentment at the diet and weight of SIL, probably why SIL freaked out. But even if not, why make this a fight? She's just using the child as an excuse to comment on food.

lenka
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The child in question in 7 years old right? She has already been watching Aunt Barb put sticks of butter in her food for 7 years. What has changed now that suddenly Aunt Barb is being food shamed into preparing her food secretly in the kitchen? Personally I think OP is AH. I would never criticize or shame a guest in my home for their food choices. I would also welcome the opportunity to discuss healthy eating habits with my kids and teach them the difference between 'sometimes' foods like extra heaps of butter, and everyday food.

Load More Comments
FreeTheUnicorn
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Discussing healthy eating habits is part of parenting. Have the same convo as when the kid asks why adults are having alcohol and kids aren't. It's not healthy, but adults can choose to partake if they like it. This woman clearly had been building up resentment at the diet and weight of SIL, probably why SIL freaked out. But even if not, why make this a fight? She's just using the child as an excuse to comment on food.

lenka
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The child in question in 7 years old right? She has already been watching Aunt Barb put sticks of butter in her food for 7 years. What has changed now that suddenly Aunt Barb is being food shamed into preparing her food secretly in the kitchen? Personally I think OP is AH. I would never criticize or shame a guest in my home for their food choices. I would also welcome the opportunity to discuss healthy eating habits with my kids and teach them the difference between 'sometimes' foods like extra heaps of butter, and everyday food.

Load More Comments
You May Like
Related on Bored Panda
Related on Bored Panda
Trending on Bored Panda
Also on Bored Panda