When we give someone instructions while babysitting our kids, we expect them to follow those instructions down to a T, right? So how would you react if you sent your child to stay with someone and they bent your rules a little while their child was in their care?
Well in this case, one woman got enraged over her brother allowing her "vegan" son to eat meat and dairy while he stayed at his house for a week. The brother took to Reddit to give background into what happened, and to see if he was in the wrong.
The brother gives us some context.
The brother starts by sharing that his 42-year-old sister, Rachel, was going on a couples retreat with 43-year-old Frank (the husband) for their anniversary. "Rachel is my only sibling and her son, Bennett (15M) is my only nephew. Because we live on opposite sides the country, I only get to see them in person once every couple of years."
The couple's son stayed with the wife's brother for the week.
The 36-year-old brother shares that he recently moved to a beach town. With that in mind, Rachel and Frank thought it'd be nice for Bennett to stay with him while they went on their trip. "I was excited by the idea and told Rachel to send me an email with everything I needed to know. The email contained the name and contact number of the couple's retreat and flight information, as well as recipes for several vegan dishes."
Apparently, Rachel and Frank are dedicated to veganism.
"Rachel and Frank are very into veganism and new age spirituality. Not my cup of tea, but no judgment. Though I usually eat a high protein diet, I resigned myself to cooking vegan meals for the week that Bennett stayed with me. His flight landed late in the evening, after which we watched a movie and ate some popcorn before going to bed."
The brother took his nephew grocery shopping.
The day after Bennett arrived, he and his uncle went to grab some groceries for the week. The uncle wanted his nephew to give him more ideas of what he could make. "He asked what I would normally cook for guests. I told him I enjoyed grilling and would usually make burgers, pork chops, steak, and seafood. Bennett said all of that sounded 'great' and told me 'not to go to any trouble on [his] account.'"
Bennett says he eats whatever.
The uncle stated that he thought Bennett was vegan. "He said his parents were vegan and that he eats whatever they put in front of him. However, Bennett claimed he didn't 'care about any of that stuff' and would be happy to 'eat what [I] eat.' Rachel's email never said Bennett had to eat vegan food, so I loaded up the shopping cart with various meats to grill. Bennett also threw in a couple tubs of ice cream."
After Bennett went home, things were good for a while.
The user shared that he and his nephew had great fun during their time together. He went on to say that his sister said it was the highlight of Bennett's summer. Everything was good … until it wasn't.
The brother posted photos to his Facebook, and the sister became enraged.
"Everything seemed well until a few days ago, when I posted some pictures from Bennett's visit on my Facebook page – one of which showed Bennett tearing into a pile of steamed shrimp. Rachel called a few hours later and angrily accused me of trying to 'undermine [their] values.' I told her she never said that Bennett had to keep a vegan diet and said she needed to discuss this with him. She said I should have known better and asked if I would serve pork to a kid from a Jewish or Muslim family. I told her that veganism isn't a religion and she should have made her expectations clear. AITA?"
Other Reddit users give their opinion.
"NTA," one person said. "I think forcing a lifestyle you decided for yourself upon your children is child abuse. Their values are not exclusively Bennett's values."
Another person agreed: "NTA. Sheesh. Sister should let the kid eat whatever he wants tbh, he’s still growing. And it was a vacation."
Some think the uncle ratted his nephew out.
On the other hand, some users felt the uncle should have known what was coming when he posted the photos to Facebook.
"You blew it for your nephew," one user asserted. "He kept quiet. He's also being chewed out too, you know. Not just for the food, but for not telling them. You owe him an apology. You didn't think that one through. It's on you."
