Woman says her sister went ‘ballistic’ when she bought a peanut butter cake for kid’s birthday party

A mum has been slammed as careless and ‘not caring if her nephew dies’ after she bought her own son a peanut butter cake for his seventh birthday.

The mum said she was shocked when her sister ‘went ballistic’ when she unveiled the beautifully decorated cake at her son’s party.

She went on to explain her nephew has a severe allergy to peanuts and could die if he ate any of the cake – but said she told him it contained nuts and had bought a backup cake so he didn’t miss out.

She didn’t realise her choice would cause a family rift – but her sister was instantly furious, and was taken inside by her husband to cool down.

‘When she came back, the kids were already eating cake. She asked me ‘so you are okay with my son dying so that yours can have cake?’ I told her that’s absurd and I’m not getting into it at a kid’s party,’ the mum wrote on Reddit’s popular Am I the A**hole thread.

‘After the party, she said I am an inconsiderate a**hole for not taking her kid into consideration because if he had just a little bit of cake by accident, he could die,’ she said.

The mum went on to defend her actions and explained she took ‘every precaution’ to protect her nephew, and provide her son with his favourite birthday treat.

‘Cakes were on different shelves in the fridge and in separate boxes. I cut the vanilla cake in the kitchen, with a different knife and before I took the peanut cake out. So the vanilla cake was cut up and on plates before I touched the peanut cake,’ she said.

She said she made all of the kids wash their hands before resuming play – as traces on hands could be enough to give her nephew a nasty reaction. 

But most people said she should have kept the peanut cake for another occasion or at least given her sister a head’s up before the day. 

‘I don’t understand why she wouldn’t get a vanilla cake for everyone and then get a small peanut cake he could have as a small treat during his birthday week or on the day of his actual birthday. So many ways she could’ve avoided this.’

The mum got a vanilla cake for her nephew but didn’t tell her sister there would be nuts at the party despite her son being so allergic one bite could kill him

‘Her son is old enough to understand his cousin could get sick – she should have kept this for a day when the cousin wouldn’t be at risk. I would be furious,’ said another.

‘My deadly-allergic former assistant went into allergic shock because our receptionist breathed on her after eating nuts. Yes, the receptionist breathed on her and nearly killed her. Peanut allergy is no joke. It is not to be treated so callously as OP does, it’s like she doesn’t care at all that it could literally kill one of her nibbling’s,’ a third added. 

One woman said the mum needs to educate herself on allergens – as her ‘poor’ judgement could have caused disability or death.

Some people told horrific stories of just how bad food allergies can be and why her sister had every right to be furious.

‘I had a kid at a daycare i worked at go into anaphylaxis shock cause a kid on the other side of the room had a peanut butter sandwich and protein got into the air,’ one woman said.

‘We have a frequent attender (completely justified) at our hospital for a fish allergy. Its so severe that if she comes into contact with anyone that has eaten fish in the last 48 hours she goes into anaphylaxis. She also gets anaphylaxis from smelling fish,’ said another.

While a third claimed their cousin went into a coma after hugging a friend who had eaten a Snickers bar the day before, noting he had been wearing the same jacket which was enough to trigger an intense allergic reaction.