19 January 2023 , 09:12
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A concerned mother has been urged to seek help after her young son wouldn't eat his own birthday cake due to his dad's fitness obsession. According to this mum, her husband 'exercises religiously', and she hasn't seen him take so much as a bite of cake since their wedding day.
He views their eldest son, who recently celebrated his 11th birthday, as his 'mini me', and therefore expects him to be just like a younger version of himself. Although she doesn't doubt that he loves him, she admits 'his love can be tough'.
Their son's birthday also proved to be a bit of a 'wake-up call' for the mum, who says her son refused to eat any of his own
telling her he didn't want to 'disappoint dad'. Her husband's reaction to this proved to be even more worrying.
She was concerned by her husband's reaction (Stock Photo) (Getty Images/Cavan Images RF)Taking to Reddit, where she goes by the username u/millaca1, the heartbroken mum wrote: "He only ate two small bites of his cake. I asked what was wrong and why he wasn't eating it. He told me, 'I don't want to disappoint dad'.
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"I asked my husband to tell him it was okay to eat it. He said 'why would I do that? I'm not eating it so why would I encourage my son to? He tasted it, he's fine'. Our son should enjoy his childhood. I don't want him to be afraid to have a piece of cake on his birthday."
She continued: "I saw him watching his little brother eat it and he looked so sad. Even when he opened his presents, I could tell he was masking sadness. My heart is breaking for my poor child. I see now how much my husband's behavior [sic] has affected him."
A number of people in the comments section have since urged the mother to seek help for her son, expressing serious fears about the damage her husband's obsession could be inflicting.
One person warned: "Boys get eating disorders too, and one of the ways that eating disorders are often normalised for boys is in athletics. You need to have a serious discussion with your husband about the damage he's doing to your child because of his own body image issues."
Another claimed: "Your husband is giving your son an eating disorder. You might want to mention that eating disorders in adolescent males are generally more severe, and harder to treat. And that eating disorders across the board have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness.
"Take your kid to their doctor and get a referral to a therapist. Tell your husband it's therapy for him or divorce. This is serious business."