Grandma quits babysitting after health-conscious daughter-in-law tosses homemade cookies

There’s a growing awareness among new parents about raising children with healthy habits from an early age. However, some caregivers may unintentionally take things too far, enforcing overly strict dietary restrictions. In one Reddit post, a grandmother shared her frustration after her daughter-in-law, Emily, threw away fresh, homemade cookies she had baked for her grandkids. Feeling hurt and unappreciated, the grandmother—posting as u/Repulsive_Purple7304—decided to stop babysitting altogether.

In her post, the grandmother explained that her love for baking had become a source of tension rather than a bonding activity with her grandchildren. Her “health-conscious” daughter-in-law often stepped in to prevent the kids from enjoying her sweet treats, despite her best efforts. “My DIL is the type of person who avoids sugars, mostly eats organic, and avoids processed foods,” she wrote. This dynamic created several awkward encounters, as Emily’s strict dietary standards clashed with the grandmother’s desire to share her passion for baking.

“Every time the grandkids visit, I usually make cookies or something sweet for them to enjoy,” the grandma shared. She added that this often led to arguments with Emily over what she deemed "unhealthy" choices. When the tension reached a tipping point last month, the woman's son had to intervene. “I pointed out everything is homemade, and I am not only serving them cookies. My son stepped in on this, and we compromised that the kids can have one cookie when they are here,” the post explained. Everything was going as agreed between both parties until Emily took an extreme measure that clearly angered her mother-in-law.

During the kids’ recent visit to their grandmother’s, she baked a fresh batch of cookies as usual. “Emily and my son decided to chat a bit before heading out,” the mother-in-law wrote, claiming what happened next was something she never expected. Emily went into the kitchen and threw away the cookies. When the mother-in-law confronted her, asking why she did that, Emily claimed she was doing her a favor since the cookies were “unhealthy.” The mother-in-law responded by yelling at her and calling her actions unjustified. “My daughter-in-law had no right to throw away food that I had worked hard to make. She got defensive and said she was just trying to help,” the post read.

At this point, the angry mother-in-law’s son stepped in to calm the situation, but his mom remained furious. Meanwhile, Emily left the room in tears, prompting him to ask his mother to apologize for “overreacting” to the situation. “I told my son that I will not be babysitting until he handles this situation,” the mother-in-law concluded, refusing to offer Emily the apology she wanted. People in the comments sided with the mother-in-law. u/AgnarCrackenhammer empathized and said, “Emily is very rude. The occasional cookie or two won't kill the kids.” “It was incredibly rude for your daughter-in-law to throw away your food in your home, and there is no excuse for that,” u/mfruitfly remarked. "It reminds me of the teacher I heard who said that food is only bad if it's spoiled, moldy or in other ways unsafe to eat," added u/PM_ME_YOUR_WEIRD_PET.