I bought a cake even though the child behind me wanted it

"She started having a tantrum, then her mum called me selfish and told me to hand it over," the man said.

A man has taken to an online forum asking whether or not he's in the wrong for buying a cake that a child behind him in line at a bakery wanted.

"My pregnant wife (our first!) messaged me at the end of my work shift that she had sudden cravings for cake, and I was more than happy to get her one.

"Unfortunately, as this was close to 6 p.m., the bakery only had a Swiss roll left in terms of cake," he explained in the now-viral post.

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Image: IStock

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"My wife said I was in the wrong for not giving up the cake for the kid"

He continued, "As I was selecting a few other breads, a mother and her daughter came in, and the girl noticed the Swiss roll in the display cabinet and shouted that she wanted it. However, I had already ordered it, and when the worker took it out for me, the girl started screaming and crying.

"The mother did initially ask if I could leave the roll for her, but I said that I ordered first. She then began getting extremely demanding, saying that I didn't need to eat it, can't you feel for a kid, how selfish, etc. It only stopped with the worker said that I had come first and ordered it before the mother and daughter had even walked in."

Then when he got home and told his wife about the incident, "he said that I was a bit of an asshole for not giving up the cake for the kid."

She added that, "She would have understood if the store had no more or I could have gone to the supermarket instead."

The OP continued, "She also asked why I didn't tell the mother that I was buying it for a pregnant wife with cravings. I didn't see the need to share private info, but my wife said that maybe the mother would have understood and that I appeared to be insensitive by sticking to 'ordering first' as my argument.

"We did end up enjoying the Swiss roll and she told me not to worry and just be more mindful next time, but I can't help but feel a bit guilty. Was I the asshole for denying a kid a cake she wanted?"

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"The entitlement people teach their kids..."

People weighed in with their thoughts on the situation in the comments.

One person said, "NTA you were getting your pregnant wife something for a craving. I can tell you that I did a ton of driving and impromptu runs during both pregnancies when my wife had cravings. I did it because I wanted to and knew it would make her happy.

"I may be being petty here... but your wife is kind of an AH for calling you 'kind of an AH' when you were making a run for her. It isn't like you were nasty to the kid or anything like that."

Then a second wrote, "NTA. Let's also not forget the child's mother is teaching her child to throw a tantrum every time she doesn't get whatever she wants. Like no! That behaviour should not be encouraged, at all.

"The entitlement people have and teach to their kids! Kids need to learn that you can't have everything you want in life, that's now how life works."

Someone else added, "NTA. First come first served. It doesn't matter why you ordered it, you were there first. We can't always get what we want. If the roles were reversed, would you be pitching a fit because of the people who got there before you ordered the last item, and you wanted it?"

"You did the right thing. Prioritising a hormonal, pregnant wife is safer than appeasing a snotty kid and entitled mum," concluded a fourth. 

Originally published as I bought a cake even though the child behind me wanted it