Baking is a culinary discipline that requires quite a bit of… well, everything, to make it work. It requires patience, know-how, skill, and, among other things, time. And if you take away even one thing from this formula, even only to a degree, it’s gonna have devastating consequences to the results. No, that is not an exaggeration. Have you seen Gordon Ramsey’s temper? Where do you think it comes from? The culinary arts are stressful and people’s gourmet creations should not be tampered with! But they still try.
More Info: Reddit
Running a bakery seems stressful and chaotic as it is with the pastries and other confectionery needing to hit shelves in the early hours of the morning
Image credits: storebukkebruse (not the actual photo)
So, you can imagine what happens when an 11-year-old is added into the mix
Image credits: IrritatedCookie
The kid had to go, but the family was not pleased about it because it "broke her heart", completely ignoring the possible legal ramifications, among other things
Image credits: Nenad Stojkovic (not the actual photo)
A baker recently went to Reddit to rant a bit, but to also get people’s opinion on an issue she has now. The story goes that OP has a bakery, and her sister-in-law as suggested her 11-year-old daughter, OP’s niece, come over for a few hours, several times a week to help out at her bakery.
You see, the kid is really into baking. Her mom made sure her skills were honed by hooking her up with things around the house, but the next big step was to try and get her some field experience. Since OP had a bakery, that became the next big step.
Long story short, “I was hesitant, but said yes. And I hated it.” OP doesn’t specify in the story what happened in her bakery, but she elaborated on it a bit in one comment. There, she pointed out that the kid was extremely immature, constantly went underfoot, threw tantrums and entitled hissy fits, and ate enough baked goods to put a dent in OP’s profits. This was besides destroying the work environment OP spent years creating.
OP grinned and bore the kid throughout the summer time to keep the peace in the family. But peace apparently was never an option for two reasons: [1] the sister-in-law approached OP and asked if the kid could continue to come over on Saturdays; after being told no, [2] the sister-in-law got upset and then family drama happened.
Image credits: Ming-yen Hsu (not the actual photo)
This in turn led to OP sharing her story on r/AITA where folks gave a clear-cut answer. People thought that OP was in the right to not allow her niece back in her bakery for a very simple reason: this is OP’s livelihood. It’s a business, not daycare and OP is by no means obligated to keep a kid around to please family.
This is besides the fact that the niece is too young to be working at a bakery, even as an ‘intern’ of sorts. And the fact that it might affect the bakery’s hygiene status too. She wasn’t allowed to do a lot of the stuff OP would get into trouble for, but she did a lot of other stuff that irritated everyone, including getting in the way and talking “non-stop”.
In light of this, the suggestion was to appeal to SIL with laws and regulations. You can’t get upset at something that’s the law, right? Well, SIL might also be an evil, vengeful mastermind who could use that against OP who already allowed the kid in before, so maybe probably don’t do it…
Whatever the case, OP got loads of support online, garnering nearly 13,000 upvotes (with a 97% upvote rating) and a couple of Reddit awards. You can check out the post in context here.
Image credits: Magnus D (not the actual photo)
Now, the Spruce Eats has a nifty guide for teaching kids baking without the need to involve them in child labor law violations. If you consider just how much is discussed in the guide—teaching safety, preparation, encouraging involvement, setting boundaries, among many other things—this alone should give an idea how stressful it was for OP to manage her niece even without all of the tantrums.
There are, of course, other ways of engaging kids in baking: go shopping for ingredients as part of the process, equip them with their own set of tools and utensils to give them a sense of ownership, put them to work so they experience everything firsthand, and encourage their imagination along the way. Above all else, this is something the mother can do on her own accord.
Heck, even involving them in the decision-making process of figuring out what they want to eat and setting the table can go a long way. And if you include them in the cleanup in the end, you will foster a sense of responsibility, teamwork, and have fun along the way. All of this without even needing an aunt with a bakery.
So, what are your thoughts on this? Share your judgments, suggestions and opinions in the comment section below!
Folks online were all for the baker, supporting her decision to not let the kid come back because it is her livelihood we're talking about
