Mother fuming I let her child eat Christmas pudding because of the alcohol??

[eddownton]

(NCed)

Looked after a work colleague's son after school today and we had some of those mini Xmas puds left. My kids wanted one and so did he, so I thought nothing of it.

Would you be annoyed?? I didn't think the alcohol in that would be a problem at all. They're not age restricted or anything are they??

Was it actually one with alcohol in it?! I didn't think many shop ones had alcohol in them anymore, or they will say on it if it has alcohol in it. I've given my kids Xmas pudding. On Xmas like, so by the time they've eaten their body weight in chocolate, I don't think much else would do them much more harm.

It does have it written that there's brandy, cider and rum in it but I honestly can't imagine it would have caused such a huge issue.

It evaporates in the cooking. Which occurs before purchase - all you are doing is reheating. The taste may be there but no alcohol. What a twit!

Alcohol aside, how do you have left over Christmas puddings in September?!

Just what @Storminateapot said. No actual alcohol content in them. 0%

Perhaps just apologise and explain that to her gently and that you had no intention of sending her ds home slurring

How old is this kid anyway?

"Dear work colleague, please don't ask me to look after your child again, our parenting styles are too different if a tiny bit of alcohol that has been cooked off twice is unsuitable for your kid. BTW, you should probably avoid him having anything with vanilla in it too."

I don’t think YABU. It really isn’t a big deal ..... he was hardly knocking back pints & the quantity of alcohol in it (if indeed there was any) must be miniscule.

It’s an easy mistake to make I guess - Presumably she won’t be asking for help in future

Make sure they don’t use mouthwash

She sounds like a nutter. If it's been cooked there is no alcohol in the product.

What is the problem exactly. OP did not say that anyone complained.

Did anyone have a problem/issue with giving them pudding that has all the alcohol burned off, with the taste remaining?

Start from there and work back.

If it’s cooked the alcohol burns off. She’s bonkers or stupid

It seems the mother was fuming

Though it isn’t clear how OP knows that she is

Was it a religious objection or just colleague being a bit dramatic?

Depends a bit -- if the family don't consume alcohol (e.g. Muslim, and i want to say Quaker, and probably others) then you have been VU and should apologise profusely. If the mum is just being precious then meh

YABU to eat Christmas puddings in September. It should be illegal.

What's wrong with vanilla?

Anyone going to another persons house should now have a list of do's and dont's re their kids, similar to allergies and so on.

It will be compulsory soon. LOL.

The day will come when having kids over will be too arduous. So many will just forget it, and go to Maccies or some other place and let them take the flak.

What's wrong with vanilla

Lots of vanilla extracts contain alcohol (as do other extracts I think).

I know a family who don't drink alcohol at all, and if one of the kids had been given a Christmas pudding containing alcohol when they were younger, it would have been all kinds of merry hell. It was for religious reasons though.

I know another family who just don't drink because they don't. I think they would have shrugged it off. In their case, it's not a moral objection. They just don't want to drink. In a way, I quite like that they have zero reason for not drinking - reinforces the message that no one needs a reason to drink or to not drink!

My mum is a pioneer and has no issue with “alcohol” in food but I know of other pioneers who wouldn’t eat it. Unless it’s something like that? ....weirdos 😁

Maybe she read this

www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/8197266/Christmas-pudding-can-push-you-over-drink-drive-limit.html

I jest obviously ...about the weirdos part lol

Alcohol wouldn’t necessarily have been cooked off as usually xmas puddings are soaked in booze after cooking. I think I know the minis you mean (I’ve actually got some in cupboard too from last xmas!).

Unreasonable if you knew the family had an objection to alcohol- same as if you knew they have any objection to meat or any particular meat. If it’s just an alcohol and children thing it’s probably a bit precious (you obviously didn’t mean harm, if would have given to your own children).

Best response in either scenario is simply to apologise for any offence and remind that you meant no harm. Sounds like you have an ongoing relationship to be maintained (but may not want to babysit again!).