Little girl asks for Outback for her 8th birthday. Her mom’s response sparks outrage: ‘Future no contact situation’

Every day, people wake up and decide to share footage from their personal lives on the internet. Every day, the internet decides to weigh in. While this often occurs with couples content, every now and then a family video will go viral and stir up some controversy.

One such video is currently making the rounds for showcasing a very particular kind of mother-daughter dynamic. And people aren't fans.

‘And happy birthday to her'

Culinary content creator Grandma Pam (@grandmapamsgroceryfinds) posted a video of what appears to be a family discussion regarding her granddaughter's birthday wishes. The video has accumulated more than 2.9 million views.

“You have a seven-year-old who asks for Outback Steakhouse for their eighth birthday? I do,” the mother said, standing at her kitchen counter in front of Outback takeout boxes. “So here we are ordering $90 worth of Outback Bloomin' Bundles for a seven-year-old. Turning eight.”

Pam then panned her camera to the child in question, who was smiling and seated across from her mother on the other side of the counter. Pam turned the camera back to the mother, who began breaking down the contents of her Outback haul to her viewers.

“Alright, so we're going to start with our proteins just so you guys know what it all looks like,” the mother said. She opened each box of food as she mentioned it. “We got four of the fillets. We're a little bougie tonight. She's not necessarily getting steak, she'll have some chicken.”

The little girl's voice came offscreen with a giggle after she joked, “How dare you?” Pam and the mother also laughed, and Pam said, “We're kidding, we're kidding.” The mother affirmed, “You get steak.”

The mother then showed her viewers some “heavily seasoned” chicken, four baked potatoes, two “delicious” loaves of bread, some dressing, broccoli, French fries, and takeout cutlery.

“But yeah, this is $90,” the mother finished. “And happy birthday to her!”

How did viewers react?

In Pam's comment section, viewers derided the mom's tone and word choice in the video. Many commenters interpreted the mother's demeanor as evidence of her treating her daughter “like a burden.”

“She wanted outback steakhouse but doesn't get steak… okay,” wrote one viewer. When a viewer responded that “she literally said she was joking,” another viewer replied in the same thread, “Mom's tone said it all. Kids who lived this life know exactly what she meant.”

“My mom is exactly like this!” one person commented. “Always making me feel like i was an inconvenience for her. You need to reevaluate the way you speak about and to her! I always felt bad when anyone did anything for me. Like I didn't deserve it.”

@grandmapamsgroceryfinds 8th birthday dinner outback steakhouse family meal 8 I don't protein $90 #birthday #outback #familymeals #mealdeal #eatingout ♬ original sound – Grandma Pam

Pam responds in the comment section

The comment section continued discussing the mother's tone. Some viewers even compared it to their own experiences.

“My parents add two zeros to the age we turn, that's our birthday budget,” one viewer wrote. “I'd cry if I was treated like a burden over $90.”

Pam decided to reply to this comment. There, she addressed hundreds of critical comments.

“I was posting this meal to let people know how cheap the meal was,” Pam wrote. “I don't know what part everybody doesn't understand $90 to feed six people. That's a great deal. She wanted to eat at home because she had softball and she had her party at the skating rink the next day with 15 of her friends so everything went great for her birthday. I appreciate you commenting.”

But people weren't having it. Multiple commenters accused Pam of not considering the possibility that the widespread public reaction might point to a deeper issue of “a huge heaping side of passive aggressive sarcasm.”

“Personally, if I had a flood of comments about how I was talking to my child, I'd re-evaluate instead of getting defensive,” one commenter said. “Clearly there'd be something I'm missing. But maybe that's just me and I can admit when I'm wrong.”

Multiple viewers shared that similar “rudeness” they'd experienced as children had led them to go “no contact” with one or both parents.

Therapist Dr. Alexandra Solomon told YourTango that going no-contact from parents can be “not only an intelligent choice but a safe one” that prioritizes the wellness of a child. Reasons for children going no-contact range from experiencing physical parental abuse to narcissistic behavior, according to BuzzFeed. Every situation is different, however, and should be treated accordingly. A viral moment doesn't necessarily give the full context regarding a family's overall behavior.

Buzz News has reached out to Outback Steakhouse via email and Pam via TikTok comment.