Wife Locks Up Snacks, Family Drama Ensues

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mattstaff
Mar 25, 2021 9:00 AM EDT

Man oh man, nothing like some snacks in the household to start up a whole family drama. It sounds like there was a bit of an issue present with a particular kid not being able to exercise some self control in the face of some tantalizing snacks. So, mom decided to lock those snacks up. Apparently this upset her husband quite a bit. Was she in the wrong, or was her move totally understandable?

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  • 01
    Font - AITA for locking up the snacks? My husband and I (M40, F30) have four kids, a mix of our kiddo together and his sons from a previous marriage. We have custody of his sons but they do go visit their biological mother at least every other weekend. I've been in the boys' lives since they were 5, 7 and 9, if any of this info makes a difference. The issue l'm trying to sort out is a little dust up between my husband and I regarding snack and junk
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  • 02
    Font - food in our home. Long story short, our middle kid (M14) cannot keep his hands off snack food (and sugar especially) and will literally eat his way through all the snacks I've purchased for the week in a couple of days. He won't eat regular meals and decent food as a result, and his siblings get shorted when they go to pack a school lunch or grab a snack and all the treats are gone. I've gone to pack our toddler's go bag a few times only to find that the 90 count fruit snack box I bought
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  • 03
    Font - My husband knows it's an issue and claims he's addressing it, but there is no appreciable forward progress after months and months of dealing with this. So, I finally put all of the snacks in our butler's pantry and locked it, then put just enough in the kitchen to cover the kids' lunches and things and snacks for that day. I refresh as needed. My husband got after me and told me it was childish and rude and it will make the kids feel like they're in a prison compound. I told him he can g
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  • 04
    Font - xiionaa · 3h • Partassipant [2] NTA. That's A LOT of money being literally ate through every few days. That is not okay. This could lead to some serious health issues in the near future. He needs to eat proper meals on a mostly regular schedule. Keep locking them away until he learns what moderation means. And until Dad enforces it. Also, if your husband wants to take offense to you continuing a seemingly effective preventative measure, then what exactly is his solution? I am curious abou
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  • 05
    Organism - Magiclily2020· 3h NTA. 14 is old enough to understand the logistics of not being able to restock snacks everyday and affording to buy so much snacks. On top of that it is unhealthy and a bad example for the younger kids. Tell your husband not to only shop for groceries, but pack the kids school lunches too. G Reply 1 57 ...
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  • 06
    Font - kindapinkypurple · 3h NTA. I don't know how he's 'addressing it' but if the kid is beyond just lazy and hungry (growing teen) then he might need to get in some counselling. Food hoarding can be a symptom of something else. I've just disassembled my kids old room to renovate and the amount of wrappers and food waste under one's mattress was obscene. She had these issues before and being banned from the kitchen unsupervised was unfortunately one result because she wasn't just raiding our ow
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  • 07
    Font - NTA. What the heck? The 14 year old needs to be correctly parented/disciplined. When I was a kid, I had to ask before getting a snack and if I ever finished anything without asking that was big trouble. It's common courtesy. I don't know how you divvy up the discipline and whether you both parent/discipline all the kids equally, or if he's responsible for parenting/disciplining 'his' kid and you don't get involved, but something isn't working and it sounds like your husband wants to paren
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  • 08
    Smile - Successful-Amoeba487 · 3h Nta. If it's the middle kid who has a problem with eating all the snacks he will feel restricted but it's not fair the other kids get shorted on school/lunch snacks because of him G Reply 4 12 3 ...
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  • 09
    Rectangle - Mary_Misanthrope · 3h · Partassipant [2] NTA. Everything you did and said was reasonable. Hubby needs to step up his fathering game and get a handle on the situation. G Reply 10 ...
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  • 10
    Font - zaftig_stig · 3h NTA I'm thinking what you did was reasonable, especially since he's continued his actions. I know teenage boys eat a lot, but this sounds fairly extreme. I was thinking if it was a girl, there might be some kind of food issue, but even though it's a boy, maybe there still could be? An entire box of fruits snacks in a couple of days is a LOT. G Reply 135 +
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  • 11
    Font - RagdollSeeker• 3h • Partassipant [4] NTA Alternative would be to discipline the 14 year old which singles him out. Is there a problem with his sugar levels? You might want to get it checked at a doctor, make sure it is not a symptom of something worse. G Reply 8
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  • 12
    Font - IAmTAAlways · 3h • Partassipant [2] Nta. If he's not going to stop son and son's not going to stop, something had to be done. If son is hungry, he can ask for a snack, like every child l've known, and deal with whatever response he gets. Or kid can find a way to earn money and buy his own snacks. Or Dad can start going out of his way to get snacks for him instead of you. G Reply ...
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  • 13
    Font - terrapharma · 2h • Colo-rectal Surgeon [35] NTA. The SS is at risk for a lifetime of disordered eating and health problems. It's gone on too long already . Your husband needs to step up and take action. G Reply 1 7 + ...
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  • 14
    Font - Double-dutcher • 1h Stop buying junk in general. This will seriously help. Snacks are fruits, nuts, seeds, veggies, cheese sticks. If he literally has zero choice in what to eat he will eat healthy. If he eats 20 baby oranges in a day (so good) then it's not a big deal and doesn't hurt his health. I also think he might need some counseling because although teenage boys can seriously eat a ton, he might be bordering on an eating disorder. Counselor and nutritionist sound like a good idea.
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  • 15
    Font - MongooseOnTheLoose42 · 3h • Partassipant [1] You took a proactive step to a problem your husband was content to ignore. Sugar is truly addictive and we get hooked early in America. 14 is old enough to have the health consequences of a poor diet explained. NTA. G Reply 1 35 ...
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