Entitled 14-year-old eats pizza meant for family dinner, protests when mom makes him pay for a replacement: '2 hours later, my daughter sees the pizza box empty and starts bawling''

Author image for Ally Perry
Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Oct 22, 2024 4:00 PM EDT

If there is one thing that is important when it comes to getting along with family, it's how to share. Obviously, there are limits to what is healthy to give to others but at the same time, it is important to recognize that you a part of a larger unit and treat your resources accordingly. As pretty much anybody who grew up with siblings will know, this doesn't always come easily and sometimes, you have no choice but to face the consequences of that.

One teenage boy was made to learn this the hard way after he annoyed his sister and parents with his selfish attitude toward a family takeout pizza. Instead of leaving leftovers for the rest of the family, he ate everything that was left in the box, upsetting his older sister who wanted something to eat after work. His mom made him pay for a replacement, but he insisted it wasn't fair. It left the internet with a dilemma.

Add as a preferred
source on Google
Advertisement
  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10418696448
    via Getty Images (Unsplash +)

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    AITA For making my son pay for a new pizza when he didn't save any for the rest of the family?
    via Lanky-Cake7355
  • 03
    1 45F, have two kids: 14M and 17F. My son has High Functioning ASD, and honestly most people cannot tell, but it comes out in certain aspects of his relationships such as thinking about others, compassion, etc. My son also eats a lot of food- way more than someone for his age. He is not overweight in any way so the doctors have not considered this a problem.
    via Lanky-Cake7355
  • 04
    Here comes the problem- for years when we have ordered food, he has neglected to realize that the food we order is for the whole family, not just him. My husband and I have both spoken to him about this multiple times and usually he just gives half-hearted apologies. We are working on this with his therapist, among other issues he has.
    via Lanky-Cake7355
  • 05
    On Friday, my daughter had work after school so she drove herself there while my son took the bus home. He said he was hungry so I ordered a pizza and told him to save some for his father and sister. I only took a slice. Usually my daughter does not eat much (1-2 slices) and same thing with my husband. That would've left him with 5 slices of a LARGE pizza. About 2 hours later, my daughter comes home and sees the pizza box empty and starts balling. She usually is not one to complain about food an
    via Lanky-Cake7355
  • 06
    I was furious at my son and deducted the money for a new pizza plus a generous tip to the delivery driver from my son's bank account. My son saw and now he is . My daughter thought it was the right thing to do, especially when this is about the 3rd time it had happened to her. My son's reasoning is that he doesn't work so his only sources of income are for his birthday and Christmas, so my daughter should've paid since she has a job. My husband and I both are on board with what I did, but idk, i
    via Lanky-Cake7355
  • 07
    *UPDATE: For everyone saying we are underfeeding him, we have tons of food in the house. The fridge is stocked, we have snacks, ingredients etc. My son refuses to learn how to cook, even when we have offered him cooking classes. Even without learning to cook, we have boxed pasta, popcorn, bread, vegetables and fruits, rice etc. all of which require no cooking ability. He simply chose to eat the whole pizza.
    via Lanky-Cake7355
  • 08
    Little_Loki918 NTA. Having Autism is not an excuse for eating the entire dinner and leaving none for the rest of the family, even after being explicitly told not to do so. Having autism is also not a shield against the natural consequences of his actions. He ate the entire large pizza that was the entire family's dinner, and you had to order another one. It was only fair that he paid for it. In the future, perhaps it's best to affirmatively set aside the food for your husband and daughter and yo
    via Little_Loki918
  • 09
    lobsterpot Especially* after being explicitly told not to. around and find out is a universally acceptable way to encounter consequences, and is often better than just being told. This is a proportionate consequence for the offence.
    via lobsterp0t
  • 10
    Ok-Horror-1049 Here's the part I don't understand "My son's reasoning is that he doesn't work so his only sources of income are for his birthday and Christmas, so my daughter should've paid since she has a job". So he thought he should get to eat everyone's dinner and the sister should be punished by having to pay for it (because she had a job) WHAT???
    via Ok-Horror-1049
  • 11
    floofienewfie That sounds more like adolescent reasoning than autistic reasoning. Having raised one, I think 14-year-old boys are jerks. I also have AuDHD, and work really hard not to be a jerk and let the autism get in the way.
    via floofienewfie
  • 12
    Gold-Carpenter7616 I had to explain to my daughter maybe three times, that her eating all my snacks, sweets, and special yoghurts in the fridge makes me angry, and that her being inconsiderate is not acceptable in a family system. The new rule is to leave one portion size, or ask if she wants to eat it. My autistic daughter needed to learn it encompasses all food items, and she needed three tries. She's 13. OP did the right thing. We had her walk to the store to replace the items from her own mo
    via Gold-Carpenter7616
  • 13
    Tiredswiftie87 This. He fully understands what he is doing and purposely choosing to hurt his family. Do not make your daughter go hungry or pay for his selfishness. Start making separate food stores for your daughter this is absolutely a pattern and she deserves to eat. It's just a basic human right. If he wants to take peoples food he can pay for all of it with interest
    via TiredSwiftie87
  • 14
    Kindly_Area_4380 Regardless of his diagnosis, there should be consequences to his actions. How big was the pizza? Growing kids may have out of bounds metabolism. We have a pizza place that does personal pizzas. Maybe that's a better solution or a large for the family and a small that is his. NTA
    via Kindly_Area_4380
  • 15
    Lanky-Cake7355 OP He ate 7 slices out of a 16" large pizza. A small personal pizza WILL not be big enough for him Imao
    via Lanky-Cake7355
  • 16
    ieya404 I ordered a pizza and told him to save some for his father and sister. He knew he wasn't supposed to eat the whole thing - that's a very clear instruction to leave some (which would logically have to be at least two pieces since it's for two people). NTA. for him in this particular instance, but maybe he'll pay more attention in future when he's told to leave some for other people.
    via ieya404
  • 17
    plsuh ΝΤΑ My son's reasoning is that he doesn't work so his only sources of income are for his birthday and Christmas, so my daughter should've paid since she has a job. This is invalid reasoning. Neurodivergent or not, he can see that this leads to the conclusion that if you have no income it is ok to take what you want from someone who has an income — which is theft. My son does not have much money to begin with and he is neurodivergent which makes it difficult for him to consider others.
    via plsuh
  • 18
    When enough consequences hit him he will start to take others into consideration. Many neurodivergent people have difficulties in empathizing other people; fair enough. He may not get how his sister feels, but once he makes the connection that being an inconsiderate hog costs him real money he will get the picture. It is your job as his parent to set the boundaries and consequences so that he can understand right and wrong. Not enforcing a consequence that hurts leads to a failure to launch. He
    via plsuh
  • 19
    OtherAardvark Definitely. You know why neurodivergent women mask to a higher degree and go undiagnosed longer? They are socialized from day one that women are supposed to be accommodating and consider everyone else in the room before they consider themselves. I'm not saying that's great, either. But, you can't just be like, "Welp. He's an ND boy. He doesn't know how to consider other peoples' feelings. "He can learn. If he doesn't, he's going to have real-life consequences.
    via OtherAardvark
  • 20
    Eats a coworker's food out of the shared fridge? Fired. Fails to recognize his future partner's feelings as valid? Dumped, over and over. Doesn't understand that some people have bad intentions because that's not how he thinks? Scammed, abused, injured, etc. Masking and learning about how our behaviors affect others can be exhausting for neurodivergent people, but it's necessary for self-preservation. If no one teaches him, he's going to amble into a bad situation eventually.
    via OtherAardvark
  • 21
    EffableFornent Nta This is a perfect natural consequence. If he was still hungry, he could have made himself some food, but he choose to eat everyone else's. He pays for that. Why on earth should his sister buy him dinner? It's not about him being autistic, as he clearly knows what the deal is... He's just a selfish teenager, and needs to learn that being selfish has consequences.
    via EffableFornent
  • 22
    Unhappy-Prune-9914 This isn't an autism thing, when I was in school a lot of guys would do this when there was free pizza as a reward. They would take 5-6 pieces when they knew the rest of the class didn't even have a chance to get one.
    via Unhappy-Prune-9914
  • 23
    Pretzelmamma This is nothing to do with ASD, this is to do with your son being an entitled AH. my daughter should've paid He ate her portion and expects her to pay for it? Usually when you point out to someone with ASD that they've behaved badly they are apologetic, he just didn't care until there were consequences and even then he's sorry for himself not his sister.
    via Pretzelmamma
  • 24
    ebolainajar Whenever I see stuff like this about boys, I wonder, do they do this to their friends? Or is it just the family, and usually female relatives, who are suffering? Which means really it's not autism, the kid is just an And the point of parenting is to make sure your kids are not Take his money and do so the next time he does this. He needs to feel actual pain to stop this horrible behaviour.
    via ebolainajar
  • 25
    FuzzyMom2005 NTA. At 14, ASD or not, he has to learn that actions have consequences. So, he thinks his sister should pay for his greediness. That's a big 'no'.
    via FuzzyMom2005
  • 26
    lejosdecasa NTA I'm sorry, but he just sounds selfish. I'm basing this comment on his "reasoning" that his sister should pay for her food as she works and how he should not have consequences for not following clear instructions. The people I've met with high-functioning autism are quite capable of following clear instructions (they tend to link the clarity!). They are also capable of having empathy for other people. He knew not to eat the pizza. He chose not to follow instructions.
    via lejosdecasa
  • 27
    DwayneBaroque Johnson NTA. The rule your son needs to understand here is if you take somebody else's stuff, you need to either return it or replace it. He ate everybody else's pizza, so he's on the hook for a replacement.
    via DwayneBaroqueJohnson
  • 28
    BlueSkyWitch NTA. Your son was told in advance to leave some for his dad and his sister. He ignored this and ate the entire thing (save what you had.) He essentially 'stole' what wasn't his, so therefore, he needs to make restitution. Especially given that he's done this before, and hasn't changed his behavior after talkings-to. Maybe this time, it'll stick.
    via BlueSkyWitch
  • 29
    GoldenHourShower_ NTA. He knew, he was told, and did it anyways. Sounds like a great consequence for his actions. Honestly sounds like he gets very few of those, tbh.
    via GoldenHourShower_

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

aita pizza brother pizza delivery dinner family food eating sister reddit thread Reddit delivery
Scroll Down For The Next Article