16-year-old student asks her mom to buy supplies for her science project 4 days in a row, refuses to drive to get it the day before the project is due: 'Even with all my reminders that she still proves to be unreliable'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Nov 10, 2024 8:00 PM EST

Tell me if you've ever heard this story: It's 10 PM on a school night. Kids are supposed to be in bed, but one of them comes downstairs to sheepishly tell their mom they need a poster board for their school project. You might ask when it is due, but you already know the answer. Of course, it's due at 8 AM the next day. In a fit of totally justifiable rage, the mom asks their child why they didn't tell her about this at the beginning of the week and then begrudgingly gets in the car to drive to Walmart so their irresponsible little darling doesn't fail 8th-grade science. 

While that is the most common iteration of this story, some parents don't listen when their kids ask them to buy them poster board days and weeks before their project is due. Sometimes, kids have to beg and beg for the bare minimum help they need from their parents to complete their homework, and they don't even get that.

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    Cheezburger Image 10426467584
    via Curated Lifestyle (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 calling my mom "unreliable".
    via u/Greed1ng
  • 03
    I'm 16 years old and I needed a foam mat for a science project. The only problem is these are not near or house and at a store 30 minutes away. I don't got a license so I told my mom before I went to school to buy it for me. Just to make sure she did, I even sent her messages during school to get it which she agreed to. When I got home (Tuesday), I discovered that she completely forgot about it and said that she was too tired to drive to the store right now. I was slightly nervous because the pr
    via u/Greed1ng
  • 04
    tomorrow (Wednesday) and sent her a message during school again to buy it. When I got home, she was chatting with friends she invited over. So I reminded her if she got it and her reply was no, so I asked if we could go right now but she said no because her friends are here. At this point, I was irritated but didn't push it and just made her promise she'd get it tomorrow. Eventually, her friends did leave around 7 but i was already deep into my homework by then and didn't get to bed until 11.
    via u/Greed1ng
  • 05
    So today rolls around, and I told her she must absolutely get it now as the project is due tomorrow. She confirms and says she got it but when I got home, she didn't have the dang thing. I was irritated at this point and just remarked that even with all my reminders that she still proves to be unreliable. She got mad and started screaming at me calling me ungrateful and critical of her mistakes. So now I'm in the car with my friend going to that store because my mom refused to take me after I sa
    via u/Greed1ng
  • 06
    Someone You DontKnow70 • 20h ago • Commander in Cheeks [262] Top 10% Commenter NTA. Your mom is clearly unreliable. She should apologize and try to make amends, but she's choosing the path of DARVO: Deny Attack Reverse Victim and Offender. It's a narcissistic behavior, and I'm sorry you had to grow up with it. I sympathize because my own mom reacts to criticism in the same way. I'm glad you have a friend who can bail you out of this situation. Good luck on that project!
    via u/SomeoneDontKnow70
  • 07
    Mollykins08 Next time order what you need from Amazon.
    via u/Mollykins08
  • 08
    Top-Letterhead6781 With their child credit card?
    via u/Top-Letterhead6781
  • 09
    Loquacious555 NTA. Probably not the best thing to say to someone that holds the keys to the car needed to get said supplies. She is unreliable though. It's ridiculous after all the reminders that she still couldn't get her sh together enough to go buy it for you.
    via u/Loquacious555
  • 10
    YellowSC it's been 4 days. She wasn't gonna go no matter what. She's just using that as an excuse to be a terrible mother
    via u/YellowSC
  • 11
    KaliTheBlaze NTA. All parents will forget important things like this at least once in their lives, but a good, reliable parent will actually get it on day 2, even if it means they have to say goodbye to their friend early, because at this point they recognize that they've had 3 missed opportunities (Tuesday day, Tuesday evening, and Wednesday day) and it just needs to get done so their kid can get their school project done. I know mine might have asked Tuesday night if I needed them to go get it
    via u/KaliTheBlaze
  • 12
    MuchTooBusy This, exactly. Gods know, between three kids and dozens of projects every year I've forgotten to pick up necessary supplies when it would have been most convenient. But as the parent you just extra trip out to the store. it up and make the
    via u/MuchTooBusy
  • 13
    dembowthennow NTA and your mom is showing you why you should be making moves to be independent of her as soon as you can.
    via u/dembowthennow
  • 14
    Electrical_News_6458 Probably should have started with the friend.
    via u/Electrical_News_6458
  • 15
    pizzasauce85 I would have talked to the teacher and offered to bring them the money if they would be able to pick one up.
    via u/pizzasauce85
  • 16
    MeMyselfAnd18480 Have you ever tried ASKING her? Everything is "I told her". Maybe she'd be more inclined to help, if you came across as grateful and appreciative. A little kindness goes a long way.
    via u/MeMyselfAnd18480
  • 17
    Karpulltunnel why the f does a project allow only the weekdays to be able to buy the materials? If you had working parents then the project would never have gotten done until the weekend. Did you start late? If you were assigned this project on Monday, and due Friday, it's bulls that you don't have a weekend to work on it.
    via u/Karpulltunnel
  • 18
    pickledpl_um Hey OP. Respectfully, reading between the lines, it sounds like you were able to get this done yourself and instead put the burden on your mom. The fact that you say you repeatedly told her to get it (not asked) and that you only wanted to go get it when it was convenient for you (as you said you were "deep in your homework" when her friends left and she was free to take you to the store) give that impression.
    via u/pickledpl_um
  • 19
    Now, you are 16, so independence is relatively new and probably still somewhat restricted, but I think you need to take on some responsibility here. It's your project, not your mother's. It's your grade, not your mother's. You're 16, not 6. You're old enough to drive or you have friends who drive, but you didn't take any steps to get the foam board, other than hammering your mother regularly to do it for you. You didn't walk there, you didn't get an Uber, you didn't order it on a delivery app, y
    via u/pickledpl_um
  • 20
    I know you don't want to hear this, but you contributed to the situation quite a bit. Your mother should not have screamed at you, end of sentence. You should have been kinder to her and more proactive about getting the foam board. These are small tasks you can take on on your own now that will help you establish some independence, problem-solving skills, and also help heal your relationship with your mom as you not leaning on her so much will let the two of you give each other a little space an
    via u/pickledpl_um
  • 21
    True-Art8864 What do you mean "you only wanted to get it when it was convenient for you"?! IT WAS A SCHOOL PROJECT! She NEEDS it or else she'll fail. Then guess what? Her mom would be mad. It's a lose lose situation. She had no other choice but tell her mom to go. She said something about the store being 30 minutes away (assuming she meant a 30 minute drive) then if she were to walk it'd take over an hour. Not something I'd want to do for a project. And even if she had the money, her mom is stil
    via u/True-Art8864
  • 22
    dwthesavage OP doesn't need to accompany her to the store to buy this though, because his reminders were sent while he was at school, when she would be going on her own, so, it's irrelevant if he was deep in his homework. If mom doesn't want to drive while tired, fair, but she lied that she bought it when she didn't. If she had just communicated that she didn't have the time, OP could begged - borrowed a ride earlier.
    via u/dwthesavage

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teens school student teenager students teenagers reddit story parenting high school science reddit thread Reddit Parenting Fail parents Parenting FAILS
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