16-year-old daughter refuses siblings' food demands while she is babysitting, parents return days later and accuse her of starving the kids: ‘They refused to eat'

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Dec 9, 2024 2:00 PM EST

The moment you stop being the kid that adults try to convince to eat and become the adult that tries to convince other kids to eat, is the pivotal moment after which you know your life is never going to be the same. You've matured, you've grown, and you are no longer disgusted by foods that are the color green.

With that maturity, and your acceptance that you are no longer a kid, you learn just how annoying kids truly are, and how dealing with them can be a pain, especially in the food department. What they want to eat, what they refuse to eat, when and where, kids are so overly specific, it is actually surprising how they don't starve.

The 16-year-old daughter in this Reddit story, who almost everyone would agree is still a kid, found herself babysitting her two younger siblings for several days while her parents were stuck on a business trip. While alone with the kids, she found herself struggling to make them something they agreed to eat until she gave up altogether and refused to comply with their demands. The parents finally returned days later and were angry to learn about what happened while they were away…

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10438900992
    via wutzkoh

    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 not cooking a second meal for my younger siblings after they refused to eat what I made?
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  • 03
    I (16F) have two younger siblings, Mia (9F) and Max (7M). Our parents recently went on a quick meeting over the next state but due to bad weather, they got stuck due to severe weather. It's
    via Extension_Search186
  • 04
    been a few days, and while they've been checking in, I've had to take over everything at home, including looking after my siblings. I don't mind helping out, but it's been exhausting managing schoolwork, chores,
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  • 05
    and making sure they're not setting the house on fire. Few days ago, I decided to go all out and cook a proper meal for dinner. I made a spinach and
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  • 06
    cheese lasagna from scratch, which took me hours between prepping, baking, and cleaning. up. I was really proud of it and it smelled amazing and looked straight out of a food magazine.
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  • 07
    However, when I served it, Mia poked at it like it was toxic waste, and Max flat-out said, "This is gross. I want nuggets." (and we didn't have any nuggets or something to make for that matter)
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  • 08
    I was frustrated but stayed calm and told them, "This is dinner. If you don't want it, that's fine, but I'm not making anything else." They refused to eat and just went back to watching TV. I figured
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  • 09
    they'd eventually get hungry and eat, but when I checked later, they still hadn't eaten. I still tried to push them but eventually gave up because I had a pile of homework and was already drained.
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  • 10
    Fast forward to the next few days, when my mom called. She asked if everything was okay, and I mentioned the lasagna incident. She got upset and said something like They have to eat
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  • 11
    something, and that kids don't really like those stuff" I explained that I didn't have the time or energy to whip up a second meal when I'm juggling everything else. She got even angrier, saying
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    they haven't eaten mucgh in days because they're too picky to eat what I've made. I get it-they're kids, and I'm not a professional chef, but I feel like I've already done my part by cooking, cleaning, and keeping
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  • 13
    them alive. I didn't sign up to be their personal short-order cook. And for context, due to the weather conditions, ordering in wasn't an option. Am I really the a hole for drawing the line and
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  • 14
    not making them something else when they refused to eat? Edit: This didn't happen. yesterday, it was around 5 days ago i think. I made enough
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  • 15
    lasagna to last a week so I wouldn't have to cook much. My parents are already home and the kids have already eaten.
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  • 16
    Borciaczek 1d ago NTA, you're 16 taking care of the house and two kids. It's not your job in such age. Also i'm wondering how long have you been alone with your siblings, quite concerning.
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  • 17
    Extension Searc... OP • 1d ago I mean honestly I just stepped up. Since my parents were stranded, it left me not much any choice. I'm happy to take care of them, but it probably just wasn't the best time.
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  • 18
    Inner_Advantage8323 1d ago • Part ipant [1] Absolutely NTA! And your parents should be grateful that you've stepped up and taken care of things on top of your other responsibilities. If they're
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  • 19
    so worried about your siblings not eating, they should call them and explain the situation and that they must eat. Age 9 and 7 are old enough to understand it.
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  • 20
    Extension Searc... OP • 1d ago Thank you! My parents did try, but I guess it wasn't too easy. over the phone so I understand that.
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  • 21
    dragonwolf60 • 20h ago • My question is why did parents leave a 16 yr alone with 2 much younger children for days. OK I get being storm stated for a day or two. But this sounds like more than that.
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  • 22
    Extension Sear... OP 20h ago • They did have some kind of meeting. It wasn't supposed to be for too long, and they did compensate me to babysit them for a while, so I don't blame them for that
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  • 23
    morpheuseus • 20h ago • lol you should be compensated for your efforts honestly, like a lil treat or at least something. It's not your job to watch their kids, so you did them a huge favor
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    Extension Sear... OP 20h ago • They did compensate me, even before all the weather things happened dw.
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  • 25
    MapleBreakfastMeat 19h ago • YTA You exhausted yourself cooking something only you wanted and left little kids without a decent option. You easily could have asked what they wanted to eat before cooking, and made something everyone would be happy with.
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  • 26
    Did you really truly believe little kids would like homemade spinach lasagna? Or, when you were making it, did you know they weren't going to go for it and that you were only looking out for yourself?
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    Extension_Search186 OP • 19h ago • Yah. I do admit that i never reall asked them and mostly just assumed my siblings would like it. I guess I did let my excitement take over me. I promise I wasn't trying
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  • 28
    to make them starve or only look after myself, that wasn't my intention, but I guess I could have looked out more
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  • 29
    Sequence_Of_Symbols 1d ago • Part ipant [1] Info: You said you made enough to last for days... do you mean that you offered them the same lasagna they didn't like for several days? And are there other food options? I don't mean you making a second meal, I mean pb&j or bowl of cereal?
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  • 30
    Extension_Search186 OP 19h ago • Originally, I was only supposed to look after them for 1 or 2 days, so I just made a big batch that could feed them for those days the would freeze the rest when my parents came back, but obviously, things happened, so I had to make do with what I had.
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  • 31
    And honestly homework just piled up a lot more. I just cooked that day to at least free myself from that stress, but I just couldn't do more. And we didn't have too much anyways.
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family drama aita drama cooking kids mother siblings reddit story petty family food eating daughter Reddit parents children Father
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