'I snapped': 16-year-old expected to fend for himself after his mom and stepdad repeatedly 'forget' to stock the fridge, he calls them out after catching them at a restaurant

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Feb 15, 2025 9:00 PM EST

Teenagers can EAT. This 16-year-old boy, however, found it tough to put together a normal day's worth of meals because his mom refused to stock the fridge with functional snacks. And when you leave for school at 6 AM only to return at 4:30 PM, there's not much time to consider becoming a world-class chef. 

As a teen, I put away at least double the food that my parents expected me to finish. Growing kids need a lot of food to fuel their activities and their functionality—any good parent should know that. So when this boy realized that he was not only too busy to cook for himself and functionally dismissing meals because of inconvenience, he realized that it wasn't his schedule that was the problem; it was his mom and stepdad refusing to care for him as they should.

Keep scrolling for the tale of a teen who triumphantly calls out some bad parenting, forcing his guardians to take stock of their parenting skills and to put some more accessible meals in there for their growing boy.

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  • Cheezburger Image 10466470912
    via AZemdega

    (The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.)

    I was a starved teenager as well, but I was fortunate enough to never find my fridge lacking. This kid sought the advice of sage Redditors to feel out his mom's lack of parenting skills and found that her gaslighting attitude was not acceptable. 

  • "AITA for telling my mom "Well why don't you cook something then?""

    My (M16) mum stopped cooking by the time my sister and I were in elementary school. She cooks for herself and my dad, sometimes my little sister but that's it. I get something on my birthday, but other than that she cooks for everyone maybe once a month.
    via NoPerspective2099
  • I leave for school at 6:15AM and come home at 4:30PM most days. I have football 3 times a week from 5PM to 7PM. You can imagine that doesn't leave a lot of time to do any cooking. We live in there's no stores. The a only store is two towns away which is a 3 hour walk to just get there.
    via NoPerspective2099
  • My diet is sh, I admit that. My mum doesn't buy a lot of fresh stuff. When she does, it's to make something for herself and she gets mad if I use it. When I ask for something she somehow manages to forget it 9 times out of 10.
    via NoPerspective2099
  • Recently she's been buying mainly chicken br ts and vegetables. We have things like cereal and candy, but that's not actual food. We don't even have bread. If you want to eat something that isn't the unhealthiest thing known to
    via NoPerspective2099
  • man, you have to spend the next hour cooking. I can also admit that I'm lazy. So no, I don't want to do that. Sometimes I'd rather just not eat than go through all that effort to get a meal that doesn't even taste good because I can't cook.
    via NoPerspective2099
  • My mum noticed this and complains about it while on call with her friends, even when I'm in the room. She'll go "I don't even know how OP is still alive, he doesn't eat anything". It makes me wanna tell her that I don't eat because there's nothing to eat. It's all bulls ingredients.
    via NoPerspective2099
  • Last night I snapped at her. She asked me what I had for lunch, because my dad and her went to a restaurant to eat. I told her nothing. She goes "Well you have to eat something". That's when I told her there's nothing to eat, she told me I need to cook something and be self-sufficient or I'll starve to death.
    via NoPerspective2099
  • "Well why don't you cook something then?" She stormed off all mad and p ed and told my dad. He's mad at me for being "ungrateful". The man's in his 40s and can't even make himself some soup. He'd starve if she didn't play chef for him. I told him that. Now they're both mad.
    via NoPerspective2099
  • I don't plan on coming home until they're in bed tonight because I don't want to deal with them and I don't see them in the morning. But their words are eating at my mind and I feel bad (and mad). I'm just very confused and unsure whether or not I'm being a whiny here.
    via NoPerspective2099
  • DaisytheW33b It's the responsibility of parents to provide food. What the heck? Going out to restaurants? And the children have to figure out what to eat? I don't get this behavior.
    via DaisytheW33b
  • Me as a mom can admit that sometimes I am not really in the mood to cook. I guess some can relate. But I still have something at home for me kids. Even if it's only some canned soup or something or stuff that I put in the freezer when I had leftovers.
    via DaisytheW33b
  • Yes you are 16 but in my opinion, if your mother expects you to cook then she should have taught you. She can't expect you know how. Your parents are TA. Ungrateful? Really for what? That they don't provide for you?
    via DaisytheW33b
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    via san isra
  • -madeline_ NTA. I get it, your situation sounds rough, and it's not like you've got a ton of time or resources to work with. You didn't just wake up one day and choose to not eat; there's literally no real food and you're expected to magically cook. It's
    via -madeline_
  • frustrating that your mom complains about you not eating when she's not making it easy for you. And honestly, "Why don't you cook something then?" feels like the perfect response.
    via -madeline_
  • You didn't snap for no reason, you've been pushed to the limit. They're mad because you called them out on their own laziness, but that's on them. You're not being ungrateful, you're just stating facts.
    via -madeline_
  • ThePurplestMeerkat NTA. Providing meals, not just raw ingredients, for your minor children is an obligation of parents. Legally and ethically there is no argument that these parents are in the right in any way. OP, talk to a trusted adult (teacher, guidance counselor) about this situation.
    via ThePurplestMeerkat
  • Cheezburger Image 10466469632
    via Shazard R

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • CmdrHoratio Novastar NTA. Your mom's not parenting for her underage child. Sorry you got a mom like that, mate.
    via CmdrHoratioNovastar
  • Symos404 NTA. What the heck are you supposed to be grateful for? Being fed, clothed, and sheltered is the bare minimum a parent is supposed to do, and they're not even doing that. Some people shouldn't have kids
    via Symos404

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