Mom feeds 13-year-old girls pizza, donuts, and chips at sleepover, other moms call her a 'lousy mother' for feeding them junk: '[She said] her daughter would no longer be coming to any events at my home'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Mar 31, 2025 4:00 PM EDT

Is it just me, or has everyone gotten a little weird about the food their kids eat? I mean, parents have presumably always been a little bit conscious about what they're feeding their children. It's one of the biggest jobs of parenting. But it seems as though in the last couple of years, the amount of parents who micromanage their kids' diet down to the last decimal is staggering. The truth is, though, you don't have full, 100% control over what your children eat. 

They are their own people, after all, and decide what they want to chew and swallow and what they don't. Not to mention, when you send your kids out of the home, you really can't control what they eat. Other parents might feed them other kinds of food. They might swap lunches in the cafeteria. Anything can happen. 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10488252928
    via Unsplash+ (Curated Lifestyle)

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

  • Call me crazy, but I think this is good. It's good to surrender control. That way, your child learns how to comport themselves when they're out in the world, which is a good thing because they'll be adults one day who are completely in charge of feeding themselves. So the more they can learn to self-regulate, the better. But that's not what the parents in this story thought after they chewed out a fellow mom for what she fed their kids. Read on for the story and see what you think.

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    AITA for feeding my daughters soft ball team "junk" at our sleepover?

    135f have 3 children all enrolled in extra curricular's. My oldest daughter who's 13, plays in softball and has for years. I live in a smaller town, so I know the other girls parents and we are well aquatinted I even consider a few of them friends. We take turns having big huge sleepovers for the girls at our homes and this weekend it was my daughters weekend.
    via u/Last_Gene9706
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    We had never discussed what we should and should not feed the girls, just allergies and such so I didn't think there were "rules." My other child is also in sports and I have never had complains about this either and I've hosted these sleepovers before, just not this season yet and there are a few mothers newer parents to the team. Anyways, I had bought the girls pizza and
    via u/Last_Gene9706
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    breadsticks, and had pink or regular lemonade offered for dinner. I also had a lot of snacks, mostly chips, but I did bake some brownies as well. The next morning I had just got a lot of Dunkin' Donuts. It's 15 girls I'm feeding so I figured it was easiest because these type of things feed alot of children. My children don't normally eat like this either, I just was excited for the first sleepover at our house this season.
    via u/Last_Gene9706
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    Anyways, I've gotten some complains from the newer moms to have joined the group in our groupchat, and have said that I shouldn't be loading their children up on sugar and junk food and how their kids don't eat like that at home. I replied back that it was a sleepover it was suppose to be a fun event for the girls so what was the big deal? That offended them; they
    via u/Last_Gene9706
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    accused me of undermining their parenting and said there daughters wouldn't be coming to my daughters sleepovers anymore unless I decided to feed them better food. This caused an argument because like I said no one has ever mentioned what they feed the children at these sleepovers, and there was never any "rules." I thought it was fair game. I then again said it was just fun food, it was a slumber party, and a few of the other parents agreed with me.
    via u/Last_Gene9706
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    A few hours later that mother replied in the gc that her daughter would no longer be coming to any events at my home since I couldn't see that fun food was just a different word for junk. Then called me a lousy mother for feeding children up with that sh, then left the groupchat. Aita?
    via u/Last_Gene9706
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    Cheezburger Image 10488253184
    via Unsplash+ (Curated Lifestyle)

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

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    Commenters saw through the hypocrisy of the other moms.

    • Bella_de_chaos 20h ago Has she hosted yet? What do the other Mom's that have been around the block serve when it's their turn?
    via u/Bella_de_chaos
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    Last Gene9706 OP • 20h ago I've heard pizza before as well, and I know one of the dads grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. I'm not sure about the rest. No she hasn't hosted yet
    via u/Last_Gene9706
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    odyssea88 20h ago I'm gonna go with NTA here. These moms never communicated any dietary restrictions to you and as a parent that's their responsibility if they're letting someone else look after their child for a night. And honestly you're correct, sleepovers ARE supposed to be
    via u/odyssea88
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    fun. These are supposed to be bonding activities for the team and stuff like this is supposed to be a treat. Also you're feeding fifteen children, I don't blame you for taking the easy option of pizza and chips. Maybe you shouldn't have argued with them and simply said you'd provide different options in the future for the girls but what's done is done now.
    via u/odyssea88
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    89Mustang Sally89 • 20h ago NTA. This seems like typical food for a softball party, especially when it's one household feeding the entire team. If I sent my kid to a sleepover like this, this is exactly how I'd expect them to eat. It's one night, it's not going to do harm. Take this from a parent who obsesses over my
    via u/89MustangSally89
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    kids getting enough fruit and veggies! Sometimes, eating "healthy" just isn't realistic given the situation. Kuddos to you for being a nice mom by letting all these teenagers into your home and getting them all food.
    via u/89MustangSally89
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    Majestic Shoe5175 20h ago . NTA. Sleepovers are meant for junk food. It's a treat and not something that happens every night. I do think that after a night of junk food a good balanced breakfast is needed. Scrambled eggs are super easy to whip up for a crowd, a pre cut fruit tray,
    via u/Majestic_Shoe5175
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    yogurt along with the donuts. But that's just me and what I would serve. I wouldn't care if my daughter went to a sleepover and only ate junk once in a while.
    via u/Majestic_Shoe5175
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    jasmxne_mxchelle . 20h ago NTA If the parents who are complaining about it actually cared as much as they are portraying, they would've said before the sleepover what their kid should/shouldn't have. If it really did bother her and she genuinely wanted to get across to you to stop feeding their child
    via u/jasmxne_mxchelle
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    that stuff she could have had a private conversation requesting politely to stop. Then if you disagreed or there was no compromise she could decide to let her child stay or go. The way about this especially the ending of her calling you a lousy mother
    via u/jasmxne_mxchelle
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    shows her immaturity and her inability's to have a civil conversation. However the entire conversation that took place could have definitely been handled better from both sides.
    via u/jasmxne_mxchelle
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    • PhysicalGift6442 20h ago NTA. These dumb parents are complaining because you fed their kids (with YOUR money) sugary foods for a single sleepover? They clearly lack a good understanding of how nutrition works because two meals of pizza and donuts isn't going to kill anyone who doesn't have severe medical issues.
    via u/PhysicalGift6442
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    ChanceLengthiness2 . 20h ago NTA. Choosing healthier snacks is more or less a thing when kids are toddlers and yes, we all would offer fruit and water at playdates so as to not rock the boat. But once they hit teens, the girls know what they should or should not eat. I hosted 10 twelve year old girls at my house
    via u/ChanceLengthiness2
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    Friday and a few other moms actually sent their girls WITH junk food as a "thank you" to me for being the host. My daughter doesn't drink Sprite during the week, but for sleepover I bought a case. The moms who didn't send snacks had nothing to say to me except "thanks for hosting, you're a saint." Our girls
    via u/ChanceLengthiness2
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    are also all athletes and healthy eaters all week long. In your case, I'd consider it a blessing these moms wont let their girls come to your house anymore. I wouldn't want anyone coming over whose parents criticize food choices. It shows they can't trust their girls to make decisions for themselves or they
    via u/ChanceLengthiness2
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    want to control everything about them and IMO this leads to unnecessary power struggles (not to mention possible eating disorders down the road). One time I offered to get my son's 14yo friend a milkshake and his response was "oh my parents wouldn't approve of that." So I respected his choice and their rules. It's not that hard. These moms are being petty and only hurting their daughters.
    via u/ChanceLengthiness2
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    Watching Telly Now . 20h ago INFO: What has the food been at other sleepovers? I'm sure your daughter could tell you. And have those girls attended any previous sleepovers? I ask because there may be an implicit agreement that the longer standing parents didn't leg you know about.
    via u/WatchingTellyNow
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    • 12th_MaMa 20h ago I don't think you're an a h le for feeding girls junk food at a sleepover. Who doesn't expect pizza?? A fruit or veggie tray is fun for sleepovers too. If they want to feed the girls kale salads they can. On their turn. We'll see who's going to be the favorite.
    via u/12th_MaMa
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    . kayjax7 20h ago NTA - Yes, it is a lot of junk food, but it's a sleepover. Could you have offered some healthy snacks like a veggie tray? Sure. Would I expect it if i sent my kid? No. Feeding 15 kids each a portion of baked chicken with veggies is a lot of work when you can simply order a pizza with your phone.
    via u/kayjax7
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    egwynona • 20h ago NTA. Sending your child to someone else's home comes with the understanding that they will do things differently. The other mother is being unreasonable. The event already happened, and no clear communication was set,
    via u/egwynona
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    so you didn't do anything wrong. I think in the future you could mix in some healthier options (like a yogurt parfait bar for breakfast, or an optional salad with dinner), but no expectation was set in advance that it be available. Also, you are feeding 15 kids
    via u/egwynona
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    on your dime and you have to find something they will all like... that's going to be pizza. Unfortunately for that lady's. daughter, I think she is going to be sitting out a lot of sleepovers.
    via u/egwynona

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childcare Babies teens aita kids teenagers feeding kids moms parenting sleepover dad health food reddit thread parent Reddit junk food raising kids Parenting Fail parents children Parenting FAILS
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