18-year-old goes on a hunger strike because his single mother refuses to make him different meals or let him cook: 'We are not poor'

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Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Oct 16, 2025 11:00 AM EDT

He's got a flair for the dramatic.

Little kids are known to go on hunger strikes because they don't like the food their parents make. Well, they go on their idea of a hunger strike, having a tantrum until their parents give in, which they often do. These kids are appealing to their parents' need to feed their children, because surely, they won't let them go hungry. Some parents will refuse to feed their kids anything other than what's being served for dinner, rejecting any attempts at protesting or other nonsense. It's unclear whether that method actually promotes healthy relationships with food when their kids are adults. 

If a kid is constantly refusing to eat dinner and no attempts to remedy the situation are successful, there might be a medical issue. Not all kids who refuse to eat are unreasonable, and not all parents who have kids who refuse to eat are making reasonable dietary demands of them. Some parents continue to make meals that they know their kids don't like because they're stubborn and think that it will set them up for healthy habits in the future.

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  • A man standing with his arms crossed in front of him
    via u/NandkishoreSahu

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • The young man in this story isn't a bratty toddler who only wants to eat mac and cheese and chicken nuggets. He's not even a regular kid. He's literally an 18-year-old, a legal adult, who is having a tantrum over the food his mother cooks for him. She's no angel either, making unreasonable demands on him, like banning him from cooking his own food because she thinks he should be solely focused on his studies.

  • I (18M) am being raised by a single mom (54F). For many years I've complained about how repetitive the food that she gives me is. Usually, every day is rice/roti (a kind of indian bread) with a variation of dal (indian lentil curry). I'm given this for all 3 meals a day and have been since I could eat. And jesus fucking christ
    via u/Critical-Elevator642
  • A stack of tortilla sitting on top of a table
    via Ahmed (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • do you start hating it. Let me clarify and say that we are not poor. She makes around 4,00,00,000 rs (450k usd) and yet this is kind of food I have to eat everyday. It lacks any kind of nutrition or calories. I keep
    via u/Critical-Elevator642
  • bugging her to try and make foods from different cuisines but she really wont budge and I just cannot have this shitty fucking food any longer. It's tasteless. Indian cuisine sucks. I frequently
    via u/Critical-Elevator642
  • day dream about being born in a different country that has better staple food sources, because personally I'm not a picky eater. I can, and have eaten, anything under the sun, but Indian food is by far the worst. Recently we
    via u/Critical-Elevator642
  • went on a tour across europe where we visited Norway, Austria, Czech Republic and France. Honestly it kind of just made me sad seeing how much better the food is there and how much happier I would be there since I do consider myself a foodie.
    via u/Critical-Elevator642
  • A white plate topped with a piece of meat covered in sauce
    via Junfeng Shi (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Since she wont budge, I've decided to go on a hunger strike until she decides to put more effort in the food. AITA? Also, sorry for my english. I've tried to express all my thoughts on the matter, however some things may not have been expressed as well as I would've liked. AITA?
    via u/Critical-Elevator642
  • Wonderful_Two_6710 YTA for taking it to an extreme. You're 18; I don't know how it is where you live, but that's an adult where I do. Don't like mommy's cooking? Grow up and learn to cook for yourself. Or get a job and buy your own food, either in a grocery store or eating out.
    via u/Wonderful_Two_6710
  • Critical-Elevator642 OP She wont let me cook anything, she thinks my job is just to study study study and do nothing else. If I'm going outside or cooking something, thats a distraction from what I'm supposed to be doing, i.e, studying. So go figure.
    via u/Critical-Elevator642
  • True-Blackberry-3080 is the kitchen finger print locked and death trapped??? don't you have to leave the house to go to school? You can cook for yourself. Hell I know a lot of community centers. University's,, community kitchen, churches, schools etc.... will allow you to use their kitchen for either a small fee or in exchange for volunteer hours. Go cook your own food.
    via u/True-Blackberry-3080
  • Spare-Shirt24 YTA You're a Big Boy and if you don't like something your Mom is making, then earn money, buy your own groceries, make your own food, and clean up your own mess.
    via u/Spare-Shirt24
  • Critical-Elevator642 OP I've already added why I cant cook. To add to that I'm in college have classes from 9am - 5pm. Monday to Saturday. On top of extra studying and homework, there is no way I can have a job right now. I've tried applying to Pizza Hut and Faasos (an indian fast food chain). They said they aren't interested in hiring teenagers part time, can you imagine? India has 1.5 billion people, there just aren't enough jobs for even teens to have a go at it.
    via u/Critical-Elevator642
  • Spare-Shirt24 Boohoo. You're still TA. You're not "a foodie"... you're a moody teenager. Eat what you're given.
    via u/Spare-Shirt24
  • Resident-Message7367 NTA. 50KGS for a 5 foot 9 person is Severely underweight, When you use the Body Mass Index System.
    via u/Resident-Message7367
  • 777Erin Wilson Are you kidding me? She is NOT obligated to feed your grown behind!!!!! YTA
    via u/777ErinWilson
  • Agreeable-Return-189 Everyone who is saying YTA is actually stupid. You are NTA, your mother refuses to let you cook, refuses to cook different things, and won't let you eat anything else. I don't blame you for wanting to do a hunger strike.
    via u/Agreeable-Return-189
  • 777Erin Wilson He can MOVE OUT!!! He is TA!!
    via u/777ErinWilson

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single mother teens meals teenager cooking teenage mother meal indian food teenagers raising teens dinner food mom single mom parents
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