23-year-old living at home installs lock on his mini fridge to stop himself from eating too much junk food, his parents call him disrespectful for locking up his belongings: ‘They're upset [you] created a boundary’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Oct 27, 2025 3:00 PM EDT

For those who are lucky enough to have their parents' places to shack up in while they're busy figuring out life, you've won the parent lottery. Well… some of you have. For certain bright-eyed and ready-for-the-world individuals, living with their parents might seem like a sentence to the place down under; and no, we're not talking about Australia.

The 23-year-old man in this next story explains that he lives with his parents currently, but he contributes to bills, rent payments, and the like. He also mentions that he covers the cost of everything he wants to purchase in his daily life, and doesn't ask for much from his parents. The man dreams of becoming a pilot, and while he is in pursuit of this, he plans to live at home and stay out of his parents' hair. Sounds simple enough. Sometimes, though, the "kid" is not the problem…

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  • 01
    closeup photo of a locked padlock
    via Curated Lifestyle (Unsplash+)

  • For some strange reason, the man's parents are especially upset when they find out that he put a lock on his mini fridge, which resides in his room. The man explains that he installed the lock so he wasn't tempted to reach for sweets every other hour, and it has proven to work so far.

    So, the million-dollar question remains: Why are his parents so upset? It's not like this man is a boy. What could he possibly be hiding? How did they even realize the lock was installed in the first place, if not for their probably snooping in his room? There's a dilemma: How much privacy should their child, this man, be given if he's living under their roof? What do you think?

  • 02

    "AITA for putting a lock on my mini fridge that I bought with my own money in my room"

    I (23m), live with my parents for the moment, I work during the day and go to flight school in the afternoon and do flight training, and study when I can.
    via LivingBuddy1088
  • 03
    I pay my own car, insurance, and most of my own bills, not including bills my parents cover on a family plan.
    via LivingBuddy1088
  • 04
    For years I've had this mini fridge I bought with my own money in highschool and have been using to hold sodas and yogurts.
    via LivingBuddy1088
  • 05
    soda inside of a refrigerator
    via Erik Mclean (Unsplash)
  • 06
    These past two years , I decided to buy some chocolates and put it in the fridge because I have a sweet tooth and enjoy some chocolate here and there.
    via LivingBuddy1088
  • 07
    Problem is I have a big sweet tooth and sometimes I overeat the sweets in my fridge or have one to many sodas, recently for the past couple of months, my parents have been opening my mini fridge behind my back, and then bringing up a lot how all I eat is junk when I don't eat as much as they say I do, but of course they see what's in my mini fridge and judge right away
    via LivingBuddy1088
  • 08
    This past weekend I did a 5k and I trained for a couple of weeks doing it, and felt so accomplished the day I did it, I was proud of myself as this was a fitness goal I was aiming for, because of my recent 5k, I decided to put a lock on my mini fridge, so that it's more difficult to satisfy my sweet tooth cravings, while Also serving as a way to prevent my parents from opening my mini fridge and seeing my snacks and drinks and judging me when I'm taking care of myself better, but it's mostly to
    via LivingBuddy1088
  • 09
    AITA?
    via LivingBuddy1088
  • 10
    OrdinaryMajestic4686 NTA. I don't even know what to say. Your parents are being weird. You told them it's to help you with your cravings and you're ok with opening it if they want something from it. So what's the issue? That they can't snoop? Weird stuff.
    via OrdinaryMajestic4686
  • 11
    Novel_Fox Yes. They're upset op created a boundary for himself that has the added benefit of them not being able to snoop. Been there, my Mom was like this. They kept stealing my stuff when I wasn't around so I put a password on my laptop and they flipped out on me when I got home LOL because they couldn't jack it without asking first and they're not the kind of people who cam grasp the concept that if someone isn't around to ask the default answer is no. Wild stuff.
    via Novel_Fox
  • 12
    shelwood46 It was already really weird that they went into his room when he wasn't home just to inventory his fridge and then hassle him about it. NTA but good lord move out.
    via shelwood46
  • 13
    LivingBuddy1088 Sadly I can't yet, I'm not at a point where I can work as a pilot, but in a few months I will be
    via LivingBuddy1088
  • 14
    ma1645300 yep, I remember my mom being annoyed that I stopped putting my car keys with everyone else's because then she couldn't just go into my car and snoop anymore. Some people's parents are just that weird and annoying.
    via ma1645300
  • 15
    regus0307 And OP is 23! I have a son the same age, and would never snoop on him. I don't even really give him parenting advice anymore, unless he asks for it. He's a grown adult, and only lives. here because he's still a student. We're in a kind of he's our child but he's also kind of a roommate situation. Best kind of roommate, to be honest. We don't have to look after him as if he's a child, and he lives independently to a certain extent, but we love him and don't have. any 'roommate issues'.
    via regus0307
  • 16
    WomanInQuestion NTA - Instead of asking you why you did that, like a normal person would, they immediately jumped to accusing you of being bad and doing something against them. Me thinks she doth protest too much.
    via WomanInQuestion
  • 17
    Theotherone56 Why are they going in the room at all? I would double down and put a lock on my door. WTF? Why are they in there at all unless invited? OP is an adult!
    via Theotherone56
  • 18
    LivingBuddy1088 My door has a lock like most doors, but it's only locking from the inside, so I can't just lock my door from the outside when I leave home to go work
    via LivingBuddy1088
  • 19
    Sandbarhappy122 NTA. You say you're helping out with bills, so that gives you more of a renter's realm of rights and they should stay out of your room and thusly your fridge. But - even if you weren't paying a dime, they should respect your privacy and stay out of your room and your fridge.
    via Sandbarhappy122
  • 20
    julesk NTA, if they bring it up again, I'd tell them, "the lock helps me control my cravings and ur gives me privacy." Because it's wrong of your mom to snoop through your room. I'd also talk with them about having a more adult relationship where they let you be an adult instead of treating you like you're 12.
    via julesk
  • 21
    LivingBuddy1088 They would say I act like a child sometimes, because while I'm not spending my money on drugs or alcohol or anything that I feel is pointless spending my money on, I spend my money on things like collectibles and Legos since I am also a
    via LivingBuddy1088
  • 22
    big nerd, and because of my hobbies my parents feel I can be childish at times, when it's them being hypocritical since my dad has a collection of toy models of formula 1 cars and a few different types of those track racing cars where you hold a button and they get charged and go around a track
    via LivingBuddy1088
  • 23
    Old-Smokey-4 06 They thirst for control - NTA
    via Old-Smokey-42*6*

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family dynamics family drama entitled parents boundary entitlement kids reddit story family feud parenting entitled family reddit thread parent Reddit Parenting Fail parents entitled people Parenting FAILS
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