Parents scold 15 and 19-year-old kids for only getting 2 tubs of ice cream for family ice cream night: 'My mom calls me selfish because apparently getting 2 tubs meant that I only wanted me and my brother to eat and have them just watch.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Dec 8, 2025 11:00 AM EST

They turned what was supposed to be a fun night into a nightmare for everybody. 

It's no fun to be in a situation where you feel like you can do nothing right. You always commit some slight transgression that enrages someone who can't regulate their emotions, and it ruins all the fun. Have you ever been to an amusement park with someone who pitches a fit because they want to ride their favorite ride first, despite everyone else wanting to ride another ride, forcing everyone to "compromise" by riding the ride the fit-pitcher desires to ride? Or maybe you're making a holiday dish for your family's Christmas or Thanksgiving, and one aunt just can't shut up about how she likes her green beans boiled, not the way you prepare them. 

It's hard to move on and forget that someone is so upset about something so minor, even if you think their complaint is foolish. We all have an innate human desire to please those around us, and when complaints about banal realities turn into the biggest problem in the world for someone in your social circle, it can be really difficult not to internalize those complaints.

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  • Strawberry ice cream in clear glass bowl
    via Markus Spiske

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

  • The teenager in this story keeps getting blamed for her brother's mistakes and for the totally banal things he does. Her parents wanted to celebrate her getting on the honor roll with ice cream, and wouldn't you know it, she and her brother messed up buying ice cream from the grocery store.

  • Am I the bad guy for only getting two tubs of ice cream for my family?

    I, (15F) recently got an academic award for honor roll grades in all my classes. Tonight, my dad (49m) brought up that me and my brother (19m) should go out and get the whole family of four (including me) ice cream. My dad
    via u/october-county456
  • gives me his card, and we drive a town over to get the ice cream. We get there and before we're even parked my brother tells me to wait in the car. I give him my dad's card and I wait. He comes out with one bag and we drive home.
    via u/october-county456
  • Person driving car
    via M. R.

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

  • When we got home, we put the ice cream on the kitchen counter and go upstairs to put our coats away. As I'm coming down the stairs my mom (48f) asks why I only got 2 tubs. I tell her I'm not the one who went inside. My
    via u/october-county456
  • mom starts to get mad at me and calls me selfish because apparently only getting two tubs meant that I only wanted me and my brother to eat and have them just watch. I tell her again, i'm not the one who went inside to get the ice cream. My brother comes
    via u/october-county456
  • down and my mom starts yelling at him. As we sit down to eat my dad tells my brother that he saw that he didn't pay with his card, but he said my brother should've used my dad's card. My dad also
    via u/october-county456
  • points at me and says "I'm not just blaming you, i'm blaming her too because i gave her my card." I didn't say anything and after we ate my mom tried to take my phone.
    via u/october-county456
  • Woman in red sweater and blue demin jeans sitting on yellow couch
    via Laura Chouette

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

  • It feels like recently I've been taking the blame for all my brothers mistakes and it's not fair cause he's a grown man and I'm a 15yr old girl. If anyone also has advice for setting those boundaries with my parents as- well? AITA? EDIT: Each tub is around 2 pints, fairly large.
    via u/october-county456
  • BoobySlap_0506 Even if you only brought home 2 pints of ice cream, I would fail to see how this is "not enough" for 4 people. Unless the "tubs" were those itty bitty single serve little ice cream cartons, NTA.
    via u/BoobySlap_0506
  • OP october-county456 MB! Check the Edit
    via u/october-county456
  • NTA. StarsOfMine First: Two pints would be enough for four people. I guess I don't understand the need for more? Second: You don't make the choice. For them to blame you is foolish. Your brother made the - decisions to get only two tubs and to not use your father's card. Is this a common occurrence: them blaming you for your brother's actions? If so, you have a much worse issue at hand.
    via u/StarsOfMine
  • OP october-county456 Very common, I like my brother, but he does not have any common sense and most of the time when he does something stupid, I'm strung along for it because I'm usually tagging along with him, (like this situation)
    via u/october-county456
  • Limerase NTA except on one point. Since when is 2 pints of ice cream not 4 servings? Because it is, in fact, 8 servings of ice. cream. Also, your dad is complaining because your brother treated the family to ice cream? That's your brother being generous, and it's not fair for any of you, including you, to call it a mistake when he paid for ice cream for his little sister's achievement. This just sounds like they're looking for reasons to be mad, and it's fine to be upset with them, but don't bla
    via u/Limerase
  • OP october-county456 You're right, mistake is not the right wording, I mean more like generally when he does make an actual mistake I'm dragged along into it.
    via u/october-county456
  • StarsOfMine I missed the part where brother told her to stay in the car. This could be a family dynamic issue: girls do as they are told and take all the blame. But OP would need to clarify the dynamic, as I am only guessing.
    via u/StarsOfMine
  • OP october-county456 My parents are generally pretty sexist, and they usually make me take the blame for my brothers' actions and say that I should know better because I am a woman. To be fair my brother doesn't agree with this at all (he's a real one) but he doesn't really stop them either or take responsibility for it. I think me taking the blame for him, even when we were kids made him develop little common sense, and made it so he didn't really have to develop any.
    via u/october-county456
  • bubblyH20Emergency Op, NTA. What country are you in? I am in the US and am a mom of teens. I don't know what your culture is like, but in my mind, your parents are crappy jerks. It sounds like they wanted to bring you down a few pegs because of your achievement by finding fault, and making up things to complain about. They sound immature and insecure. what are your plans for the future? Congratulations on your award!
    via u/bubblyH20Emergency
  • OP october-county456 I live in the U.S. but both my parents were born and raised in Brazil, so I grew up with Brazilian culture. I go to a tech school and am studying IT so I can get enough money to support myself early on. And thank you!
    via u/october-county456
  • ScaryButterscotch474 NTA So basically your parents turned a nice evening into a horrible one? I don't understand why your brother bought 2 tubs with his own money instead of 4 with Dad's card? I don't understand why 4 people could not share 2 tubs? Is your mother an over eater? I think that you survive this by speaking with your brother. He behaves a certain way because he is older and knows them better. Be curious and ask him why. Don't blame him or accuse him of anything.
    via u/ScaryButterscotch474

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academics scolding credit card kids celebration teenagers bad parenting reddit story ice cream dad high school mom adult children money parents grocery store
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