Grandma leaves chicken in the sink, gets offended when daughter-in-law refuses to feed it to her 1-year-old: 'She said I wanted to start a problem'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Dec 12, 2025 9:00 PM EST

Food isn't always the best way to bring families together.

It may be true that one of the best ways to get on a lot of people's good sides is to feed them, but cooking can prove to be a surprisingly divisive topic as well. When we take into consideration different upbringings, backgrounds, tastes, and the phenomenon of picky eaters, what we eat together also has plenty of potential to spark drama (not least if there are some weird relationship dynamics going on in the background).

The truth is that different family members, especially if they are in-laws, are quite likely to have different standards in terms of preparing food. What is perfectly acceptable in one household might be unconscionable in another. It can make things awkward when wanting to share that beloved traditional family recipe, or eating any type of food prepared by somebody who the other person doesn't trust.

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  • an older woman wearing glasses looks away from a kitchen tap as she turns it
    via Tanya Chuvpylova

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

  • In this story, a woman was left frustrated after her mother-in-law took offense at her rejecting her cooking on behalf of herself and her baby. Her partner's mom had left the chicken for the meal in the sink for a significant amount of time, leading her to be suspicious that the food would not be safe for them to eat.

    After cleaning out the sink and telling her that she planned to prepare something for herself and her daughter, her mother-in-law was offended and told her son that she felt like she was deliberately trying to start trouble with her. The daughter-in-law wasn't sure if she had overreacted.

  • AIO for refusing for me and my 1-year-old to eat my MIL's dinner?

    So my mother in law usually prepares dinner kind of early around 11a.m-12pm. Earlier | went to the kitchen to get some milk for my baby for her nap and noticed she was prepping some chicken for dinner.
    via ShesInterrupted
  • I noticed she had the chicken in the sink just like that. Not in a bowl, a plate or container. She had it in the sink sitting there as she started to prepare other things for yesterday's dinner. I just thought it was kind of disgusting to leave it there and I also thought we can get salmonella from that. It was probably left like that for about an hour. Especially since we have the baby dishes in there as well I didn't want her getting sick from that.
    via ShesInterrupted
  • When she was done after my baby woke up I went to feed her lunch and I washed the sink with boiling water and dish soap. She told my daughters father that I had a problem of the way she was doing things since she saw me wash the sink (even though she didn't tell me anything) and he asked me about it and I told him. When dinner time came she told us to
    via ShesInterrupted
  • an older woman with glasses perched on her head pours coffee through a filter
    via Tanya Chuvpylova

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

  • feed the baby what she made and told me to eat also and I told my daughter's father I was just going to prepare something for us for tonight. (Not a big prepped meal just a quick dinner) and she got very offended and my daughter's father let her know my concern and she did not like it. She said that there was nothing wrong with what she did and I just
    via ShesInterrupted
  • wanted to start a problem with her. She's the type of lady to get easily offended if things don't go her way. I feel like I had good intentions and just didn't want to risk anything but what do you think? Was she the one overreacting?
    via ShesInterrupted
  • EDIT- some of my responses have gotten lost in the comments so in case anyone is looking for an answer here are some -the chicken was not being defrosted it wasn't frozen, it was defrosted in the fridge the night before. It was uncooked in the sink, waiting to be prepared
    via ShesInterrupted
  • -my mother in law is staying with us for the time being & is supposed to move back to her house sometime next year -“my daughters father” is yes my bf I didn't think it would cause a lot of confusion but as I read the comments I understand I could've used different words
    via ShesInterrupted
  • -she is Still my MIL even though we aren't legally married, that's how my family sees things and I'm sure other families as well -even if we "couldn't" get salmonella from the naked chicken being in the sink with no plate, bowl, bag, etc it's still GROSS -communication between my MIL could be better but the language barrier makes it difficult
    via ShesInterrupted
  • two grilled chicken breasts on a blue and white ceramic plate
    via Steve Mitchell
  • AnneFromBoston I don't know about anyone else, but I wouldn't be thrilled to eat chicken that lay in the bottom of someone's sink for an hour. Sure, it will be cooked, but the stuff that occurs in kitchen sinks daily (at least in my home) can be pretty disgusting.
    via AnneFromBoston
  • OP ShesInterrupted Exactly my thoughts, like that isn't sanitary at all. Just the thought of it gives me the ick
    via ShesInterrupted
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    via AutoModerator
  • DarthDregan My ex's dad told me a story that he had a weekly dinner with his then girlfriend/future wife's parents. Every single time they went there he got sick. Every time. Eventually he goes to see how she's making the meals, and she was chopping chicken up on a cutting board. Then dumped it onto a pan. Then started making the salad on the same board. The whole family was immune. He wasn't.
    via DarthDregan
  • Alarming_Bar7107 NOR. I had a similar situation. My MIL said, "at some point you don't even wash the dishes when you see rat poop. You just brush it off and go about your day." I was like Wtf?! They pee too, and you can't just brush off the pee! So we stopped eating her food and using her dishes. She thinks I'm snobby, but I do not care
    via Alarming_Bar7107
  • Responsible_Mind_980 My in laws do this with their meat. They'll leave it out in the bowl it's marinating in all day/sink/pot. I just say I'm going to get my own food. There's a language barrier between us too, but you are the parent. You should do what's best for your child.
    via Responsible_Mind_980
  • AStudyinViolet The comments in this thread are solidifying my desire not to eat at people's houses LOL.
    via AStudyinViolet
  • Evening Syrup Exactly kitchen sinks are biohazard ground zero
    via Evening_Syrup
  • The Tybera I wash my kitchen sink like it was a dish after I clean my dishes. So my kitchen sink isn't nasty.
    via TheTybera
  • JellyStrict2856 WTF could possibly be being done in your sink? Do you piss and shit in it? You literally clean from the kitchen sink. Washing dishware, pots, pans, which you then use again.
    via JellyStrict2856

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baby cooking dinner mother in law family food reddit thread Reddit mom
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