Grandma cooks for family once a month, mom complains it's never enough to feed them all: 'It's barely enough for 2 people'

Ally Perry • Writer and Editor

Oct 10, 2026 9:15 AM EDT

Is it wrong to have constructive criticism towards a kind gesture?

Family is nothing but not complicated, and the ways in which relatives try to maintain relationships and support each other are always going to vary according to the abilities and desires of everybody involved. When there are kids in the picture, trying to develop those familial bonds becomes even more important. Most parents hope that their parents will want to be involved in the lives of their children to a reasonable degree.

Unfortunately, this isn't always going to be plain sailing. Some grandparents are just unpleasant to be around, even if you do happen to be closely related to them, and others shy away from taking on any major responsibility when it comes to being a part of the family. Not everybody gets lucky with grandparents, and this often leaves parents who do get support from them believing that the only feeling they can have towards them is gratitude. That help is not something to be dismissed.

Still, nobody is perfect, and there is every chance that even if grandma is trying to be helpful, that doesn't mean that she is. Not every kind gesture is going to be a useful one, and some can even be counterproductive. Finding a way to address that without unnecessarily hurting any feelings is any considerate person's nightmare, but it is often better for everyone if that can be done. Not all white lies are going to be for the greater good in the long run.

*_{A grandma holds a pan lid in one hand and stirs a pot on a stove with a wooden spoon in the other. Image for illustrative purposes.}*

In many families, grandma's cooking is legendary. Many of us still cook recipes today that were passed down from grandma, and it is not uncommon to see older ladies these days achieve social media success by sharing the way that they cook with a large audience. It is pretty common for grandparents to show love through what they make in the kitchen.

This mom was grateful to her own mom for doing this. The grandma wanted to help her out by cooking a meal for her, her husband, and her two kids on a monthly basis. The only issue was that she never made enough for four people, and her daughter felt like her gesture was not overly helpful.

However, she wasn't sure if she would take it the wrong way if she asked her to make a bigger portion when she cooked for them. She didn't want it to seem like she didn't appreciate her trying to help.