Woman asks if she's wrong to limit how much teenage son eats.
Raising a teenager is tough. When this mom is concerned about her son, she asks the popular Reddit forum:
'AITA for limiting how much my son eats?'
Let me start off by saying this is not a weight or health issue. We have been to the doctor over it, the doctor said nothing is medically wrong. My son(16m) loves to ear. He is a healthy weight and an active kid, he just really likes food.
At first it was typical 'eat you out of a house and home' teen boy eating but it started to escalate when school let out. He will have 3 or 4 servings every meal and is continually snacking. He will go thru a week's worth of snacks in one day.
I guess I should explain that I cook 3 meals a day. Breakfast is usually a main, sausage or bacon, toast or biscuits, and cereal is always an option. Lunch is a lighter meal with a main, a veggie side or a salad, and occasionally a pasta side.
Dinner is always a main, 3 sides and a dessert. For lunch and dinner, if anyone doesn't want what is prepared there are sandwiches, ramen, or frozen meals, whoever wants any of them just has to make them themselves.
On to the problem. I started limiting meals and snacks. You can only have 2 servings of what I make and with snacks, I have all my kids fill a basket with 5 things of their choice and that's all they can have for the day. The rest of my kids(11, 13, 15) have no problem with this.
My son on the other hand threw a fit. He screamed about it and when I wouldn't just let him keep eating, he took off to his grandparents house and told them I am starving him. He is refusing to come home until I get rid of the rules. My parents are beyond mad.
They called me yelling that I'm abusing my son and I need to let him eat. When I explained why I put the rules in place and that my son isn't being starved, they yelled that they never did that with me or my siblings and said they wouldn't let my son come home until I got my act together. I'm starting to doubt myself here.
Well, let's see what Reddit had to say.
sufficientlybia76 writes:
Defiantly NTA. That being said, please also have his Thyroid checked. I have hashimotos disease which makes me gain wait when not eating alot, but there is an opposite disease called Graves disease that makes someone supper hungry but they can't gain weight.
It's not that bad once treated but can increase chances of heart disease if not addressed, so it would be a great idea to check to be safe! Good luck, op! I can tell you really do love your kid!
halfbearhalfcat writes:
YTA. You say he is a healthy weight. Maybe he actually needs to eat a lot more for growth/development.
toughover4904 writes:
Have you met my healthy weight incredibly tall 5 year old ? You'd be shocked by what she eats in a day. She needs it for growing. OP, YTA. if your kid is screaming he's starving, offer fruit and veggies if the snack limit for the day is reached. If he eats the healthy food, then he IS starving.