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Article ‘I’m 15 And My Mum Expects Me To Make Dinner Every Night’

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A teenager has taken to the internet for advice, after becoming fed up with her mum’s expectations. She says she’s often left to cook dinner for his four siblings, and she’s had enough.

The 15-year-old lives with her siblings, aged 17, 16, 14 and 12, and her 37-year-old mum. The teen says she feels as though the weight of household duties constantly falls on her shoulders.

“Mum works from 9-4 and comes home expecting everything to be clean and dinner to be made. She occasionally makes dinner, but 5/7 days of the week we’re eating sandwiches or takeout and it’s really gross to all of us. On days where she ‘cooks’ it’s our responsibility to meal prep right after school and make sure there isn’t a mess when she gets home from work.

“I go to school from 7:40 until 3, getting home around 3:30. When I get home from school, my sisters are doing homework in the kitchen table so when I ask them to help me meal prep and clean up a little they say they can’t because they’re busy. On the other hand, my older brother works so he gets home to change and heads straight to work, and my oldest brother brings his girlfriend over and they sit on the couch playing video games.”

The teenager explained that the situation came to a head last week, when, by Tuesday, they’d eaten sandwiches for dinner three consecutive days.

“I told our mum that we were sick of eating sandwiches and she replied with, ‘There’s beans in the fridge and you can make egg or something if you’re really hungry’. The beans are weeks old and we eat egg almost every other day.”

“On Wednesday she made scrambled eggs for dinner and we ate that, but on Thursday she wanted us to make egg again. Finally, on Friday when I was sick with a fever I couldn’t make anything, we got takeout. However, on Saturday my mum and dad went to a party so we ordered takeout again.

“On Sunday I still felt sick, but I made dinner for me and my two sisters and my mum had made a seafood dinner for my two older brothers, which she knows me and my sisters don’t eat, before going to another party with my dad. Our house doesn’t have much ingredients, so I just air fried some fries and chicken tenders and I made coleslaw but it was all nauseating to me.”

The fed-up teen said her mum wanted her to make scrambled eggs again for dinner yesterday, and it was the final straw.

“I expressed my anger with this because she was going to AGAIN another party today where they eat food and we’re stuck eating dog sh*t.

“Today I confronted my parents about what we’ve been eating as they headed out for another party. My sister (14) and brother (17) said it’s just me that’s complaining but me and my (12) sister have been talking about how nauseating this has been to us. They offered to buy us some pizza, but that’s exactly what I’m sick of. They then proceeded to say they’re not just going to stop doing whatever to make me content and that if I was really hungry I’d eat whatever.”

The teen wants to know if she’s in the wrong, because she’s old enough to be making her own food, or if she’s justified in being upset with her parents.

Offer your advice in the comments below. 

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Comments

  • Sounds like there is a lot wrong here.
    I feel very much for her and can only hope thatshe is able to find a way to sort this out.
    Sounds like Mum and dad feel you can all cope on your own and they have given up being parents.

    • To be honest I wonder if they’re able to come to a solution as in one of the conversations the parents state that they’re not just going to stop doing whatever to make the daughter content and that if she was really hungry she’d eat whatever. A concerning situation indeed

    Reply

  • Why not ask your parents for a shopping budget and then shop online for ingredients to make healthier meals. Also, there is no reason why the other siblings cannot get involved in making dinner or washing up. It doesn’t take very long especially when there is more than one person cooking.

    Reply

  • It’s important to have some responsibilities at home but far out. Kids still need to be kids. It seems like the parents have completely checked out. At the very least the parents could make sure there is food in the house to feed them. Money doesn’t seem like an issue seems they can afford takeout most nights. Very sad and shame on the parents.

    Reply

  • Sounds like the kids are just being left to it while the parents do their own thing.
    I think the kids would be better off cooking their own meals maybe asking for certain foods in the house instead of takeaway. Very sad.

    Reply

  • Seems like the parents had their kids very young and have really never taken responsibility for them. I understand that kids have to do some chores around the house but I definitely think she is in the right to complain and I better the parents will wonder why they have no relationship with her when she leaves home. She seems to be the only responsible adult in the house. I really feel for her.

    Reply

  • At age 17, 16, 14 and 12, kids still need very much the love and guidance of their parents.
    I read lack of parental responsibility.
    I read absent parents who aren’t present when the kids come home and who aren’t present during family dinners.
    I read parents who lack to care and provide.
    I read unequal sharing of task

    • Responsibility sits with the adults of a household.

    Reply

  • This sounds like alot of responsibility for a child to take on. I’m all for teaching kids and helping out but it shouldn’t be on the child’s shoulders to have to take on majority of it.

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  • Disgusting of the parents to do a party every other day but not provide healthy food for their children at the least.

    Reply

  • At minimum, if she’s expected to cook for herself, her parents should ensure that a variety of healthy ingredients are available to her.

    Reply

  • This doesn’t sound right at all, in fact it sounds rather out of balance. Nothing wrong for the kids to cook every now and then, but they shouldn’t be expected to carry parental responsibility. The parents heading out to parties so the kids are left to fetch themselves ? Also is she the only one of the kids who’s expected to cook and clean ? that would make it even more awful

    Reply

  • That is really sad. Why has it been left up to the 15yo, there are older kids and they should chip in too. But to be honest, the Mum should be doing it. She should do some cooking on the weekend that can be warmed up during the week if she is too tired.

    Reply

  • Parents need to be role models and parent in a responsible manner.

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  • It is important to teach kids how to cook but for this teenager to have to prepare dinner every night is not right.

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  • What an insane level of parentification. Where is Ops time to fit in homework. They need to keep their eyes on the prize, school, so they have a bunch of options once the time comes and can leave home. In the mean time, spend that take out money on healthier ready meals to have at home. This sucks to read.

    Reply

  • Definitely not in the wrong. It’s one thing to teach your children basic life skills like cooking, cleaning etc, but it’s another to dump the entire load onto one or a couple of your children within a large family. They all need to pull their weight. Both her parents are being neglectful, immature, & not supplying their children decent meals. If they can afford takeout & parties, they can afford groceries. I’m not sure what the answer is, but I can see this teen leaving home as soon as she can if she continues to be used like this.

    Reply
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