I left my 16 year old at home for 24 hours and he ate...

[mrsm43s]

A ready meal (mac & cheese)
A pot noodle
A family sized pizza
A full tub of 40 cocktail sausages
At least 2 big buckets full of buttered popcorn (maybe more, but only evidence of two pots where he melted the butter).
4 and half bags of crisps
Several bowls of cereal (I'd guess about 3 or 4 from the number of bowls left)
Multiple rounds of toast/sandwiches- about half a loaf worth, with a mix of fillings - choc spread, jam, cheese, soft cheese
A block of feta
A 2 person packet of fresh tortellini
and something chocolately that came in a plastic tub that I can't remember what would have been in there, but there was definitely cocoa powder residue in the bottom of the container.

He did not eat the cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, hummus, apples, grapes, bananas or yoghurts.

He's as skinny as a rake!

I'm not complaining as we were away on a Uni visit with eldest, and he was alone overnight for the first time and the house was still standing, the cats and dogs were fed and let out appropriately (the dog wasn't actually walked, but we went early evening to early evening, so we've walked her early Friday then late Saturday and she's only a Chi cross that doesn't need hours of walking), but no poo, so he def did garden runs with her. The house was pretty tidy apart from the stack of dirty crockery and empty food packaging.

How would your 16 year old son have fared?

@CheshireCat1

But they’re 16! They’re well old enough for some degree of common sense. They can get married, join the army, etc. Yes of course their social skills and emotional maturity etc are not fully formed but according to some research the brain isn’t fully developed until the age of 26 and most 26 year olds are capable of being left home alone for a night!

You still need parental consent to join the army or get married at 16.

YABU. Get your bingo cards out it’s time for competitive eating! It’s a ridiculous amount of food

I totally agree with you.

Thank you! Was beginning to think I was going mad! What is being described here is horrendously greedy, almost sickeningly so. I have a 15 year old son and he wouldn't eat a quarter of what some of these boys are eating which so many of you seem to find almost endearing (oh those boys!). It's pure gluttony, the cost in both financial and environmental terms of people eating at that kind of level....I grew up on a farm where we did actual hard physical work during the summer (as opposed to gaming all night) and while we ate fine big meals, none of my siblings would have wanted or needed to eat like that. Nor would people in any of the other families I know.

Me too!

If he’s eating that much go to the gp, it’s not normal

LuckySantangelo35 - Actually he's disabled and non weight bearing on one of his legs so walks with two crutches. He finds it hard to stay still to balance on his one "good" leg as the other has to be kept off the ground at all times, so yes, holding a knife is pretty much out of the question while using crutches and balancing on one leg. As for being unhygienic 🤣

No, he wouldn't have. If you are going to make these sweeping generalisations (and I don't mean this rudely) read up on the teenage brain and its limitations. Add onto that a two year pandemic.

Tiresome isn’t it? Still going too… thought the wine would have worn off by now

I'm so worried, my three year old eats more than my 7 year old. He does like his fruit and home cooked meals which is good.

I expect I will be serving his dinners in a wheelbarrow at 16.

When I was 16 you happily waved your newly acquired O Level certificates at an employer and rented a flat with friends. 75% if not more of 16 year olds were pretty much 'fully cooked' and wouldn't have thanked a parent for insisting they were still a child. Nobody I know was accompanied to university with a concerned parent hovering in the background. I've watched childhood extend way past what once was 'normal'. Hopefully I'll be dead and buried before parents are insisting that 25 is a bit young to be embarking on life as a 'grown up'.

Mine is 17 and the opposite. He barely eats when I go away. One tiny pepperoni pizza he prepares himself (without cheese). Maybe a bowl of cereal. His sister would cook curry and bake. She’s 16.

Christ alive... why does every light hearted post turn into such a dramatic debate accompanied by pearl clutching and unnecessary judgment?!

A 16 year old lad has the house to himself overnight for the first time ever... if he was my son and he didn't do SOMETHING to make the most of it I'd probably be disappointed!

Load of random people round for a party and the house trashed? NOT okay.

Treated himself to an all-night gaming session and a party for one? Why the hell not?!

When I was growing up teens did a heck of a lot worse! 16 year old lads aren't known for being the most sensible - but he didn't actually do anything dangerous or get slaughtered or anything like that.

One night home alone for the first time isn't representative of his whole life - he had a bit of fun, enjoyed having the house to himself and over-indulged. I'd have a bit of a laugh about it (god knows I've done worse!) and assuming he is otherwise a decent, kind and well-adjusted lad who is doing fine at school etc... I'd prob make a fun remark about him giving Kevin McAllister a run for his money and get on with my day!

Growing up into a responsible adult does not mean doing everything perfect all the time or not taking advantage of a bit of home-alone time... it's about having those less-than-sensible (but not dangerous) times and having fun - but learning and growing along the way. Does no one on here have those fun stories of daft stuff you did when you were younger - old enough to be left to your own devices for a bit - but not quite in "responsible adult" mode?!

Teenage lads of that age have always been known for raiding the fridge etc... it's nothing new and certainly no reason to be having a panic or being horrified at a 16 y/o being left home alone overnight!

My Dad went away to the Navy at 16... he was a very wise, responsible and wonderful man but the stories he could've told you about his younger years at sea... there would be olympic level pearl clutching on here - yet they were the stories that always had everyone smiling and laughing.

Yeah I agree and I find it really sad that some people are saying it's a obscene amount of food and implying there's something wrong with him. As another poster pointed out, teenage boys are going through massive physical changes and I don't think a lot of people fully grasp the extent of their increased calorie demands. And it's not even like it was even representative - it was a one off. And yes it DOES matter if he's overweight or thin - because if he was overweight and doing this all of the time, every day, it obviously WOULD be a problem, whereas this is a one off weekend where he did this. Sounds perfectly normal to me.

@skybluee you don’t need that much food even for a growth spurt. It’s obscene

@skybluee

But it IS an obscene amount of food.

Its shit loads for one person over the space of 24 hours.

And only the very financially privileged can say it’s not.

DH has eaten like this since I've known him, 6' 4 and has always been slim, at times bordering on underweight. He's now approaching 40 and it's starting to catch up, he's gone from a so loose 30 he needs a belt, to a fitted 32 in jeans in the last 2 years (34 leg). He's devastated, but he'll cut junk out for a few weeks and drop down again. It's infuriating.

@LuckySantangelo35 finally someone agrees, I can tell skyblue knows jack shit about growth spurts and nutrition

So much pearl clutching!
The dog didn't need walking, it was looked after, fed and loved. Op obviously left the food for him to eat, she's not complaining about the cost of the food, it was one day not a lifetime of bad habits and over eating!
Op sounds like a lovely grounded, sensible mum. He did nothing wrong, i'm sure some of you can't have had teenagers yet judging by the comments.
Also - (different poster) i'm liable to take a bite out of the cheese and then put it back in the fridge, no one's died of my appalling lack of decorum or hygiene yet.

Today my ds 13 has eaten a bowl of cereal, a granola bar, 4 bacon sandwiches, 2 bags of crisps, a twix, a mars bar, a load of grapes,2 chicken pittas and chips, lemon meringue pie and a chocolate mouse - he hasn't had supper yet.
Tomorrow he won't eat much because he's at school then at his activity, it's a balance, the world turns.

Not in Scotland they don't. 16 year olds can vote here too.

Is he The Hungry Caterpillar

I remember when we lived abroad and for 1 week had 3 teens staying with DH, DD (then 3) and I.
They arrived on the Fri. I did my usual shop on the Saturday but bought double of the snacky stuff and cereal, and added a 6pack of coke (2 ltr bottles). On Sun PM DH asked me if I was going shopping again on Mon. They’d eaten everything. I’d made proper lunches and evening meals (and Sat Eve was a bbq/party), but they’d had everything else in between.

I ended up shopping every other day and my weekly food bill had more than tripled. It was eye opening to say the least (and they had €5 a day from us to do ‘stuff’ with whilst I was at work, but chose to spend that on sweets and coke from the NAAFI every evening instead!)

😂

Oh fuck off. I had my own flat by that age 🙄