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?

If we don't allow our teenagers to be independent, we risk producing vulnerable adults.

Does being independent not involve taking responsibility though?

t.me/ukrainenowenglish/10546

This feels like a scene from The Handmaid's Tale 🤯

So pleased I had two girls. One eats barely enough to keep a fly alive (eating issues) the other is super health conscious and eats accordingly

@motogirl I hope you mean that in jest, but I find it an awful thing to say. Surely you can't be 'pleased' about eating disorders.

OP weirdly almost sounds proud..

eh, that's a bit of a strange post.

Exactly. I don’t think it’s much of a success that leaving a 16 year old has meant his mum has had to buy him easy to grab food because he can’t be expected to actually make a decent meal, he’s lived on rubbish, eaten too much, there’s empty packets and dirty plates left and he hasn’t walked the dog. I’d say it’s an epic fail.

I have an 18 year old son and that sounds like a snack to me. He is ravenous constantly. I massive pack of wafer thin ham.. fine in four minutes, then he'll go into the smoked sausage. Then oh look I'll just make some spaghetti olio alio mum. Then what's for tea.. this is in a four hour period today.. he'd eat me out of the house

Of my children? Hell yeah! For the many, many, wonderful things about them.

For the random selection of food eaten in one particular 24 hour period? No, it's not a measure of value for me.

Do you value your children based on their eating habits? If so, I'd suggest you engage a counsellor for both you and them.

@worraliberty my teens were always totally responsible when left alone. They are now fully functioning adults.
See my comment about our home being clean and tidy when we returned. (Including pets fed and dog walked, recycling in correct bin etc).
If you give your, soon-to-be, adults trust and autonomy, within reason, it will pay dividends.
My brother went to Naval college at 16. I was working full time at 16 and looking after a dependent relative at the same time. Not ideal, but operating the dishwasher and cooking a bit of food is nothing in comparison, for my DC.
I haven't achieved much in my life but my DC are good at adulting, in no small part due to me.

My son would have done that at that age, incredible what he could put away and still be thin and gangly. Now at 22 he eats normally and is still slim. Some boys just eat loads as they’re growing, it changes as they get older.

Perfect, @TheSmallAssassin !

@mrsm43s - at least he didn’t starve. Teenage boys have hollow legs!

And get married

Problem is when they continue to eat like this in to adulthood when the physical activity often drops and then they start putting on weight.

And yeah OP you sound almost proud of your son eating crap and leaving your kitchen in a mess, so it's weird.

You do know she meant proud of the gluttony and mess he left behind, right?

Mine (24yo) was in the house for a grand total of 53 hours and in that time had:
A microwave cheeseburger
Tuna and mayonnaise beef slices
3 frozen quarter pounders with green beans
a pizza delivery
all the fruit
all the biscuits
a loaf of brown bread
and a box of Krave.
He also took away two pot noodles and a frozen curry.

For him I think it’s the convenience of not having to go shopping or pay for it himself.

'epic fail'

get a grip of yourself.

He did take care of the dog and tidy up after himself, though.

@peepee123 but this thread isn't about your kids. I was just pointing out that you seemed to ignore the irresponsibility of the OP's son.

The house was pretty tidy apart from the stack of dirty crockery and empty food packaging.

No he didn't and he couldn't be arsed to walk the dog.

As for the pretty tidy house, he spent the whole time eating and gaming so couldn't really make it untidy, could he?

He kept the house clean and tidy.
He stacked washing up and recycling in the kitchen neatly.
He looked after two cats and one dog (including poo picking). He didn't walk the dog because she didn't need walking in that period, but would have done if needed.
I can't really see an issue TBH.
Yes, his food was oven pizza and fresh pasta and a bunch of snacks, rather than gourmet cooking from scratch (and he could definitely have done with a few more portions of fruit and veg) but really, if that's the worst my 16 year old is doing (and it is) then I think we're doing pretty damn well TBH.

He sounds like a normal 16 year old lad to me. I saw your post as lighthearted, no idea why some people seem to be agonising over everything and being nasty.

Which Uni did you visit OP?

We did our first uni visit with our eldest today. DS, 15, was home alone from 8am and we’ve just got back, but he is exceptionally lazy and I had to order him pizza to be delivered! He did ring during the day to tell me there was nothing in to eat. Erm, there’s plenty, but it might require some effort to cook! I’m impressed that your DS managed to actually cook stuff.

Being skinny doesn't necessarily mean someone's healthy, especially if they have a diet lacking in fruit and veg.

Lincoln