To kick 3 of my 4 kids out - empty fridge outrage!

[DiscombobulatedDiane]

Sick of 2 litres of naice juice lasting less than a day and youngest DS's Petit Filous being eaten when there are plenty of lumpy Onkens available . Blocks of cheese being eaten within hours. Massive packets of biscuits disappearing or being chucked in the cupboard without being sealed up!

AIBU to tell them all (16+) to sling their hooks?

In all seriousness the juice is really making me disproportionately angry. I have made it clear I buy the 'not from concentrate' stuff which is more expensive as they are supposed to have a small glass just with breakfast and for youngest DS as he shouldn't have to have the crap stuff, the same as they didn't at his age. Even when I resort to buying the massive cheap cartons of fruit 'drink', it'll still be gone in hours despite cordial always being available.

They also eat the kiddie yoghurts that I buy for DS, he won't eat the one with fruit puree or lumps, leaving him with none to eat despite nice Danone of Onken ones being available.

I can't lick the fridge or keep them anywhere else to stop the shit bags.

What to do?

I keep ds3's bits in the salad drawer. Strangely they never have need to go in there.

I hide goodies under the potatoes in the veggie drawer. So far they haven’t found by Maltersers stash.

The lockable box for the fridge sounds like a good idea.

Put stuff you want saved in the vegetable drawer, covering it up with broccoli and the like.

Just a suggestion, the stuff from concentrate is perfectly good. I used to avoid it and then watched a programme on how it's made and the difference between the stuff not from concentrate and from concentrate was the sensible option.

Why buy food nobody likes?

What's wrong with fruit drink or dilute?

I hear you Op... I cannot keep up with them and it's costing me a fortune even with aldi/lidl shops. And the leccy going up because of xbix PlayStation charging gadgets and sitting up all hours.... They are 20 and 18 and I'm exhausted...

Everything good in the veggie drawer/s.

Cheap stuff in the fridge outside of that wonderful invention the fridge locker. Buy it now before it goes. Raptorina have some

Buy cheap oranges and squeeze them yourself in the morning - everyone does their own. Large tubs of plain fromage frais or Greek yogurt. Stir in a teaspoon of jam into a serving for toddler.

I used to buy boxes of broken biscuits in school hols. When they were gone, they were gone.

Cheese - good idea to grate and freeze although I would be less worried about this being eaten in large quantities.

Loving the lockable container. Ha ha.

shitbags - nice language OP, apple and tree i'm thinking.

I used to hide non perishables in the cleaning cupboard, behind the iron!

savourypart there's no need for shitty comments like that

watched a programme on how it's made and the difference between the stuff not from concentrate and from concentrate was the sensible option.

I wish they sold the concentrate - useful for recipes and it would stop the transportation of unnecessary weight (the water) and packaging.

I'd read them the riot act about taking their little brother's yoghurts. Otherwise I'd buy them cheap juice and shite biscuits and when they're gone they're gone until the next shop or until your budget allows. Same with the cheese etc.

I always see on MN how teens need to eat LOADS...

Is this really true? When I was a teenager, I just ate normal meals

Mine used to come home for the weekend when they were at uni. Boyfriends/girlfriends often came with them. Every Friday I would fill up the (mahoosive) chest freezer, the fridge and the cupboards. By Monday there would be no food left in the house.

Once I caught one of them with a bag, emptying the cupboards etc. to take back with him.

The joys of parenting.

I think it’s weird to buy nice things for one DC and tell the other DC they can’t have it. They should all be allowed the same, even if that means buying more. If you can’t afford to buy more then that’s a different conversation which they’re old enough to understand.

Anxiouspeg. .. I remember eating 2 digestive biscuits and a glass of milk before I went to bed as a teenager. DD is like this. However my lads eat a family sized pizza each before bed 😯. They are 17 and 16, both 6'2" and both underweight despite eating 3 healthy meals a day and loads of snacks. I blame rugby and rowing, I think they just burn it off very quickly. They also drink 2 pints of milk a day each and don't get me started on the steak addiction.
I hear you OP.
When these guys leave home DH and I will be rich. 😂

There was a programme on BBC 1 last year saying that the only difference between from concentrate and not from concentrate was the price and that there are no additional health benefits to purchasing the dearer version.

Buy the cheap stuff.

For items that don’t need to be kept cold consider locking in the car boot and bringing into the house on a daily top up basis.

Insist they eat a big bowl of pasta for lunch to keep the hunger pangs at bay?

Circumstances change within families. I don't understand why your youngest has to have the same 'nice' juice the others did when they were little. If your financial circumstances don't keep up with the requirements of your family then you're just breeding resentment if one gets good stuff and the rest don't.

FHS, my big bro went on better holidays for little while because dad was earning fabulously well and bro was the only child. I had a few better holidays than my little brother did. By the time he was born, dad was redundant and there were 3 children. He never experienced a 'posh' family holiday in his life, he knew camping in the uk for 10 days every August as a family holiday. I dread to think how awful big bro and I would have felt if our little brother was sent/taken to exotic places just we had been once upon a time.

It's a family, not a competition. Give them all the same or earn more.

Urrrrgh op my mum used to do this. Buy nice food for the two younger siblings and go nuts if any of us three teenagers had it, even though we each paid £400 a month for rent/food.
It caused a LOT of resentment.

Why can’t you just buy them all the same?

I have two teenagers, both with autism, and one is low functioning. Also have two NT children that would snack all day if I let them. All my children have been brought up with rules about everything including their food. They get breakfast lunch dinner, snacks are directly after school, mid morning and before bed if they wish. But, they must ask me if they can eat anything other than a sandwich, toast or fruit for snacks. Now I just need to get them to clean up after themselves better.
The low functioning autistic teen is always trying to sneak crisps though, but nowhere near as bad as clearing out all snack food.
I do think educating them is the way to go. Make them prepare sandwiches etc if they want a snack, might slow them down a bit.

@HelpmeobiMN well they have all been allowed the same and the teenagers have taken the piss, meaning that the youngest has been left with nothing.

That's not fair in the slightest.

I would 100% keep his treats, biscuits and yoghurts to the side.
At least he can get a look in then.

I think it’s weird to buy nice things for one DC and tell the other DC they can’t have it. They should all be allowed the same, even if that means buying more. If you can’t afford to buy more then that’s a different conversation which they’re old enough to understand.

I don't think it's that the Petit Filous are considered more 'nice'; it's just that they're the only yoghurts the youngest eats, whereas the older ones aren't so picky. So why on earth would they eat his except out of sheer selfishness?

If they're old enough to understand a conversation about money they're old enough to understand one about being considerate.