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Original poster

Greedy teenager

213 replies

Brownthomas · 19/07/2020 00:07

I remember being a teenager and I was very self centered & preoccupatied.

Our 15 year old is out of control with food. He is average weight etc but needs to eat everything in the house.

Today I asked him not to eat the food for his brothers birthday party this week, but I didn’t mention the drinks .,,, I’ve just found a 12 pack of Capri sun demolished in his bedroom.

They don’t even that good Hmm I have to specifically ask him or else he eats all the food in the house

OP posts:
sliceoflife · 20/07/2020 18:59

My DS is now 23 and lives in his own home a few miles away. Any time he comes to see us he reverts to being 15 again! Looking through the cupboards and fridge to see what treats we have in. Then he seems a bit put out when we say we don’t buy the stuff we used to have in for him when he lived at home like squash,which we never drink. He forgets he used it all up on his last visit. I’m wondering how long before he grows out of doing this? Maybe I should be glad he still sees our house as home?

WrongKindOfFace · 20/07/2020 19:00

Not unreasonable for teens to have hollow legs, but completely unacceptable to eat everything, including party food/drinks he’d been asked to leave.

FelicisNox · 20/07/2020 19:37

This must be a boy thing: I've raised 6 girls and none of them behave like this!

I also think it's how you've raised them: to be more specific, my kids wouldn't DARE behave like this or they would get my foot up their arse.

It is greedy and it is selfish. Time to start putting locks on cupboards and from now on they ASK for things.

If you're at work leave what they can have prepared in the fridge and any flouting of the rules should incur punishment.

I don't care if being a hungry teenager is considered normal.... this level of bad manners is unacceptable and no future gf will want this level of selfishness to contend with so nip it in the bud.

sugarbum · 20/07/2020 19:40

I can empathise OP. I have a 13 year old who is the size of a 16 year old and he will stop at nothing to eat ALL the snack type foods in the house. He lies about it as well even though we all know who steals the food.
I keep what I'd call treats (DH's chocolate and biscuits) in lockboxes now and most of the snacks like crisps and stuff in the garage, to take out when I need. I usually leave out crackers and cheese which he likes, and bagels which he will also stuff his face with. (There's also plenty of fruit, but funnily enough this never goes) He is extremely selfish and will not think twice about taking something if its not locked up or nailed down.

My 10 year old is also constantly wanting food, but he's more polite about it, in that he will ask me and whinge, but he wont' just take it!

bluebluezoo · 20/07/2020 20:08

This must be a boy thing: I've raised 6 girls and none of them behave like this!

Not a boy thing. A parent thing.

Read the thread I linked to earlier. Different kettle of fish when it’s a girl eating a lot...

Different rules depending on sex.

winniestone37 · 20/07/2020 20:11

It’s normal. Lock it away

Celestine70 · 20/07/2020 20:21

My teenage son is the same. Make sure there are lots of healthy snacks then make him a great box that is just his. I try and encourage fruit and yoghurt over crisps and chocolate. My son will make sandwiches also.

MummyMayo1988 · 20/07/2020 21:10

Perhaps this is a boy thing?! I've got 3 - 10, 6 and 1 and they all eat me out of house and home every blinking day.
We have a snack cupboard that is "fair game" but other snacks that I need to last are put away in tins and they know they have to ask first before they take.
The middle one can eat 4 or 5 pieces of fruit after school. He is as skinny as a bean pole tho 🤷‍♀️

VK456 · 20/07/2020 21:27

I remember shopping in the morning once and popping out in the afternoon. When I got home, my son had eaten an entire large loaf.

SydneyMamma · 21/07/2020 01:38

Loads of experience of nephews eating everything in sight - hollow legs, hormones, playing lots of sport, boredom and all the possible reasons for eating non-stop. My teenage DD isn't nearly as bad but then she's a massive fuss-pot.

I too have a whiteboard where items must be listed when the second last (or even last) is used.

Scoffing all those drinks is too much though and so unfair. Definitely make your DS pay for them or do extra around the house/garden. Teenagers need to learn to control their greed and to think of others.

BitOfFun · 21/07/2020 01:43

Absolutely, SydneyMamma. And everything that bluebluezoo posted too.

Durgasarrow · 21/07/2020 04:21

Teenagers eat a lot of food. Make a pitcher of juice and put it in the refrigerator. It's useless to have little, wasteful serving sizes of drinks like Capri Suns. Kids that age have big appetites and big thirsts. They are ravenous. They have growth spurts. Especially boys. It's perfectly normal. You have a healthy child.

Astrid09 · 21/07/2020 04:43

Teenagers have a huge appetite as they need the nutrients in food to grow and they also need a lot of sleep.
They also need to drink plenty to keep hydrated and in hot weather is a lot more.
You told him not to touch the food he didn't but you admit you didn't with the drinks so how was he to know? Those capri drinks are small I agree he should've told you he'd finished them but again he didn't know what they were for. So I can't see what he sis wrong he was thirsty so drank them. If they weren't for a party (which he didn't know) would you really deny him a drink if he was thirsty. When my son was that age he ate loads and not all junk fruit cereal and sandwiches and especially in the heat he drank loads. We also had a pad to write down if something was used up and we also put down on fridge etc what was for the weeks teas and if something had to be kept for any reason, everything else was first come first served. They need the calories and fluids so to get angry at him when he wasn't told what they were for I think is unfair. I'm shocked how many want him to buy back drinks, seriously drinks!!!
Any parent denying teenagers food when they're hungry and getting angry at the amount they eat is wrong and would anyone seriously not allow their teenager to drink the amount they need. He should've said he'd finished them but if they're there to drink what's the issue. You didn't say op in what amount of time he took to finish them all.

Hopethiswilldo · 21/07/2020 05:17

My 14 year old son can consume copious amounts of food and drink, but he wouldn't do that. He has plenty faults so I am not claiming smugness, but he would ask how many he could have. That's not ok behaviour to drink the lot and not even think to check.

Oswin · 21/07/2020 05:21

Astrid he wasn't going to be thirsty if he couldn't have the capri sun though. He could have got a drink. You asked op would she deny him a drink If hes thirsty. Confused
If he was thirsty get a drink of water. Taking all the capri sun is greedy and selfish.

mathanxiety · 21/07/2020 06:12

I don't understand these huge, insatiable appetites I read about on here where teen boys are winding their way through entire loaves, and eating pizzas as snacks. Don't people have food budgets?

JockTamsonsBairns
Yes, people have budgets. But if your child is hungry then you need to feed him or her and maybe cut back somewhere else if money is tight. Or assess what you are spending your food budget on.

DS ate the vast majority of what I bought. I avoided empty carbs because they are expensive and not filling.

When he went off to university it took me a few weeks to figure out why the fridge was bursting with leftovers. I was still cooking with DS in mind.

When he was at home he would have a solid breakfast that he made for himself - scrambled eggs, toast, porridge, OJ - then lunch in school (some sort of school junk) and then first and second dinner. First dinner consisted of two big helpings of whatever I cooked and second dinner was consumed around 10pm and consisted of all the leftovers. On weekends he had first and second breakfast (all cooked by him). It was like Lord of the Rings.

He turned into a good cook, something his current GF greatly appreciates. There is an upside to having a teenage boy with a huge interest in food.

Unfortunately, it always took me a while to get up to speed when he came home for the holidays, Christmas, etc. and so his massive breakfasts tided him over until I got used to the change of seasons.

TheTeenageYears · 21/07/2020 06:47

Growing boys need lots and lots of protein. So much of what has been mentioned contains none. Tins of tuna are a 'snack' in our house as are 4 poached eggs at a time but it will keep a hungry boy fuller for longer.

mathanxiety · 21/07/2020 06:49

Yes indeed, TheTeenageYears, we went through dozens of eggs per week.

Sexnotgender · 21/07/2020 06:59

This thread is positively ILLUMINATING. At least we know where the selfish entitled men-children come from we see on the relationship boards😏

happinessischocolate · 21/07/2020 07:00

Agree with @TheTeenageYears

My 15 year old makes himself omelettes, Cajun chicken and rice or has tuna salad, so half a box of ready made salad plus a can of tuna. It has to be quick and easy to make as they're hungry right now.

ShesMadeATwatOfMePam · 21/07/2020 07:59

Yes teen boys Eat a lot but her son is a greedy little shit. Eating all but one of the doughnuts and drinking all the Capri suns. If it was genuinely about thirst or hunger he would have drunk squash or eaten a bowl of cereal. Instead he goes straight for the high value desirable snacks and demolishes them before anyone else gets a look in. That's not about being hungry.

Original poster
Brownthomas · 21/07/2020 08:48

@ShesMadeATwatOfMePam your post made me laugh out loud. He is a greedy little shit Grin
Unfortunately as I am not his mother I do struggle with the discipline and tend to leave it to DH. When I found the empty drinks he acted sheepish & apologetic. He said he thought that he could have them as i hadn’t asked him not to drink them all Confused. He was embarrassed as he hid the empty cartons & refused to bring them down on Sunday.
I’ll be more clear in future what food he CAN eat. I don’t think I should have to list everything that he can’t!
I don’t really have the space to hide treats but it’s something I might have to consider.

He stays awake much later than us gaming so I can’t monitor his snacking which is endless. He’s like a machine at night,

OP posts:
bluebluezoo · 21/07/2020 09:05

I’ll be more clear in future what food he CAN eat. I don’t think I should have to list everything that he can’t!
I don’t really have the space to hide treats but it’s something I might have to consider

Why should you have to? He needs to stop being a greedy little shit. If you hide them, and he finds them, he’ll still eat every last bit.

Make it clear if he eats everything high value he is walking to the shop and replacing with his own money.

Or stop buying it, and if he wants it he can go to the shop.

Shell4429 · 21/07/2020 10:07

If he isn’t gaining weight it’s obvious he needs the calories. As a previous poster said, you need to split stuff into portions for each person. Make sure he has access to healthy snacks, I remember fruit didn’t cut it for me when I was younger, he needs something filling. Maybe cheese slices and whole meal bread so he can make a really quick sandwich.

SarahTancredi · 21/07/2020 12:02

If he isn’t gaining weight it’s obvious he needs the calories

This isn't true is it? Happy to he corrected but I thought you can still lay down fat around your internal organs so that even if you appear to be skinny you can still have the characteristics internally of someone who is overweight.