AITA for not cooking a second meal for my younger siblings after they refused to eat what I made?

A 16-year-old Redditor shared their story of managing their younger siblings while their parents were stuck out of state due to severe weather. After spending hours cooking a spinach and cheese lasagna, their siblings refused to eat it and demanded something else.

Exhausted from juggling chores, school, and childcare, they stood their ground and refused to cook a second meal. However, their mom later criticized them for not accommodating their siblings’ pickiness. Read the full story below.

‘ AITA for not cooking a second meal for my younger siblings after they refused to eat what I made?’

I (16F) have two younger siblings, Mia (9F) and Max (7M). Our parents recently went on a quick meeting over the next state but due to bad weather, they got stuck due to severe weather. It’s been a few days, and while they’ve been checking in, I’ve had to take over everything at home, including looking after my siblings.

I don’t mind helping out, but it’s been exhausting managing schoolwork, chores, and making sure they’re not setting the house on fire. Few days ago, I decided to go all out and cook a proper meal for dinner.

I made a spinach and cheese lasagna from scratch, which took me hours between prepping, baking, and cleaning up. I was really proud of it and it smelled amazing and looked straight out of a food magazine. However, when I served it, Mia poked at it like it was toxic waste, and Max flat-out said, “This is gross. I want nuggets.” (and we didn’t have any nuggets or something to make for that matter)

I was frustrated but stayed calm and told them, “This is dinner. If you don’t want it, that’s fine, but I’m not making anything else.” They refused to eat and just went back to watching TV. I figured they’d eventually get hungry and eat, but when I checked later, they still hadn’t eaten. I still tried to push them but eventually gave up because I had a pile of homework and was already drained.

Fast forward to the next few days, when my mom called. She asked if everything was okay, and I mentioned the lasagna incident. She got upset and said something like They have to eat something, and that kids don’t really like those stuff” I explained that I didn’t have the time or energy to whip up a second meal when I’m juggling everything else.

She got even angrier, saying they haven’t eaten mucgh in days because they’re too picky to eat what I’ve made. I get it—they’re kids, and I’m not a professional chef, but I feel like I’ve already done my part by cooking, cleaning, and keeping them alive. I didn’t sign up to be their personal short-order cook.

And for context, due to the weather conditions, ordering in wasn’t an option. Am I really the a**hole for drawing the line and not making them something else when they refused to eat?

These are the responses from Reddit users:

Inner_Advantage8323 −  Absolutely NTA! And your parents should be grateful that you’ve stepped up and taken care of things on top of your other responsibilities. If they’re so worried about your siblings not eating, they should call them and explain the situation and that they must eat. Age 9 and 7 are old enough to understand it.

Borciaczek −  NTA, you’re 16 taking care of the house and two kids. It’s not your job in such age. Also i’m wondering how long have you been alone with your siblings, quite concerning.

Impossible-North4601 −  NTA. If they were hungry they would eat it or figure something else out. It’s not like this is representative of their diets for their whole lives, if they insist on eating like raccoons for a couple days while mom and dad are stuck away from home, let the trash pandas be free.

You made food, they have access to food. They are currently not dead or dying. The house is not on fire yet. The minimum threshold of babysitting has been met. 7 and 9 is old enough to throw stuff in the microwave or make a bowl of cereal. I’m willing to bet there’s granola bars or other snacks they could have gotten into if they were desperate.

Sequence_Of_Symbols −  Info: You said you made enough to last for days… do you mean that you offered them the same lasagna they didn’t like for several days? And are there other food options? I don’t mean you making a second meal, I mean pb&j or bowl of cereal?

cassowary32 −  It’s odd to take hours to make a dish that you’d know beforehand with 100% certainty a 9 and 7 year old wouldn’t be interested in eating. You’ve done an amazing job taking care of your siblings in your parents absence so I can’t judge you as an AH, but the spinach lasagna was pearls before s**ne. I hope you were able to freeze portions for later.

wannabejoanie −  NTA, but some gentle advice:. Op, this random internet mom is *REALLY PROUD* of you for stepping up. Not only are you being responsible for yourself in a remarkable way, you’re caring for your younger siblings, !that’s HARD.

I see that you put a lot of thought and effort into dinner, made a plan to have leftovers through the week. That’s *amazing* and honestly, homemade lasagna is such a b**ch to make, I applaud you just for that.

But as you get older, you do kind of have to learn to read the room. I promise you, it isn’t a personal insult when kids don’t eat your food. F**k, my sister is a CERTIFIED EXECUTIVE CHEF and her kids often turn up their nose at dishes that I, as an adult, am literally so excited I wiggle my b**t like a puppy when I get to eat them.

It isn’t a reflection on you, and even as a mom myself I still struggle with that, cause it *feels* really personal, right? Sometimes you just gotta remember fed is best. You can make a g**damn Michelin meal but you cannot force anyone to eat it. That doesn’t mean you’re terrible, or a bad cook, or a bad sibling. You just misjudged your audience.

And the weather emergency means all the regular s**t is out the window. The kids were probably low key freaking out cause mom and dad are stuck in another state! That’s a really scary situation for children that young. Will they ever come home? Are they safe? Are they stick outside in the snow suffering?Children have wild imaginations and very little logic, they can wind themselves up without even knowing it.

At the end of the day, you did a really good job keeping them safe, and did your best to feed them healthy food. Lemme tell you, a whole lot of grown ass adults can’t do that for themselves, let alone younger siblings, so take a deep breath. You did good.

But now maybe you can look up strategies in case there is a next time, or ask your mom what she might have done in your exact situation. If she was stuck at home with limited ingredients and anxious children, what would she have done differently?

grckalck −  NTA. Also Mom was wrong to say what she did. You made a really great meal, Sibs should have been grateful but they have gotten used to having Mom cater to them so they went hungry. Mom needs to take kids with her, not leave or make arrangements for special meals that dont involve you. Let you feed yourself, sounds you do a GREAT job at that.. Now I want lasagna.

kodak723 −  You are NTA. Kids are difficult to manage under the best of circumstances. Your mom should be thanking you for everything you have done, not getting upset with you.

MelChi522 −  NTA, My kids were picky like that. Their pediatrician told me I wouldn’t hurt them to miss a few occasional meals, because they weren’t too thin and they will eat when they are hungry.

Justanothersaul −  You decided you wanted to cook an elaborate meal from scratch, which took you hours to prepare, and made a quantity enough for a week?  I could question if you asked your siblings or if you expected them to eat it because they have already eaten this food, or spinach ..

but it blows my mind that you expected the three of you to eat the same thing for a week, and that if I understood well, since they didn’t eat the lasagna, you didn’t cook anything else.  Have you been eating the lasagna for these 5 days?

Do you think the Redditor should have made a second meal to ensure their siblings ate, or were they right to set boundaries given the circumstances? Share your thoughts below!