Sharing a home doesn’t exactly mean that everything is up for grabs.
One should still ask permission to use something which, technically speaking, isn’t theirs.
Including, if not especially, food.
But, do these rules apply to parents and children?
The father of Redditor Prestigious_Match674 certainly didn’t think so, as he constantly ate her food without asking her first.
However, the original poster (OP) soon found a way to get him to stop, a tactic which was potentially hazardous to her father’s help.
Worried she may have gone too far, the original poster (OP), took to the subReddit “Am I the A**hole” (AITA), where she asked fellow Redditors:
“AITA for putting lemon in my food so my dad can’t eat it?”
The OP explained how she found an easy, if dangerous, solution to her ongoing, frustrating problem.
“So to make a long story short, my dad is allergic to citrus which includes lemons ofc.”
“Over the past year or so, almost any food that I (17 F[emale]) consider a safe food, which is basically a comfort food for different occasions, has been eaten by my dad (50 M[ale]).”
“Normally I wouldn’t have a problem with this, but now it’s starting to get my on nerves considering he’s taken it upon himself to eat any food I bring home (from work, school, etc…).”
“He doesn’t ask, he just takes and doesn’t tell and lets me figure it out on my own sometimes.”
“So to retaliate, I’ve starting putting lemon juice in nearly everything i cook/bring home so that he can’t eat it.”
“This has stopped him from eating my food, but now he gets upset when I tell him something has lemon in it.”
“So am i the a**hole?”
“I would never not tell him about the lemon in the food item.”
“I love my dad but he can get on my nerves.”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation by declaring:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
The Reddit community wholeheartedly agreed that the OP was not the a**hole for contaminating her food with lemon juice.
Everyone agreed that it was wrong for the OP’s father without her permission, and felt she found just the right solution, particularly as she made sure he wouldn’t be harmed, with several commiserating over similar experiences.
“NTA, he shouldn’t be eating your food without your permission.”
“Serves him right that you found a way to prevent him from being able to.”
“He needs to learn boundaries and to stop taking things that aren’t his.”- QuinnBC
“NTA.”
“He’s a grown man eating his child’s food.”- auroracorpus
“Oh my god my dad did this too, no matter what it was, he’d eat our food in literally the middle of the night, so we’d wake up to all of our left overs gone.”
“It was horrible.”-Winter-Key67
“NTA.”
“Just it.”
“I put pepper for my mother, who is eating my food.”
“I who like pepper always bring this flavor home, she regrets a lot when she tries to eat.”- Emalf-vi
“NTA.”
“Your dad’s an inconsiderate a**hole.”- chetnixandflill
“NTA.”
“Haha! “
“Justified pettiness!”
“Love it!”- pfashby
“Love my dad but he HAD to taste all our food as kids big massive bites of sandwich or scoops of our meals I’d say he could have leftovers once I was done but hesd refuse to wait because he wanted it to be hot.”
“He hates Parmesan cheese so I coated everything in it even potatoes.”
” Now pasta is one of my favorites and I wonder is it because of my desire to consume as much parmesan as possible as a kid.”
“He’s much better now we’re all adults.”
“Still loves ‘a variety of flavors’ at meals!”- tulipbeans
“NTA.”
“What kind of parent takes food from their child?”
“Your food, put all the citrus you want in it.”
“He needs to get his own food.”- waezxo
“NTA and I love your petty mind.”
“Kudos for you for letting your dad know what’s up and now you can enjoy your food.”-Own_Breakfast_570
“When life gives your dad lemons, he gets sour about it.”
“NTA and why the fuck would a grown man eat his child’s food?”
“The f*ck is wrong with people.”- CamelOfHate
“NTA and FYI you can just tell him you put lemon in it, you don’t actually have to do it.”-Affectionate_Ice_658
“NTA.”
“Why is a grown man stealing his child’s food?”
“Is he 6?”
“Just keep adding lemon to everything and tell him you wi continue to do so as long as he keeps trying to steal your food.”
“Also why isn’t your mom going after him?”
“She’s just as much to blame as him.”- Maleficent_Ad8757
“NTA.”
“And, as someone who is currently only eating my safe foods, NOBODY F*CKS WITH THE SAFE FOODS.”- GooglyEyeBread
“NTA.”
“We had a college roommate who was allergic to mushrooms and mooched off of everybody, so we just made sure every pizza we ordered had mushrooms.”- SolarSFCA
“NTA.”
“His behavior is unacceptable, and this is a brilliant solution.”-Astyryx
“NTA.”
“Maybe put a lemon sign or something on your food in case he tries to eat something when you’re not there but that’s more of an emotional CYA for you than a duty you have to him.”
“Something you can internally and externally point to if he insists on snarfing down your food and injures himself.”- looc64
“Definitely NTA as long as you made it clear that he is allergic to it.”
“As someone who has an allergy that can be serious, it’s very important that people are clear about what is in food.”
“As long as you are clear about whats in it, you are clearly NTA and your dad needs to stop taking food from his kid.”- DarrowNomad
“NTA.”
“As long as the allergy can’t kill him, carry on!”- annahollie
“NTA.”
“You are much nicer than me.”
“As father or no, I’d cover the food in anything citrus and have an ambulance on speed dial. “
“Making sure to put the metaphysical boot in while waiting for them to arrive.”- UKNZ007Tubbs
“NTA.”
“Dad’s taking advantage of you.”
“It’s your freaking food.”
“Keep putting lemons on it.”
“Start eating his and see what he says.”
“Good luck!”- BradWTodd
“NTA.”
“He shouldn’t be eating your food, at least without asking you first.”
“This is a strict policy at my home, ‘if is ain’t yours, don’t touch it.”
“I think the lemon trick is a smart way to keep him away for your grub.”- sushisuperman
“NTA.”
“Well played.”- greyhair_dont_care
“NTA.”
“He’s a grown ass man, he can cook for himself.”- xavii117
“NTA.”
“You solved a problem.”-DreamingofRlyeh
“NTA.”
“Just don’t put lemon in the food next time and lie to him that you have.”
“This way, you don’t have to have your chili cheese fries or something taste like citrus.”-Brief_Ad_1735
“Nope.”
“Shouldn’t be eating your food without your permission.”
“NTA.”- Soft_Preparation5110
“NTA .”
“But maybe ask your dad to pay for the meals etc and you can then make more, so he can have some too.”
“I’m certain he will love the idea and really appreciate you doing it.”
“Then you have food for you and for him.”-Yenfwa
“NTA.”
“Just leave a slice of lemon on top of everything.”- Late_Engineering9973
“NTA.”
“My Mom has a habit of doing this with any food in the kitchen.”
“My Dad and I actually didn’t mind sharing since we’re both more grazers so it would sit forever if she didn’t get to have some too.”
“We just both started keeping little hoards in our office/room because she wouldn’t remember to tell us when something was gone and there is NOTHING like the frustration of not knowing you were out of blueberry Poptarts and also being ticked because you know it’s a petty thing to be upset about.”
“But darn it I was in the mood for a Poptart!”- Steamedfrog
“NTA.”
“My SO would always eat my leftovers from eating.”
“Wouldn’t tell me and if it only happened occasionally and if he asked first it would be fine.”
“But sometimes I would be looking forward to taking my leftovers to work or having it for later.”
“If I could have done something like this I would have, bc it took YEARS of me telling him sometimes I really want my food for him to stop.”-Spiritual-Exercise-9
“NTA.”
“He knows the food isn’t for him, so he has no reason be upset.”- MountainDewde
“As long as you properly label everything and carefully clean to avoid cross-contamination, NTA.”-Pessimistic-Frog
“Maybe he’s hungry and you bring home some tempting stuff so once in a while, bring him home something special and tell him you got him a treat.”
“He will appreciate your thoughtfulness and you won’t have to have lemon-flavored everything.”
“Also – a hint..hide your goodies in the vegetable drawer.”
“No one looks there!!”- rachet-ex
Asking permission is only polite, something you’d think the OP’s father would try to teach her by example.
But it seemed he was the one who needed to learn a lesson in this particular scenario.
Maybe if he starts asking her permission, he might find fewer and fewer foods in the refrigerator which contain lemon, and more and more he is able to eat.