Woman Asks If She Was Wrong For Refusing To Share Food With Housemate's 6-Year-Old

Aug 30, 2021 by apost team

Living with roommates can be difficult at times. Figuring out each other’s boundaries and balancing how much time to spend with one another can be tricky to navigate, especially when everyone has their own life and struggles to worry about. For one woman living in a shared house, she found that having roommates can be especially challenging when one of them has a child.

The unnamed woman went to Reddit’s AITA forum to explain her situation and ask other Reddit users for their opinions on the matter back in February 2021. She lives in a large home that is split into three separate apartments; however, some of the main living areas are shared spaces, such as the kitchen, dining room and a guest bathroom. The original poster (OP) had been having some issues regarding personal space when it came to one of her housemates named Cody. OP wanted to know if she was right or wrong for refusing to share her food with Cody’s 6-year-old son Dean.

Since the kitchen is a shared environment in the home, it was common for OP to run into the child every now and then when she was cooking but was taken aback when he would ask if she could cook for him, too. This not only made OP feel uncomfortable, but she also felt like it wasn’t her job to cook for the child. She continued to tell the little boy that it was his father’s responsibility to take care of him, but it only made tensions worse within the shared home.

Starting off her Reddit post from Feb. 15, 2021, OP explained that she had been living in the home for three years. A middle-aged couple by the names of Judy and Marc lived in Apartment 1A, while Cody, 29, and his son lived in Apartment 2B. OP explained that although the kitchen was a shared living space, it was fit with three lockable fridges and locking cabinets labeled with the apartment numbers. 

About two weeks prior to the Reddit post being created, Cody had gotten full custody of Dean, and even introduced him to OP. “The kid is really nice, but he seems like a lot,” OP wrote. “The apartments are pretty well sound proofed, but I can hear him running around outside if I open the windows by the yard.” Fortunately, OP didn’t have much of a problem with the child since he was pretty well-behaved and polite. 

However, that seemed to change when it came time to eat. OP explained that every time she would go to the kitchen to make food for herself, Dean would follow and ask if he could have some of her food. OP explained, “When I tell him no, he will say, ‘But I am hungry.’ I have told him that he needs to talk to his dad.” 

Even though Dean did as told, his father was not happy and even asked OP if she could just make him something to eat. “I have told Cody that this makes me uncomfortable,” OP wrote. “I don’t want to feed his kid. I also buy my food with a meal plan in mind and the ingredients are kind of expensive.”

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Even if Dean wasn’t trying to get some of OP’s food, he still seemed determined to spend time with her and go to her for entertainment, but OP continued to tell him to go find his dad instead. OP wrote, “I have told him, ‘Knock only if there is someone hurt or danger. If you are hurt, knock. But as nice as you are, I am not your mom so please find your Dad.’”

One day in February 2021, OP’s boyfriend came over with pizza and snacks to celebrate Valentine’s Day early. Dean had been watching TV in the living room when he saw the couple with their pizza and immediately became excited, only to become extremely upset once he found out that it wasn’t for him. Dean asked if he could spend time with OP and her boyfriend, but she told him no. “Dean looked like he was going to cry and went back to his apartment,” she explained.

Following this night, problems arose in the home between OP and Cody. Even their landlord got involved, and asked them to explain their sides of the situation. “Cody has not spoken to me since that call, other than calling me a snitch,” OP said. However, there has been a change in the house following the incident, as Dean no longer spends the day at home and instead is picked up by his aunt every morning to spend the day with her.

Many Redditors agreed that OP was not a jerk for refusing to share her food with Cody’s son, and in fact Cody was actually the one in the wrong for expecting OP to tend to Dean’s every want and need.

Do you think OP was right or wrong for refusing to share food with her housemate’s son? What would you do if you were in her situation? Let us know, and be sure to pass this on to your family members and friends, too.