A Mom Was Called Selfish for Indulging in Occasional Alone Time with Food After a Rough Day
Mothers have a lot on their plate because every family member is their responsibility. They cook, do laundry, clean the house, run errands, and still manage to attend to everyone’s needs. Their work is 24/7, especially when they also have a day job. You cannot doubt the ability of a mother to juggle tasks — they are unbelievably amazing. For this reason, no one should hinder them if they need an occasional break. Even if it’s just for an hour, moms deserve to breathe and recharge. Some may buy brunch for themselves while out running errands, and others take a nap whenever they can. It’s never selfish for a mother to occasionally indulge in her favorite things — she is a priority.
Sometimes all a hardworking mom needs is a moment of silence in her comfort space with food. No-Cheek2572 finds that idea already relaxing after a hard day. The mother shared her story on Reddit as her occasional alone time became an issue in the family. She’s a mother of four and has a job in daycare which already explains how tiring most of her days can get. “Occasionally, when my four children go to bed, I’ll order myself a little something from Ubereats or Door Dash after a hard day so I don’t have to share with the kiddos.” OP wrote. “Usually, since I’m always the first one to wake up, I’ll put the packing beside the indoor trashcan and take it out to the outdoor trash can in the morning.”
However, her routine got disrupted because the children woke up earlier than her. They saw food packages that triggered their curiosity and tried to wake her up to get answers. Her children also asked if they could have some, but she explained that there was none left for them. OP thought the situation was resolved until she brought her kids to their father’s house. Since they are co-parenting, they have a system where the children stay at their dad’s place one week every month. That’s when the problem occurred — the kids told the story to their father, which sent a wrong message. No-Cheek2572’s phone was bombarded with questions and accusations of using their children’s money inappropriately.
“My CF (Children’s father) gives me 100$ for each child a month, which is 400$ a month, which, when it comes to it, isn’t much, but I’m fine with it because he usually makes up for it by buying the children what they need when an issue arises. FyI nothing is court ordered,” OP explained. In her defense, the money she used for Uber Eats and DoorDash was from her day job. Aside from the money, the father called her selfish for ordering food alone instead of sharing it with her kids. She felt bad after all the accusations, especially when the father of her children called her a bad mother. Good thing she brought the issue to Reddit — receiving 6.4k upvotes and 2.3k supportive comments.
2Kitties_1Human wrote, “NTA at all, and please file for child support. He’s the AH about this and the money he gives you monthly. He’s severely underpaying you for 4 kids, has the gall to tell you how to spend your own money, and accuses you of bad mothering when he’s around 1 week a month. You are not a bad mom.” The father clearly has no right to call her out just because he provides financial support. Morever, Redditors noticed that the financial support wasn’t even enough and encouraged OP to file for a proper child support arrangement.
No-Cheek2572 not only received advice regarding child support but also received validation that most parents behave like her. “NTA. It’s your money & if you want to get yourself something, that’s fine, I don’t see the problem other than the fact the kids may be a bit jealous, but that’s not your fault & it’s completely normal. A lot of parents order food when their children are asleep, nothing wrong with it!” user1011414.
Credible points and legal advice were made in the comment section. Hopefully, the children’s father realizes that financial support doesn’t give him the right to tell the mother how to live her life. OP clearly did nothing wrong, and it should not be a big deal in the first place. Share your thoughts in the comment section — whether it’s about child support or being a parent that needs a break even for just an hour or a day.
