Everyone has their own opinions on dining etiquette, but some rules are harder to stomach than others.

One grandfather turned a simple breakfast into a lecture on “manners.”

His daughter and granddaughter were left questioning whether the generational gap had more to do with it than anything.

Read on for the full story.

AITA because I think my daughter should get what she wants for breakfast?

My (F44) dad (68) has always been frugal.

His frugality has served him well—he has a beautiful home, savings, has been retired for over 10 years, and owns multiple rental properties.

Recently, my daughter (15) and I drove up from Phoenix to visit him over the weekend.

Typically, my dad cooks breakfast every morning.

But today was a little different.

On this particular morning, he didn’t feel like it and told us we were going out to breakfast.

This was a little unusual since he does not like to eat out due to the expense.

From the get-go, tensions were stirring.

He took us to a local diner-type place, and we all ordered.

My daughter ordered the chicken fried steak.

I heard my dad mumble something like, “…the things you order.”

I thought he was just referring to the portion size since my daughter is so small, but it didn’t seem like a big deal at the moment.

We all ate, my daughter finished all of her food, and we both said thank you before and after our meal. We were very appreciative.

But it turns out, it was a big deal.

Later that day, while I was cleaning out his refrigerator, my dad suddenly said, “I can’t stand it anymore!”

He got out of his recliner and came into the kitchen with us. He then launched into how our lack of manners needed addressing.

He has this “rule of etiquette” that says if someone invites you to a meal out, you should never order anything more expensive than the person paying.

The mother immediately  disagrees, but still tries to be respectful of her father.

I think it’s rude to put that responsibility on a guest.

Of course, moderation in all things—if I took someone out to dinner and they ordered a bunch of drinks or an outrageously priced meal, that would be different.

But this was chicken fried steak at a diner, not a magnum of champagne. I was surprised when he brought it up.

Apparently this isn’t the first time the father has gotten up in arms about this.

My daughter told me that he had mentioned this rule to her while she was visiting him at his winter place a few years ago.

I told her to let me know if it happened again, and I’d talk to him about it.

I got extremely uncomfortable with the conversation because I don’t want to be disrespectful in someone else’s home.

Still, the mother tried to tread carefully.

I tried to be as careful as possible while still defending my daughter.

I reminded him that if he had a reprimand for her, he should let me know, and I would handle it. However, we would respect his rule when we were with him and apologized for any disrespect he felt—that was definitely not our intention.

That said, no, this is not etiquette that we (my ex-husband and I) are going to impart on her.

He seemed pretty miffed about it, saying that it’s a normal rule of etiquette and that we would feel the same way if it happened to us. (We would absolutely NOT feel put out if a guest ordered chicken fried steak, lol.)

She doesn’t think her daughter deserves this and she’s been taught plenty of respect.

For context, my daughter is a fantastic person. She’s kind and respectful, she still visits her grandparents, she’s patient with his stories, and she helps him. They cook together and do all kinds of nice things.

She’s a delight and does not need to be “taught a lesson.”

I’m going back to my dad’s house this weekend—if this comes up again, AITA here?

Is this really about respect for the father, or is it about control?

What did Reddit make of all this?

If letting her father pay invites that much criticism, maybe it just isn’t worth it.

There are several holes in the father’s logic here.

This user finds the father just plain out of touch.

What he really should have done is been more upfront from the beginning.

Etiquette should make people feel comfortable, not controlled.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.