Source: Pexels/Reddit

There’s a particular awkwardness that arises when a parent asks you for money: suddenly the roles feel reversed, and you’re not sure whether you’re still the child figure or the parent. You want to help without making the relationship feel like a transaction, but that is very often easier said than done.

How would you handle your parent demanding they get a cut of your hard-earned rewards? One kid recently shared his own cringeworthy story about this on Reddit. Here’s what happened.

AITA for refusing to spend my money on my father?

I’m a minor, and my dad is already 60 years old.

Everything started when I received a city scholarship in Grade 8.

The scholarship financially helps students with good grades and gives an allowance twice a year.

That’s a wonderful aid for students who need it.

In total, it’s around $158.34 converted from our currency.

That scholarship meant a lot to me because it finally helped lessen the financial burden on my mom.

My dad has rarely helped with my school allowance or school expenses.

Disappointing, but not necessarily surprising.

On the rare occasions he gives me money for school, it’s only around $0.81, and he still gets angry whenever he reminds me about it.

I’m also the only student left in the family because my siblings are already working.

Ever since I started receiving the scholarship, my dad has constantly been asking me to buy things for him.

That’s not exactly what that’s for.

The allowance was the only money I had for myself.

Like finally, I could stop asking my mom for money because I knew life had not been easy for her.

I use the allowance for my daily food at school, transportation, and school expenses.

As they should…

My dad gets angry whenever I ask if he could cook lunch for me, and he refuses to teach me how to cook or even let me use the kitchen on my own.

I have no choice but to buy overpriced school food.

Despite knowing that, my dad keeps demanding that I buy him food and other things.

He shouldn’t be putting his child in that position.

He’s retired, has savings, and also receives a pension, so I’ve always been confused about why he expects me to spend so much of my allowance on him.

Sometimes, I skip lunch at school just so I can buy him food that costs more than my transportation and lunch combined.

I also can’t freely hang out with my friends because he only allows me to go out if I bring him food afterward.

These are extremely odd demands.

I understand that in our culture, we are expected to give back to our parents and appreciate their sacrifices.

I understand helping out or buying gifts on special occasions.

But the amount of times my dad expects me to spend money on him feels excessive, especially when he asks for things beyond my budget, like an Adidas jacket or sports jerseys.

His father is setting a terrible example.

Now that a new school year is about to start, I transferred to a private school for Grade 11.

I used my scholarship allowance to buy uniforms and school supplies, and I’m saving the rest for transportation and food during the school year.

Recently, my dad started demanding expensive food again, and this time I refused because I was budgeting my money carefully.

Which is the ACTUAL adult thing to do.

I admit my tone sounded disrespectful because I was already frustrated.

He became angry and reminded me of all the sacrifices he made for our family.

I felt guilty because I know he worked hard for us.

But that expectation shouldn’t be placed on a middle schooler.

At the same time, I’m conflicted.

In our country, we are expected to support our parents, even after moving out.

But personally, if I ever have children, I would never want them to feel like they owe me for simply doing my responsibility as a parent.

Most sensible folks would share this sentiment. Let’s see how the Reddit jury weighed in on this.

The comments pretty unanimously agreed.

And one common theme spanned the answers.

Some tried to have an open mind.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman who finally blew up after years of being treated as the second-best sibling.

But others remained steadfast.

All in all, some tough love was strongly reinforced.

If only he could find a way to buy his son’s respect back…