He Was Confident He Could Handle Four Kids While His Wife Was Away, Until Packing Their Lunches Left Him Completely Overwhelmed
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When you are used to parenting as a team, things are naturally a lot more complicated when one parent is out of town. Because there are just as many kids, and just as much work to do, but it all lies on one person, not the two of you. So naturally, while there is a lot of fun and novelty that can come from having a few days with the kids, the solo parent will be relieved when their partner comes back home and the team parenting can resume.
But imagine if your partner does a lot more on a day to day basis with the kids, and suddenly they’re out of town and you’re left to do everything alone. That’s exactly the situation that the guy in this story found himself in, and it was only when he started packing up the kids’ lunches for the next day that he realised quite how much his wife does for their children on a daily basis.
Read on to find out more.
AITA for not making the kids gourmet lunches while my wife was on vacation?
My wife and I have 4 kids (two girls aged ten and three, and two boys aged seven and five.
I work full time and my wife is mostly a stay at home mom. She works twelve hours a week.
My wife has the older two write down what they want for lunch, and has the younger two tell her what they want for lunch the night before.
Everyone gets a main, two sides, a fruit, a vegetable, and a dessert.
Let’s see how this system has caused problems.
My wife went on a girls trip with some friends last week. She left Wednesday morning and came back on Saturday.
On Wednesday, night our ten year old wanted a chicken Caesar wrap, strawberries with some Nutella, chips and guacamole, pita chips, sliced cucumbers, and a cookie.
The seven year old wants a turkey sandwich with cheese, lettuce, and avocado, apple slices, beef stick, tortilla chips, carrots and ranch, and a brownie.
The five year old wants hot dogs, grapes, bell peppers, graham crackers, goldfish and a cookie, while the three year old wants mac and cheese, blueberries, Cheerios, pouch, star shaped cucumbers, and a muffin.
Yikes! Read on to find out how the dad reacted to this.
I asked if their mom really makes all of this stuff, and they insisted she does.
I told them that while their mom is on vacation, I’m going to make one lunch for everyone and they can choose whether they eat it or not.
Thursday I make the kids a PB&J, applesauce pouch, goldfish, baby carrots, a granola bar, and one of those frosted sugar cookies.
Friday everyone got ham and cheese, pretzels, grapes, more baby carrots, granola bar, and another frosted cookie.
Let’s see how this went down.
The kids barely ate their lunches, preschool got upset about the grapes not being cut, and when my wife got back the first thing the kids did was complain about the lunches.
I told her I packed perfectly fine lunches and the kids are just being spoiled.
She saw the kids’ orders and told me those aren’t hard to make, and the kids should have meals that they like at school. Dinner or weekends are the time to try new foods or get everyone to try to eat the same thing.
She hasn’t said anything to the kids about it as far as I know, but I offered to make lunch for today, the kids all said no, and my wife practically pushed me out of the kitchen.
And this has all left him in a bit of a pickle.
Now she’s prepping lunches for tomorrow morning, and I heard her talking to her friend about how she doesn’t think she can leave me with the kids on school nights.
All over a couple of lunches.
Now I want to know if I am the ******* for not making four separate gourmet lunches when my wife was on vacation.
AITA?
Wow, the mom’s arrangement with the kids is quite something. She’s clearly dedicated…
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This was a lot to expect the dad to do, sure, but why did he not know how much his wife does? Is he just not paying attention?
And given the kids are used to this over-the-top arrangement, it’s no wonder they were upset by the one-size-fits-all style lunch.
Let’s see what folks on Reddit thought about this.
This person thought the biggest issue was that he didn’t even know to cut the grapes.
And this person explained exactly why.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a mother who thinks it’s the school’s job to discipline her unruly child, not hers.
Meanwhile this Redditor gave a very balanced view of all the issues here.
Honestly, it’s clear that his wife is a really hands-on parent, keen to provide their kids with solid nutrition whilst giving them exactly what they fancy for lunch. That’s some real dedication, and while it’s a lot – and more than many people would have the time or inclination to do – it’s a nice touch. But it was quite clear that the dad would be unable to do this while mom was out of town, because it’s a lot on an evening when you’ve been at work all day and you’re solo parenting. So both parents needed to manage their kids’ expectations from the outset, explaining that lunches would be a little different while mom was away.
But the worst part of this is the fact that the dad doesn’t even know how much effort his wife puts into their kids’ lunches. You have to wonder what he’s doing all evening while she’s being a dedicated parent to their kids. Does he not listen, or just not pay attention? How can you not notice your wife making four completely different lunches? It’s clear that these two parents aren’t on the same wavelength, and if they don’t start communicating they’re going to have even more problems.
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