Woman Slammed As Terrible Mom After Ex Discovers She Ordered Takeout While Kids Were Asleep

Mar 27, 2023

Parents find true satisfaction and joy in watching their tiny tots grow, despite the tough responsibility and exhaustion of picking up after and caring for children. The reality is that parenting can feel like a full-time job with no weekends or downtime. This is why, when an opportunity for a little "me time" appears, many moms and dads wouldn't think twice about taking it. Such was the case with one co-parenting mom who snuck herself little treats after her kids were asleep. However, she found herself in her ex's bad books after he found out about her clandestine activities.

The woman took to Reddit on Mar. 19, 2023, to explain her situation in detail and gather the community's opinions on whether she had been in the wrong. She began her post as such:

"Occasionally when my 4 children go to bed I'll order myself a little something from Ubereats or doordash after a hard day so I don't have to share with the kiddos. 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, one day, her little secret was discovered.

"My children ended up waking up first that morning and seen the takeout food packaging and ended up waking me up asking me what I ate and if they could have some. I told them there was none left and I eat (sic) it all last night thought that would be the end of it," she wrote. 

She said she then dropped the kids off with their dad, whom they stay with one week every month and thought nothing more of it. But dad had some other ideas.

The woman continued her post and said the children's father did not take the reveal well.

"My children's father ended up spamming my phone with text messages accusing me of misappropriating my children (sic) funds he sends every month," she said and added that he "gives me 100$ for each child a month which is 400$ a month which when it comes to it, it isn't much but I'm fine with it because he usually makes up with it by buying the children what they need when an issue arises."

She revealed that none of their financial arrangements had been court-ordered.

She explained that she only uses her earning as a daycare worker to pay for her late-night treats, but the dad still "accused me of being a bad mother because I rather order food for just myself without thinking of my children whose (sic) were with me at the time and that I should've just waited until they were with him for the night."

The woman then detailed her reasons for going about things the way that she did and why before calling on readers to give their feedback on whether she had acted inappropriately.

"I had a really bad day that day and just wanted to do something to cheer myself up and sometimes food does the trick for me. If I were to order something for everyone it would've cost a while (sic) lot of money that I wasn't interested in spending and if I were to share by the time my food got back to me it would've just been the food wrapper," she bemoaned.

Reddit users were quick to throw in their two cents on the situation.

In response to the woman's post, many Reddit users sided with the mom and said she deserved to treat herself away from the kids.

"Mom of 3, I'd take a bullet for either one of my kids but have def hidden before to actually enjoy a meal lol," a sympathetic user wrote, while another said, "I used to feel guilty because I was "hiding" from my family and sneaking food but then I realized that I NEED this little escape to recharge my sanity once a month or so."

Another said, "Kids can and will bleed you dry if you let them. You have to take care of yourself first before you can take care of the kids. Besides, it's not like they are starved. It's ok to take care of you."

Many readers said they, too, were guilty of stashing goodies and shared their sneaky tactics.

"I'm the only woman in the house. I have two tampon boxes in my linen closet: one with tampons and one with snacks," one mom divulged as others cited underwear drawers, jewelry boxes and car compartments as hiding places.

However, most of the criticism was directed at the children's father, with many users agreeing he needed to contribute more.

"Dude pays 400 a month for 4 kids that's crazy. I'm paying 600 a month for 1," one reader wrote. Another said, "It's really a joke instead of actual support at this point. Also the kids stay at their fathers 1 weekend per month. So 2/30 days. The guy can't even be called a father at this point. Time to get the court involved."

"He thinks because he gives you $400 month for four kids that gives him any say over your finances, lol what a fool," another user said.

What do you make of the mother's situation? Do you think it was wrong of her to spend her own money on herself instead of the kids? Let us know, and don't forget to pass this on to all the mommas and papas you know to get their take on the issue, too.