Reddit Stories - The SHOCKING Demand_ EXTORTING My Child for UNFINISHED Meals_

Episode Date: August 10, 2025

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #demand #extorting #child #meals #shocking  Summary: A parent seeks advice after facing a shocking demand to extort their child for unfinished meals. The situation raises ethical questions and sparks a debate on parenting styles.  Tags: redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, tifu, demand, extorting, child, meals, shocking, parenting, ethics, advice, dilemma, family, controversy, mealtime, negotiation, boundaries, children, parentingtipsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6237355/support.

I hope you enjoy this story and attempted to make my young child pay a substantial sum for not finishing her meal. As a result, I had to ask her to leave the premises. I am shocked by this turn of events. I assumed you understood about such stories on the internet. Here people talk shit about old people, but I'd never think that this could actually happen to someone. My F-28 aunt F-55 has been a miser as long as I have known her. She will never host any family dinner, gift us off the dollar tree, and have her kids get hand-me-downs or thrift store-bought clothes. After her husband died and her children moved out, things took such a dramatic turn that

we had to essentially cut her off, at least to some extent. The most important reason is her constant demand for money. She'd often call family members, friends, and even her own mother who was in her 80s for money. She has all sorts of reasons ranging from emergency to a quick buck to her check being late. We have all let it slide since the beginning but this time she really crossed the limits. Would you ask a six-year-old to pay you for a tiny mistake? I don't know, but this issue has escalated far more than I thought. Hence, I decided to post my story.

As I said before, my aunt has always been the one to be as cheap as she could. It is no wonder that no one wants to visit her. Unlike most of my siblings and extended family members, I've respected her. I tried to help her as much as I could, thinking of her to be family. Sure she might be a miser, but I thought she was a sweet lady. We would exchange pleasantries from time to time and have a phone conversation every once in a while. My husband even helped her set up her garden last summer, that too free of charge. I also visit her sometimes whenever my schedule allows me.

And in her own words, she'd always be grateful. Given her history, though I was quite surprised when she asked to have my six-year-old son, Sam, come over for the weekend. I mean it's not like we don't visit her, but she has never shown much interest in our kid before. Despite my better judgment, I thought maybe she wanted to build a relationship with my kid. After all, we had always been on good terms. I did not think too much of it. Sam seemed excited to visit his great aunt and husband and I decided to have a date night. We hardly get to go out since work has been hectic past few months. Now let me clarify that

before deciding this I had an extended conversation with Sam about how he has to be a good guest. I do not like to brag but Sam is a quiet and respectful kid. I went over all the general house rules with him and he seemed happy to oblige. I even called my aunt to get a heads up and she seemed happy enough. She told me to enjoy some peace for the evening and she'll take care of Sam. We packed him a small bag and dropped him off last Saturday. I called my aunt after coming back from the date and she said she cooked Sam's favorite meal, mac and cheese, and he was happily watching TV. I wished Sam a good night and that was it. Imagine my surprise when I visit her next morning to pick up Sam and I see him looking scared and teary-eyed.

My mama bear instinct immediately kicked in and I asked him what was wrong. Aunt seemed stern and quiet too when I admit for a minute I thought maybe Sam had been up to some mischief although knowing my son, he's a pretty quiet kid. Sam didn't respond and was looking at me with great fear. To de-escalate the situation, I asked Sam quietly if he could go sit in the car while I had an old people talk with my aunt. He seemed relieved to hear that. The poor thing was looking so scared all this time.

He seemed happy to leave as soon as I gave him the get-go. However, my aunt immediately blocked the front door. And then, looking at Sam dead in the eyes, she says, don't you have something to do before you leave? What did we say about bad manners? My son was trembling now. I couldn't have any more of it and asked my aunt directly what this whole ordeal was about. She then goes on to tell me that last night Sam had been unable to finish his dinner and as a result

and I'm not kidding when I say this, this grown-ass woman asked my six-year-old kid to pay her for the food wasted. Apparently, Sam had told her about a small amount of money that we let him keep in his bag in case he needed to buy something when he was with other people or in case of emergencies. I had let Sam bring his money and he also wanted to bring his piggy bank with him because that had his savings from the money that he got on his birthdays and other family events and and he really wanted to show it off to everyone. Aunt had known about this because, well, kids talk and now she had demanded him to pay her off.

So now she wanted him to pay for the food wasted and also for other bad manner things that he did throughout the day, basically asking a six-year-old to pay a huge sum just for being a kid. I was beyond furious. In what world did she think this was appropriate? And no, she had not an ounce of guilt for terrorizing a kid over such a small issue. My son looked so confused and scared. He immediately began apologizing saying, He ate as much as he could.

He promised me he was on his best behavior as we had taught him to be. I tried to comfort him, but my aunt started screaming over me. She said she was just teaching my kid to be responsible. That I should know better than raising an entitled kid. At that moment, I felt so angry I just wanted to go off on her, but I didn't want Sam to get more upset. I tried to be as patient as I could and told him to go sit in the car. After Sam left, I asked my aunt as calmly as I could if she knew what she was doing.

To this, the woman started screaming again and basically told me that I should pay her and let this go. But I wasn't going to let this go. I knew she was a cheap person, but she had taken it too far. It wasn't about the money, you guys, it was the fact that she had proceeded to scare and scream at my child who was most likely traumatized from this event. So, I did what I knew would scare the hell out of my aunt. I immediately called my grandmother. Let me tell you, grandmother has been nothing but kind to aunt even though aunt has hardly kept a relationship with her in all these years.

As I said before, all of my aunt's kids have essentially cut her off owing to her nature. A few years back, my aunt had lost her home due to late payments and the house she was living in right now belonged to my grandmother. She is the sweetest old lady and had lived in a two-bedroom house that belonged to her husband. She let my aunt live in this house rent-free. However, I knew for a fact that my grandmother loved us more than anything. She was always the one to stand up for the right thing. I called her then and there while aunt kept screaming at me. After hearing the whole story, my grandmother told me that she would be coming over herself. I didn't stay there any longer and took my son home that day. Fast forward to the next day, I showed up at her house as soon as my aunt saw

her, she knew she was done. Grandma walked up to her and told her in the calmest voice ever that she better pack up. My aunt was shocked. She had anticipated getting an earful from her mother, but she had never thought she'd be asked to vacate the house. She tried her best to backtrack by saying she would apologize to us and would never do it again but Grandma wasn't having it. She said she had enough of her tantrums for all these years. She had crossed the limit when she decided to exhort money from a six-year-old and that to her grandkid. When apologizing didn't work, my aunt resorted to screaming again saying that we had plotted against her and that we hated her. We didn't stay any longer, though. Before leaving, Grandma just told her to pack her shit or

she'd have her evacuated in a week. It has been a few days since then and from what I hear, and is being forced to leave Grandma's house. She has nowhere to go and because of her reputation of being a miser, no one is letting her stay with them. I wasn't initially doubting myself, but I'd been getting calls from our extended family that I went too far. They say I am trying to draw a wedge between a mother and a daughter. I don't think so, but my intention wasn't exactly to make her homeless.

I just wanted her to feel guilty. Did I go too far, Reddit? Ida. Update 1, guys. Thank you for all your support on my last post. I am sorry I could not reply to most of you. Like I said before I have a busy schedule and I was already tired of everything that happened last week. Many people messaged me asking if Sam was okay and y'all are so kind.

I thought I must update Reddit. Some of you've asked about my husband's reaction to this particular incident. You can only imagine how furious he was. In fact, he wanted to confront her that day itself. He is really protective of us. But I calmed him down as I knew my own plan was the best for dear aunt. I wanted to make her understand how wrong she was. A few spoonfuls of dinner wasn't the reason for her going this far.

All she wanted was to extort money from us. And she tried to use my own kid in her ploy when I've been nothing but kind to her for all these years. First things first, Sam is doing better. He was really scared that day and even cried his way home. He thought it was his fault. I asked him about the dinner and he told me he finished most of it but aunts served him more, saying he should eat at all because he cooked only for him.

I was baffled. I comforted him and told him sometimes adults mess up. He was quieter than usual that day but has since recovered. Husband and I took him on a fun day out with his best friend and so far he is doing fine. As for my aunt, well I haven't talked to her since visiting her with Grandma. I talked with a few of my cousins though and as word has it, she's pretty upset about how the situation turned against her. My sister told me she is trying to badmouth me to most family members,

but I don't really care about it anymore. Like a lot of you mentioned, she's probably sour about losing a free house. And given her history, no one wants to shelter her. That is probably the reason why they're angry with me. I am angry too. The more I think about it, the more I want to lash out at her. If I am being honest, I don't regret involving Grandma one bit. She deserved the karma to hit her back.

I talked to Grandma later on and she said she was sure of her decision. She had let Aunt get away with everything all these years and the least she could have done was be grateful. But instead, she tried to take it all out on a little kid. This was in no way, a civilized behavior. Hence, she deserved to face the consequences of her actions. After all, she didn't even call to apologize. I gave her plenty of chances but she uttered a half-ass sorry in that too when she was afraid of losing her home.

Anyway, I am not going to focus any more of my energy on her. I have had enough of this negativity. I am trying to focus on my family for now but I'll surely update you if something new ends up happening. Update 2. Hello everyone. It is me with the aunt's story again. I didn't think I'll be still talking about it two weeks later but oh well, shit hit the fan. I have a pretty interesting update that I would love to share with you. And let me tell you, it is going to be wild. Turns out, my aunt is not

homeless after all. Sometime after my last update, my mother called me. She told me that she has let aunt live with her while she finds a place in her budget. I did not stop her as she already knew all about her. As fate would have it, she could not keep her around for long. As per my dad, my aunt would keep bad-mouthing me. She would call people and tell them that I wasn't a good mother and I was raising an entitled child. She wouldn't even clean up after herself. Apparently, she thought my parents should help her as much as she wanted as it was their daughter who got her into this situation. She still couldn't see her own fault. I couldn't believe she was the same woman I knew.

Anyway, my dad had enough of it. He told her to leave his home as she was not being a respectable house guest. Of course, she screamed at him too, but my father is a level-headed man. He just asked Mom to help Aunt Pack and call someone else in the family. Mom initially took her side but quickly switched when Dad threatened to leave if Aunt stayed. I don't blame him. Who could stand their own children being badmouth like that? When Aunt refused to leave, Dad called me.

He asked me about it and I told him the whole story again, to which he was dead shocked. He told me he didn't even know how Aunt tried to use Sam to get money. Mom had tried to keep peace and just told him that Sam was being a brat and aunt had tried to parent him. She told him I got upset and called my grandmother to intervene. This new piece of information made me much more angry. I felt as if my own mother betrayed me. And Dad got more furious when he heard me cry. He threw my aunt out that day itself.

With nowhere to turn to, my aunt called my grandma again. She begged her to let her live in the house as she didn't have anywhere else to go to. Grandma had already heard enough about her trying to badmouth me and she basically chewed her out. Aunt kept pestering her, and I guess she melted a little bit. So, she offered my aunt an out. She told her that there was only one way she would let her stay in her house again, and that was if she paid the rent and maintenance for the house monthly. Turns out, Grandma was covering the maintenance and electricity bills for Aunt as well.

And now, she was being asked to not only cover it herself, but also pay the house rent. Grandma said it was only fair after she freeloaded for all these years. She thought it was the only way aunt could pay back. Last I heard, my aunt took on the offer. What else could she do? I am simply amazed at how the whole drama has unfolded. I mean, she could have kept her mouth shut and none of this would have happened. I hope this is the end, though.

I would love to put this all behind me. Let's hope I won't hear something new. Update 3. Hello Reddit People Thank you for all the love and support you all have been pouring in. This community has been my rock since the incident happened. I know I responded to a few comments, but people have been showing support nevertheless. I am back with another update I owe it to you guys. You all have possibly saved my life.

Many people warned me after my last update that dear aunt was not going to let this go. That she might try to corner me again, and I should be on the lookout. Your concerns were not wrong. Soon enough, my dad called me again and said that my aunt had shown up at my parents' house after Grandma served her the ultimatum. He told me that while he couldn't talk to her directly, she tried to wind up a fight. She was constantly asking my mom to intervene and tell me off. Luckily, my mother took my side and told her to go away.

Dad threatened to call the police, but she left. And then the inevitable happened. A few nights ago, I thought I heard footsteps on my front porch. I thought I was being paranoid at first until someone started banging loudly on my door. It was six in the morning. I was too afraid and I woke my husband up.

He accompanied me and we looked up in the CCTV that it was my aunt. She looked angry and vindictive. Husband wanted to confront her but I felt this wasn't right. I know she was just an old lady, but somehow I knew she could do much more harm than we could have anticipated. There was no way I was going to let her come inside in case she tried to harm my family. I just called her on the phone and asked her what she wanted. Her response was to start berating me constantly.

She called me a little beword and I stayed quiet. I wanted to let her finish so I allowed her to shout as much as she wanted and after that, told her that we had already called the police. I lied that I knew it was her and had already called the police before calling her. This got her to quiet down. She told me she had not expected this from me and that she'd come back. This was when my husband took the phone from me. He threatened her saying, she dared not step on our property again as we would get her

arrested on grounds of trespassing. By the look on her face, she knew my husband was serious. Thankfully, she left right away. Since the incident, I have been immensely paranoid. I am worried for my family. The way my aunt showed up at our door has gotten me to rethink my decisions. I can barely sleep at night. We even changed our locks just in case. Luckily, her showing up here didn't escalate into a fight and Sam was fast asleep. I can't

imagine what could have happened in case he hurt her. We have tried our best to not let this affect our child. He seems to have forgotten that the sleepover incident happened in the first place. I hope that's true. The other thing that I am worried about is the safety of some of my family members, especially grandma. I asked her to come live with us for a few days because I don't believe she is safe. After all, she did all this to protect me. But my grandmother refused profusely. She said she knows her daughter and she will not do anything. We are still trying for her to change her mind. Lately, I have been feeling guilty about it too. I can't help but think that this situation could have been avoided if I had paid her in the first place.

Update 4, I swear I'm tired of writing about this woman. My son might be six, but his tantrums are nothing before the one my aunt has been throwing around for days. It has been a month, and I can't believe I am still writing about this. Thus, I decided to end this once and for all. Let me tell you what happened last week. After she showed up at our house that day, I managed to convince some of her side of the family to talk to her. I was concerned about her own mental well-being and

was worried she could be a threat to herself and to others. I also didn't want to put my grandmother through any more stress. The best way to do that was to help my aunt move on from this. A few weeks ago, my mother gathered some people together at my aunt's house to discuss the matter. They tried talking to my aunt and helped her understand that what she did wasn't okay. She was even promised financial assistance until she could cough up the rent and charges on the home. The whole point was to bury the hatchet, and at first, it seemed that she was getting it. I wasn't there, for fear of what might have happened if things got out of hand, but as my cousin says, I was ready to apologize and even promised to do better.

My mother made her see that. All these years grandma had single-handedly supported her and everyone in the family had helped her with money one way or the other. This seemed to be working and my aunt said she was sorry things had come to such a head. She then, however, goes on to tell my extended family that she will put this all behind us if I am ready to pay her for the damages. According to several family members, she believes that she lost a lot of self-esteem and her respect was damaged because of my family and she now wants me to pay her a huge monetary sum to compensate for that damage. Of course, most people were baffled at her demand, but some even chose to side with her. They said that none of this would have happened if I had paid her the very first day and Grandma wouldn't have asked her to

move out, let alone pay rent. After this whole drama, I decided to take the reins in my own hands. As soon as my parents and everyone else told me about this, I called my aunt and informed her in no certain terms that I wasn't going to pay her a single penny. That if she wanted to go to the court, she was free to go. As always, my aunt did not take it well and decided to threaten me. She said she had a talk with her lawyers and that they were going to make me pay as she had some door cam footage from the day I showed up at her house. It sounded so ridiculous that I laughed in her face. I told her that throughout the whole ordeal, I'd been nothing but kind to her. My family had helped her on multiple occasions and she had repaid the kindness by traumatizing my

family, yet I forgave her for the sake of Grandma. But now, enough was enough. I told her that if she did not let this go or tried to stir up any more trouble for my family, I would surely press charges against her on grounds of harassment. Luckily, I haven't heard anything since then and my parents say that my aunt seems to have mellowed down. I don't know this for certain, but it seems like she actually tried to get legal advice. One of her friends is a lawyer and she told aunt that her case would be laughed off in court. This got her thinking and she decided to let the whole thing go.

So far so good. I am just grateful for this to end. Needless to say, we are cutting all contact with her from now on. As for my grandma, she has been living with us for a while. I asked her to move in with us for a few days and she happily obliged after Sam begged her to. And they have been inseparable since the day she moved in. Even right now, they are baking cookies together. This is the only good thing to have come out of this scenario.

I feel so grateful to see my family enjoying being together in peace. Thank you.