"My Adult Children Are Idiots, So I Labeled All The Bottles In My House" — This Mom's Petty Revenge On Her Kids Who Carelessly Cost Her Money Is Gold
A mom on Reddit has older kids who keep knocking over and wasting her expensive shampoo. So, in an effort to teach them a lesson, she labeled nearly everything in her house.
I LOVE a good "Am I The Asshole?" from Reddit and today's HAS THE TEA! If you're mom, you'll really have some thoughts on this one! So let's begin...
The Reddit Original Poster (OP) u/Unusual-Peace6878 is a mom living with her two children: one has graduated from college and the other is a junior in high school. Her complaint today is about them not respecting her stuff.
She begins the thread by explaining that the three of them share a shower: "I have to purchase medicated shampoo because of a scalp condition. It is by prescription and it is expensive. It also comes in packaging that is meant to be stored upright — not on its side and definitely not upside down. My daughter has her hair products in the shower and I do not touch them. My son also keeps his body wash/shampoo/conditioner/woman repellent in the shower. I also do not touch it since I have zero desire to smell like a high school locker room. I keep my shampoo in there as well since it is my house and I can keep my shit wherever I want."
The OP continues with her point about the shower, sharing, "For some reason, the two of them cannot understand that not all packaging is meant to be upside down. They have already wasted an entire bottle of my shampoo by storing it upside down after they touched it. It all dripped out the spout. I talked to both of them and I explained that they should not touch my stuff and that if they accidentally tip over my shampoo to please put it back upright with the lid on top."
Well, her kids haven't been listening... "I came home last week to find my shampoo leaking out of the bottle again. UPSIDE DOWN."
So what did our OP do? She ordered 500 stickers that say "THIS SIDE UP" with an arrow pointing upward when the words are upright. "I put them on everything in the house that might leak — and covered my shampoo bottle with them."
Well, after placing the stickers everywhere, her kids had friends over and they obviously noticed that most things in the house were labeled with these stickers, like the relish, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, etc. "My kids were embarrassed when they explained why. They think I am an asshole for putting labels on everything since they only fuck with my shampoo. Since it is $80 a bottle, I said I would take off all the labels if they agree to pay for my shampoo. Thus far they have declined to pay," she concluded in her post, wondering if what she did is an a-hole move.
In addition to all the comments applauding the OP for her hilariously eloquent delivery of this story, people came in hot with their takes:
"You're not an asshole. My kids are the same way. Your kids can either learn to leave your stuff alone, put it back the way it was, pay for your medication, or deal with the labels. There are several reasonable choices there."
"You gave them a chance, you told them why, and they still did it. Sometimes embarrassment is needed — and this was only in your house so it's not like you forced their friends to see it."
"They’re both too old to be doing stuff like that honestly. That’s the sort of disregard I would show for my parents’ stuff when I was like 13 maybe? Your measures were extreme but if the embarrassment is enough to make them change their ways, I say fair game."
"Petty but not an asshole — and also economical. Buying in bulk makes sense, it is cheaper and has less overhead. As for your kids, they need to respect your stuff. If a bunch of labels help with that then well done."
"They actually admitted to screwing around with your shampoo? They know what they’re doing. If you’re buying anything for them, stop til they pay you back FOR EVERY SINGLE BOTTLE they wasted. And if they don’t, tell them you’ll come up with something creative that they will regret."
"The fact that you share a bathroom with adult children and the only complaint you have is them wasting your expensive medicated shampoo makes you more than NTA, it makes you a saint. The fact that this was the solution you chose makes me want to be your friend. You are gold."
"My 17-year-old brother does similar stuff and my mom and I cover the house with Post-It notes for this same purpose. We even have one reminding him to lower the shower head because it's dangerous for me to try and jump it down on the wet floor because I cannot reach it. Do what you have to do in order to get them to understand basic consideration toward other people."
What are your thoughts? Do you think the mom's punishment works or do you have other suggestions that will make her GROWN kids more respectful? Let us know in the comments!
