How Can I get my 18 year old son to stop eating in his bedroom?

Answer 1

It's your house, right? So you make the rules. If eating in bedrooms is not permitted then just say so. If he continues to flout the rules then, at 18, he's perfectly entitled to get the hell out and go and find his own place to live, where he can eat in any room of the house.

Answer 2

What's the real issue??? If your 18 yr. old eating in his room is the biggist issue you have with him, good for you!

I am not clear on whether you don't like it because he is being a slob about it or because he is not eating with the family,but either way, I would imagine if you and he discussed what bothers you about it, he, at age 18, might offer you a better solution than anyone.

I think many young men eat in their room. Maybe you could get him a tray table and a little basket of cleaning supplies like paper towels and wipes or spray, a garbage can, and have him agree to how often he will clean up after himself so that you aren't bothered so much by it. I guess if he wants to eat in his room and you can handle it with some boundaries, that might work.

I doubt laying down the law and starting a power struggle over it will do much more than cause a rift between you.

You know him best. If someone wanted you to do something differently, how would you like them to approach it? You can get pretty creative and create a win-win situation where you are both happy I am sure. There are excellent teen-parenting websites that help with issues like this that we all face with our kids.

Hope you work it out.

Answer 3

The only success I have had with my 18 year old in this department is to actually go into his room and remove all food items. I found 10 plates in his room when he left for basic training! I found a salt and pepper set that I thought were long lost. He had food stored everywhere. The boy is tall and skinny, so I guess he needed to eat all night long to try and gain some weight. Now that he is gone for a few months, I really miss him. I wouldn't even mind the food in his room just to have him home again!

Answer 4

Do you mean, your son takes lunch and dinner into his room and eat them rather than eating at the table with everybody else?

Or do you mean he takes 'food' into his room and eat them?

If latter, there is probably not much you can do to stop it except for some extreme measures that will probably not work at all. He can bring food from outside just as easily.

If it is the former, just don't let him take lunch or dinner with him to his room. Demand that he either eat them at the table with everybody else, or he doesn't get to eat the food you make.

If your concern is hygiene, you could perhaps tell him to always bring down food based garbage down to kitchen, and not to leave any food in the room after it is consumed.

"Because I said so" has never worked and "when you are under MY roof" has too may loopholes....

Just being realistic.

Answer 5

I don't really think that you can. Of course he is 18; if you are tired of it kick him out.
My 14 year old son eats in his room. We can not get him to stop. He hides things and sneaks them and is desperate to have food in his room. Even with one consequence after another he just could not, would not stop himself. We took him to a counselor. Her advice was to just loosen our rules a little. Of course, our son was adopted and had been abused. He used to be locked in his room without food so he has some issues. In the whole scheme of things it is not that important that he eat in the kitchen as long as he cleans up after himself. I decided to worry about more important things.
Good luck.

Answer 6

what about it bothers you? is he still in highschool or is he graduated?

if he is making a mess or not interacting with family (eating dinner together) there are two separate ways to approach it. If he's leaving dishes in his bedroom, dock him time/money for each thing you find ($1.00 off allowance if he gets one OR time off phone/computer/tv OR earlier curfew.... choose something that will impact him, and don't cave in. however, if because he is 18 and you've dropped all other rules, you will either have to establish new ones, or live with it.

if he's avoiding the family, perhaps it's time for him to move out, if he's out of school.

Answer 7

LOL...I remember my mom getting on me about that a long long long time ago. Only way you can reasonably get him to stop eating in his bedroom at his age.....is to not give him a bedroom anymore.

Answer 8

Well lets see hes 18 ? tell him to knock it off sit at the table like a humane being or go get his own house and he can eat wherever he wants.

Answer 9

Be the parent. Tell him there are rules in your home. Explain them to him.

Should he choose to not follow the rules in the home for which you pay, he is 18 and can move out and pay for his own home.

Then he can eat anywhere he wants.

Answer 10

This is a question that has been asked by the mother of every teen aged boy. Mine also wouldn't bring out the used dishes or clean his room. I went in one day and took pictures of the mold growing in glasses. I included them in my scrapbook of his high school years. Needless to say, he was NOT pleased! Other moms thought it was great.