An 18-year-old man ate 40 pieces of sashimi — thinly sliced raw fish and seafood — at a family lunch to celebrate his acceptance into law school as an undergraduate, only to have his mother say he embarrassed her and made it appear she didn't feed him enough.
"I recently got into law school and am now an LLB [bachelor of law] student," the man wrote in a Reddit forum. "My parents decided to take me to a special lunch at a buffet as a reward."
Aunts, uncles and cousins attended the lunch, he said.
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The man said he didn't usually eat much for lunch because he'd been saving money to buy textbooks. At the buffet, however, he decided to indulge, especially in sashimi, a Japanese delicacy.
"This was a buffet, and they had some really nice dishes," he wrote. "I sampled many things and ended up wolfing down 40 pieces of sashimi. … I know because I went to the counter five times and got eight pieces each time."
A young man (not pictured) wrote in a Reddit post that his mom was embarrassed by how much he ate at a buffet with family and friends. (iStock)
"My dad didn't say anything, but my mom later told me I embarrassed her by eating like a starving kid – that the amount I ate made it look like she didn't feed me enough," the son continued. "She was very upset about it."
Many commenters jumped in to say that eating a lot is the point of a buffet.
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"You're an 18-year-old male," one Reddit user wrote. "Isn't it common knowledge that your type can eat staggering amounts in one sitting?"
Another person said his mom's reaction was like "taking a kid to an amusement park and then scolding them for having too much fun."
The young man said he took five helpings of sashimi at a celebratory buffet with his family. (iStock)
Others said they would be cheering on the student for getting his money's worth.
"I doubt anyone except your mom noticed or cared that you were eating a lot," another commenter noted.
"If a child eats like they're starving, it can feel to a parent like an unspoken criticism of their caregiving."
Parents often tie their child's behavior back to themselves, said Sandra Kushnir, a licensed marriage and family therapist and CEO of Meridian Counseling in Los Angeles.
"Food is deeply tied to notions of care," Kushnir told Fox News Digital. "Many parents see it as an expression of love and responsibility. If a child eats like they're starving, it can feel to a parent like an unspoken criticism of their caregiving."
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She suggested the son acknowledge his mom's feelings without taking blame and saying, "I see that it upset you because of how it looked, but I wasn't trying to send that message. I was just excited and enjoying the food."
Kushnir added, "By validating her feelings while clarifying his intention, he opens space for understanding rather than defensiveness."
While most Redditors sided with the original poster, some felt otherwise.
Most Reddit users sided with the ravenous young man, while a few sympathized with the appalled mother. (iStock)
"Forty pieces of sashimi sounds like quite a lot," one person said. "But I don't see why it couldn't be eaten in a polite, civilized manner. Then again, your mom's reaction suggests that perhaps it wasn't."
Another person sympathized with the mother, writing, "I'd be slightly uncomfortable, too, in such a situation. That's totally not your fault, though."
Annalisa Nash Fernandez, an intercultural strategist at Connecticut-based Because Culture, said buffets come with a kind of social contract.
"The person piling their plate high breaks an unspoken covenant," Fernandez told Fox News Digital. "Not because of food scarcity in most contexts, but because they've violated the kind of restraint that makes communal abundance possible."
Some people argue there is no such thing as taking or eating "too much" at a buffet as long as table manners are followed. (iStock)
Other etiquette experts, however, said there is no such thing as having "too much" at a buffet.
"As long as you're following whatever rules the buffet has set and are using your best table manners, then you're probably in the clear, etiquette-wise," said Nick Leighton, a New York-based co-host of the podcast "Were You Raised By Wolves?"
He added, "Etiquette cares about pacing, and it looks far less gluttonous to go back for seconds – or thirds – on [a] fresh plate."
Fox News Digital reached out to the original poster for comment.