17-year-old creates recipe book with late father, mom protests when he doesn't want to share it with his stepsiblings: 'Mom said that I should be more of a role model'

Grief operates in different ways for different people. Processing the passing of somebody close to you is always going to be a challenge, but it can be especially confusing if it happens when you're a kid. Nobody can be fully prepared for somebody not being around anymore, but the younger you are, the less understandable it can be.

If you are a parent whose child loses a close family member, it makes your job even more important. You have to help them make sense of it and also try to be respectful of their feelings, no matter how much time elapses. Unfortunately, not every mom or dad is respectful of this and it can lead to some difficult situations. There is a real risk of creating a rift for the simple reason of not being willing to understand the complicated process of grief while somebody is growing up and still learning about themselves.

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_{The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.}
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One teenager felt his mom was being disrespectful of his dad's memory when she and his stepdad insisted that he share a book of baking recipes with his younger half-sibling and step-sibling. Although his father passed eight years ago, he still felt like the recipe book they created together was something personal to them and something that he didn't want to be forced into sharing. His mom was not pleased when he hid the book from her, but he felt like he had his reasons.
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AITA for hiding mine and my dad's baking book?

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Other people sympathized with the teenager's point of view.

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