Granddaughter horrified by grandma’s ‘soul-crushing’ table manners

Grandmothers and granddaughters have a special kind of bond, but it seems not even the love of family can help this woman get over her grandma’s “disgusting” table manners.

Taking to popular online forum Reddit, the granddaughter aired her grievances at her grandma’s cringe-worthy eating habits, which include talking with her mouth full, shovelling food into her gob until not a morsel more could fit, and making a “soul-crushingly annoying smacking noise” with every bite.

While the older generation is usually the one teaching the younger how to eat politely and show proper etiquette at the table, the granddaughter wrote she was so disgusted and irritated by her otherwise “loving” grandma’s bad habits that she was starting to avoid being around her at meal times.

“Her lips come open while she’s chewing, which makes a soul-crushingly annoying smacking noise,” she complained. “I’ve never encountered someone else who makes noises like this while they’re eating. I’ve met other smacking eaters, but hers are in a league of their own. If we’re in the dining room with 13 people and I’m at the opposite end of the table, I can still hear her eating.”

She said she doesn’t understand why her grandma can’t just slow down and eat in a civilised manner and aired her disgust at her ability to keep “shovelling food into her mouth” while talking.

“Cheeks already full of food? No problem, just keep talking, and I don’t mean a quick ‘yes’ or ‘no’ if someone asks her a question or just a quick bit of info in an ongoing discussion. She starts completely new threads of conversation with her mouth already full. ‘So I was talking to your cousin earlier today another bite and she was telling me that your aunt is having another bite surgery tomorrow and they are expecting her to stay another bite in the hospital for two days another bite’. That’s the situation every time we eat.”

Unfortunately for the granddaughter, the “torture still isn’t over” when grandma’s plate is finally clean.

“For about 20 minutes after a meal, she runs her tongue over her teeth, under her gums, over her lips, in such a flamboyant way that I’d be embarrassed to do it by myself in front of a mirror. She flicks her tongue out of her mouth like she’s trying to push little crumbs out.”

Despite all her complaints, the young woman said she loves her grandma dearly and is seeking advice because she doesn’t want it to impact their relationship any further. Apparently, she’s already stopped going out for meals with her in public and flees the room whenever granny reaches for a snack.

Responses to her conundrum were mixed, with some fellow Reddit users telling her to show some compassion and others saying they had the same problem with their own parents and grandparents.

“Your grandmother wears dentures. It makes chewing difficult, especially if they’re ill-fitting or uncomfortable,” one user wrote. “Loud chewing, slurping, taking a long time to eat, these are all the result of the fact that your grandmother has no teeth.”

“Old people don’t give AF,” said another. “Guess they’ve kinda earned it. Thinking back to when I was a kid and now that I’m an adult, I realise that older people are just like me… We just have to choose to be around them or not.”

Do you hate bad table manners? What’s your pet peeve at the table? Did your parents force you to have good manners at the table and away?