Fed Up Dad Plasters “This Side Up” Stickers On All Of The Containers In His House After His Adult Children Caused His $80 Prescription Shampoo To Leak

In the quiet chaos of a shared home, a parent’s simple need for order clashes with the careless habits of growing children. The medicated shampoo, a lifeline for a painful scalp condition, becomes a symbol of respect and understanding—one that is painfully disregarded, leaving frustration and wasted resources in its wake.

This story is not just about shampoo bottles; it is about boundaries, empathy, and the unspoken lessons of living together. Amid the laughter and the mess, there lies a yearning for consideration that often goes unheard, as a parent tries to teach responsibility in the small, everyday moments.

Fed Up Dad Plasters "This Side Up" Stickers On All Of The Containers In His House After His Adult Children Caused His $80 Prescription Shampoo To Leak

I have two of my children living with me. One has graduated from college and the other is a junior. 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 AXE 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.

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 for some reason.

It all dripped out the spout which is not engineered for that.

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 it was meant to be stored with the lid at the top. I came home last week to find my shampoo leaking out of the bottle again.

UPSIDE DOWN.

I ordered 500 stickers that say “this side up” with an arrow pointing upwards when the words are upright and I put them on everything in the house that might leak. with my shampoo being literally covered in them.

They had friends over last weekend and they noticed that the relish, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, etc. were all labeled. 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.

Here’s how people reacted:

Effective-Several

NTA. They actually admitted to screwing around with your shampoo? They know what they’re doing.

If you’re buying anything for them, stop till 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.

EDOT: Just thought of something. Presumably your shampoo bottle states that it should be upright.

Stage 2 would be to buy a bunch of blank labels and mark things like DOOR, FRIDGE, OVEN, etc, Really simple words.

And the explanation would be that since your kids are having issuers READING, you are just trying to help them increase their reading comprehension. They thought the first set of labels was bad…..

izzydodo

NTA – Totally in agreement with you. If they can’t handle one bottle, who is to assume they can’t understand it with all of them?

They have options to get out of their embarrassment here and it seems like they can’t handle a simple task after just simply being asked to correct their behavior.

Bottom line, they don’t respect your stuff. So you’re making sure their behavior gets FIXED. lol
My question is… what happens when they start ignoring the labels too?

Connect-Pea-7833

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.

Correct_Nose7842

I think NTA, 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.

Pirate_Queen_of_DC

I think this is my favorite AITA post. I can’t stop laughing.

100% NTA. Your solution is sarcastic and hilarious, and you’re within your rights to do it, because as you said, it’s your house and you can put shit where you want.

This made my freaking night. LOL

Sweetcilantro

nta

You gave them a chance, you told them why, and they still did it.

Sometimes embarrassment ius needed. and this was only in your house so it’s not like you forced their friends to see it.

International_Set522

NTA. 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.

SlippySloppyToad

Petty but NTA and also economical.

Buying in bulk makes sense, cheaper and less overhead.

As for your kids, they need to respect your stuff. If a bunch of labels help with that then well done.

[deleted]

>AXE body wash/shampoo/conditioner/woman repellent

I was repelled just reading that! 😂

NTA and what a hilarious way to deal with your kids. I hope they appreciate that their dad’s a comedian.

C_Majuscula

NTA. Prescription shampoo is expensive and it’s not like it’s easy to get when the refills run out. They should be repaying you for the wasted shampoo and extra doctor visit.

AdOne8433

NTA. And with 500 stickers you could have a lot of fun. Let your imagination run wild with absurd or inappropriate places to put them.

wheres_the_revolt

NTA but it does sound like you’re at the *”how can I love you if you won’t go away”* stage of your relationship with your kids lol

Sierrasmom01

My daughter used to tell me her high school football team “smelled like Axe and failure”. She was not wrong.

Grand-Corner1030

NTA. That’s awesome and hilarious.

Its a genius solution to a problem; thank you for making me smile.

Conclusion

The original poster (OP) feels frustrated and disrespected because their adult children repeatedly mishandled an expensive, necessary medical product, leading to waste. The core conflict lies between the OP’s need to protect their essential property and their children’s perceived lack of consideration or maturity regarding household boundaries.

Given that the children have refused to compensate for the wasted product, is the OP justified in applying restrictive, highly visible warning labels to all household items to prevent future damage, or does this action escalate the conflict beyond a reasonable response to boundary violations?