virtually every opener is gonna say the battle isn't good to shut people up, but when the battle is really terrible a warstory isn't usually gonna get read. just saying.
as for the situation with your parents, I fully understand what that's like. Logic seems to go out the window, replaced by the phrase "well we're your parents so shut up." anyway, my best advice is to do what I do and set a thirty dollar spending cap so that doesn't happen again.