Should my 10 year old be preparing his own meals?

Oh she does her own hair and chooses her clothes obviously

Yeah basic breakfast is ok and snacks but wouldn’t expect him to be responsible for making cooked meals unless it’s something he’s keen on and shows an aptitude in and you gradually help him learn.

My friends son would sometimes cook quite complicated meals for the whole family at age 11/12! I assume he’d started young.he absolutely loved cooking with his uncle so it was something he asked to do occasionally rather than something required of him.

It is good to hear so many teaching their kids basic skills though, I have a friend who seemed to think her children weren’t capable of anything. Like she would have a go at teachers in year 5 for not reminding her NT daughter to drink her bottle of water or go to the toilet. It was grim - her child should’ve been able to remember to pee and drink by that age. Why add that to a teachers workload?

She’s the type to complain how tired she was but she didn’t delegate enough to her children.

My 9 (almost 10) year old daughter likes to make her own breakfast and sometimes packed lunch for school. She has started washing her own hair recently although I still run her bath. I don’t really view those as chores though.

She’s terrible at tidying her room so although she tries I generally end up standing over her and guiding her as to what to do. She’ll put laundry away or do a bit of dusting if I ask.

I’d like it to be all part of a weekly routine. Need to work on that bit.

Mine is 10. I try to get her to tidy up after herself (varying success) and she runs her own baths.
But that's it really from your list anyway

At least you’ve realised now.

For comparison by 4 year old

• puts her used crockery, cutlery and glass/mug next to the sink
• dresses herself, brushes her hair, makes sure her bedroom floor is clear for robot hoover
• packs her water bottle in her bag in the morning
• working on emptying her bag after nursery
• always puts shoes and coats away
• set the cutlery for dinner
• Tidies toys are playing
• puts away her already folded piles of laundry. She is also able to help sort laundry if she is around at the right time.
• puts her dirty washing into the right section if the washing basket

My 6yo doesn't prepare her own meals but likes to help me in the kitchen. She can chop, grate, weight and measure things out and stir the pot. She also does things like butter her own toast.

Since she's been 5 she tidies her own room, makes her bed every morning and opens her curtains. She gets herself dressed, brushes her teeth and gets washed herself. She now gathers up her own washing and puts it in the wash basket every morning.

To earn extra packet money she'll clean the toilets (which she weirdly enjoys) and she also loved hoovering.

When she turned 6 we got her a GoHenry card and she's gets her pocket money on a Friday of she's done all her chores and earns extra for doing more. She loves earning and spending her own money. It's teaching her responsibility and the value of money.

Give him a laundry basket and get him to bring down all his own laundry and tidy his room. He should be bathing himself and combing his own hair. I'd still be cooking meals for him though, because he's a child.

The thing is to just start small and get him to do small simple things for himself and then add to it. It's a learning curve for parents too!

My 11yo has ASD.

He sorts his laundry
helps tidy his room
puts washing on
puts tumble dryer on
Goes to the corner shop for the odd item

My DS10 has chores to do every day but fairly basic - takes the rubbish out, washes the pots. Then the rest of the time it’s just basics, washes up whatever pots he’s used, helps set the table, has to keep his room tidy, gets his own clothes out. He gets himself showered but I do run his baths for him as he makes his so hot and so deep! He also makes his own breakfast each morning x

I have a 10 yr old DD, from your list

make all of his meals - me or DH make meals were all eating together, DD tends to get her own breakfast because she's first up and sometimes makes a quick lunch like a sandwich at the weekend.

take him to school - DD walks herself to school but it's in our road so it's a very safe short walk

tidy his room - takes a lot of nagging but DD tidies her room

prepare his clothes - DD sorts this before bed for the next day

, do his hair - I do brush her hair, it's waist length, tangles easy and she hates doing it so if I don't then it ends up a tangled mess. I want her to cut it, she doesn't, it's an ongoing discussion.

wake him up - unfortunately she is a naturally early riser has only slept past 6.30am a handful of times in her whole life. I'd quite like her to have a lay in every now and then.

prepare his baths - no, DD takes care of this herself now.

Very similar here. I also expect her to help feed dogs, care for the livestock.

We both work from home

However my 10 year old cycles to and from school

When he get home he makes his own food either ham and cheese wraps, fish finger sandwiches etc.

He does his homework and empties his bag.

He packs his own school snacks,picks out his own clothes.

He needs to put a wash on every morning before school

He makes a simple meal for the whole family once a week.

He has to put dirty dishes in the dishwasher and unload if he is asked.

He hoovers the stairs on a Saturday

We are a team

At 10, I'd have expected him to tidy his room, get his own clothes out and on, do his own hair, set an alarm clock, run his own bath, get his own breakfast, make his own packed lunch if he has one, set the table, help out occasionally with say a bit of cooking (eg stir a sauce, cook veg in microwave, put food in or take out of oven), serving up food, unloading dishwasher, getting the clothes off the line, hoovering his room. Basically doing stuff for himself and then helping out with some family chores rather than assuming you will do everything.

It depends what he's having.

If it's pancakes, or waffles or egg bread then he would probably need you to do that. Or at least teach him.

If it's pouring cornflakes from the packet into a bowl then yes, he should be able to do that himself.

Oh and he will prep his own bag for swimming, rugby etc and is responsible for emptying wet muddy stuff out and cleaning his boots (which he is not good at remembering to do)

He should be able to get himself showered. He should tidy his own room and clear up his own mess around the house. My kids 8 & 10 empty the dishwasher, sort the clean pants and socks and will occasionally hoover if in a willing mood. My daughter is always keen to cook and I have taught her simple dishes but I don’t expect her to prepare her own meals other than getting her own cereal out.

Yes he should be able to make breakfast. What does he have?

Why would he have to cook his own meals?🤔

You should teach him how to wash himself and do his hair. You could also teach him to clean his room, and perhaps link it to pocket money.

My 9yo tidies his room (when I ask), gets his own breakfast and runs his own baths. He also puts his own dry laundry away and gets the dog up in the morning to let her out for a wee. I'd say that kind of thing is age-appropriate helping.

My 10 year old doesn’t make meals but jobs he and his sister have are things like -
emptying dishwasher, laying table, making bed and taking sheets of the bed when they are washed, recycling. At weekends they help cuts veggies for meals.
His sister age (just) 14 does basic meals - stuff in the oven, pasta and sauce, scrambled eggs but not much beyond that.

My eldest could and did cook family meals at 10. My youngest isn't at all interested and only very occasionally even helps with food prep. I would focus on keeping room tidy etc and maybe a regular job like emptying the dishwasher. To be honest though, my 10 year old doesn't do much as he is at after school clubs most days.