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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Can your 12 year old cook an egg?

40 replies

Splattered · 01/08/2011 10:24

AIBU to think a 12 year old should be able to fry an egg/bacon quite easily without adult supervision?

OP posts:

GypsyMoth · 01/08/2011 10:25

He can scramble eggs. Yanbu

mistlethrush · 01/08/2011 10:26

My 6 yo can make an omelette himself with very little intervention - so by the time he's 12 he'll definitely be able to do that sort of thing.

DH started being in charge (completely) of doing Sunday Lunch from about 14yo I think - clearly a lot more than just frying an egg.

manicbmc · 01/08/2011 10:31

Dd could cook a full breakfast by the age of 7. Now's she's 16 she can barely rouse herself to make a cup of tea though.

startail · 01/08/2011 10:36

My now 13 year old can cook bacon and omelettes and scrambled eggs, but doesn't like fried ones.
She and a friend can find a recipe, walkto the shop for cream and make very nice chocolate buns while I entertain their younger siblings.
She's also quite capable of cooking that which begins mince and onions .

feckwit · 01/08/2011 10:37

Yes my 11 and 13 year old both can.

valiumredhead · 01/08/2011 10:38

My ds 10 can make an ommlette and has been able to for a year, he can also knock up a lovely lemon drizzle cake!

slartybartfast · 01/08/2011 10:39

nearly 12.
i think i might teach her today
although i think she can at scout camp

itisnearlysummer · 01/08/2011 10:39

My 12 year old can but is too scared too!

My 5 year old makes a mean scrambled egg! Her only support is for H&S purposes.

startail · 01/08/2011 10:40

I was a dab hand at scrambled eggs from an early age because my mum refused to do cooked tea.
(fair enough given she did full blown cooked lunch and cooked deserts and there'd be two or three kinds of home made cake in the box)

WidowWadman · 01/08/2011 10:41

What is your 12 year old scared of? Salmonella?

upahill · 01/08/2011 10:45

Yes he can but pretends he can't!!

DrGruntFotter · 01/08/2011 10:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

aquos · 01/08/2011 10:57

My 11yo wanted me to take the top of his boiled egg that I had made for him this morning. He looked quite affronted when I said that at 11 I expected him to take the top of his own egg. When I said next time he wanted a boiled egg I expected him to make it himself, he started muttering about calling Childline.

YANBU. My mil didn't even teach my dh to make a slice of toast, it was all done for him and I have sworn that my DC will not grow up like that.

HeidiKat · 01/08/2011 11:00

It depends on the child really, I was quite a nervous child so wouldn't have been confident handling hot oil for frying, also I was (am ) quite short so at that age before the big puberty growth spurt I might have had trouble reaching up to an adult height hob.

VitaEstBonus · 01/08/2011 11:03

My just 13 yr old is now cooking entire meals from scratch! He's into Fay Ripley's book atm.

DooinMeCleanin · 01/08/2011 11:03

My 7 year old can make omlette, scrambled eggs, tea and coffee, toast, toasties, warm food on the hob. She cannot/daren't use the main oven, just the grill and hob.

slartybartfast · 01/08/2011 11:04

reminds me, i must buy some eggs.

Fennel · 01/08/2011 11:08

11 and 9yos can cook quite a few things without supervision, including various forms of eggs (no bacon they are veggies).

11yo still not good on brushing her hair or washing though, or putting on clean clothes. Despite much nagging.

twinklypearls · 01/08/2011 11:13

My 9 year old can cook, although we don't eat fried eggs so she could not fry an egg. I can't fry and egg as the thought makes me heave. She could poach, boil or scramble though.

miniwedge · 01/08/2011 11:16

yes for dd1, no for dsd. Both 11.

DD1 wil also iron, wash up, make a cake with a little help (ie checking its cooked) and cook simple meals/put together a salad.

DSD will just about make a sandwich and juice.

zukiecat · 01/08/2011 11:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

squeakytoy · 01/08/2011 11:58

How can anyone not know how to scramble eggs????

You crack egg into a bowl, then you apply heat... either in a microwave or in a pan... it really is that simple!

PiousPrat · 01/08/2011 12:05

My (very almost) 12 year old can't, no but then he does have SN so the chocolate brownies Thayer made yesterday from a packet mix were an awesome achievement for him.

My 10YO DS2 on the other hand, wants to apply to go on Junior Masterchef and over the holidays he regularly cooks the family dinner once a week. I used to supervise and help, but tbh he has had caution around the hot bits drilled into him for so long that I am happy to leave him to it now (obviously I supervised unseen from a distance for a while to make sure he wasn't forgetting that pans go on the back hob with handles pointed out of the way etc). He also has a better chopping technique than I do!

Cooking sort of became 'our thing' to do together for a while though,as it was the only thing we could do just the two of us that DS1 wouldn't be interested in as his tactile issues make most food prep uninteresting to him so he would wander off again and DS2 and I could have a bit of a chat while we cooked

Off topic a bit, but does anyone remember that Channel 4 show a couple of years ago, about a load of 10 year olds left to fend for themselves for a week? The girls could all bake, but I think only one could do more than make toast and all the boys were utterly useless in the kitchen. When it came to sending them shopping I think the boys just got a couple of video games and a butt load of crisps. That would be when I vowed to make sure my DC could fend for themselves a bit better.

wannabesybil · 01/08/2011 12:06

I can't fry an egg (in 40s), though I can make a tasty souffle (sweetcorn souffle is brilliant, filling, tasty and fun)

My little bear can't cook anything - at four and one half. Do I need to raise my game?

Also, kitchen is on a different floor to anywhere else, so I hovering. And what should I start with.

(I scramble eggs in the microwave as they are less likely to over cook than if I use a pan)

Birdsgottafly · 01/08/2011 12:07

If they carn't and are not disabled in any way then it is the fault of the parent not the DC, not necessarily fried egg, more basic food preparation.

I don't understand parents who don't or won't teach their DC's age appropriate life skills.

My youngest DD,13, has moderate LD's, her and her friends with SN gain alot of self esteem by being able to cook. Sometimes it is very simple food but at least they wouldn't go hungry if left on their own. It amazes me that some parents of mainstream DC's seem to take pride in the fact that they have to do everything for them, when the parents of SN DC's strive to help them gain independance.

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