Expecting that a 7 year old could make a simple meal?

[bigbarnfarmer]

I would like my kids to start taking more responsibility, they totally take for granted all i do, like most their age i imagine. However given they are getting older i want to help them become more responsible and more independant.

My 7 year old enjoys food, like sto help in the kitchen and has been making cups of tea for a while now. I was thinking tomorrow i might let him prepare a simple meal, with minimal supervision.

AIBU? and does anyone who thinks its fair enough have any simple meal suggestions.

Ok - this thread has made me resolve to involve my 7 and 9 year old in the cooking to a much greater extent, thanks op

I second the recommendation for the Pampered Chef knives, ours were chopping up veg at 5 with the red handled knife! DH spent ages trying to saw his finger off first just to be sure they were safe .

Omelettes are easy, as is anything that can be assembled then shoved in the oven, even if its just baked potatoes with simple fillings.

Ours love to cook outside in the summer on a little campfire. I used to be a guider for 15 years and never saw any child injure themselves whilst cooking, they were always very sensible.

Yes, In fact don't stop at cooking.
A couple of Christmas's ago I realised that no-one had ever taught me how to clean a toilet ( i have worked itout myself) and so I bought the kids small rubber gloves and spray cleaner and showed them how to do it. They loved it ! They were competing over who's toilet was the shiniest.
My sil also believes children shouldn't ever have to do jobs and the nieces are really happy to help when they come here.
(judging by the toilet in our house at Uni no-one else had ever been shown either)

I love taking the brownies away

they get split into groups, 1 group cooks, one sets and clears the tables and the other group cleans the bathroom and toilets

they excitment they get from using a mop, being allowed to wash up, or the realisation that pasta sauce doesn't have to come out of a jr is amaazing

my kids 8&10 can both do a roast dinner, we sort of tag team it and all do a bit

it's important to teach them to do these things safely

My mum thought kids shouldn't cook or clean so I grew up clueless! I will be making sure that my dd has good cooking and cleaning skills by the time she leaves home. I think it's part of a parents job to help their child develop these skills and to enable them to practise them regularly.

It isn't lazy parenting to expect your child to cook regularly at home, rather a skill that they will benefit from their whole life long and will thank you for.

My DCs are 1 and 3 and they help out in the kitchen. Admittedly not boiling water yet but I think it's the best thing to start them early. I would hope that a 7 year old would be able to to make something simple albeit with mum in the kitchen keeping a general eye. I actually think you're more likely to have an accident if you're not used to doing something. If you are shown how to do it properly and then get lots of practice that is surely the best thing.

The people who say, "I cooked for my kids until they went to uni" are exactly the ones whose children won't have the basic life skills to look after themselves so will end up eating takeaways or relying completely on their future partners.

I would like a 7yo to help with cooking but only in an "it's fun to help mummy and daddy in the kitchen" type way, NOT a "must take more responsibility" way.

My DD is 4 and helps out a bit because she enjoys it, she is happy to mix/whisk etc and she cuts stuff like cucumber, no idea how that will have progressed by age 7 :)

My mother worked and I had the job of cooking lunches, without supervision. I remember asking a neighbour who was a year older how to make mince and potatoes. She told me and I went and did it. She was 8 and I was seven. I also made home made soup again without supervision because she was at work. When I think about it I was probably more responsible than she was. When my two got to that age I remember thinking, what was my mother thinking. I did grow up to be able to do a lot at a young age. This was back in the 50's.

My mother worked and I had the job of cooking lunches, without supervision. I remember asking a neighbour who was a year older how to make mince and potatoes. She told me and I went and did it. She was 8 and I was seven. I also made home made soup again without supervision because she was at work. When I think about it I was probably more responsible than she was. When my two got to that age I remember thinking, what was my mother thinking. I did grow up to be able to do a lot at a young age. This was back in the 50's.

As long as they're not dealing with very hot liquids and have a safe knife and oven gloves there's loads they can do on their own. I would want to be there to supervise things going into and out of the oven. Chop, grate, measure, mix etc isn't a problem. Scalding liquids can cause such widespread burns it's realy not worth taking the risk for a cup of tea.

I got half way through this and gave up. I can't believe BigBarn is getting such a flaming! She is not making her child cool, he wants to do it. My DS 4 loves cooling and we often make stew together, he chooses the ingredients from fridge/ larder, peels and chops everything then throws it in. I was making tea at 7 and as others have said, got my hostess badge at this age. What is wrong with 8 year olds cooking at camp? Who would you expect to do it? Catering staff? It's about teaching children safely and responsibly. BigBarn I'm sure whatever your DS cooks will be lovely and he will be so proud. Ignore the bubble wrappers

I'm sure I read somewhere that Jamie Oliver started cooking when he was 4, stood on a chair.

Is that a pro or a con?

There's no set age - it depends on the child. One of DDs friends has a sister 2 years her junior who was competently making hot drinks and baking from the age of about 7 - my DD, older but a tad smaller wasn't ready to do that. Now she's 12, and can do quite a bit (she, with a bit of assistance from DH made a delicious thai noodle dish for my birthday a few days ago - and bread rolls in Food Tech today, they're doing pizza from scratch next week).

My favourite job when I was about 7 was ironing. My mother must have thought it fantastic!.. The ironing board was at the lowest level and I was in my element starting off with teatowels and hankerchiefs, and pillowcases and then progressing to shirts in no time. I dont think I ever burnt myself on the iron until I had left home. Even if you do burn yourself once, you soon learn to be a bit more careful in the future.

There is actually more danger of a serious burn from taking something out of the microwave than a splash from the kettle too.

Other jobs I liked helping with at that age..

I could peg washing out on the line and bring it in.

We had a coal fire in the front room, and I could set that ready to light.

I also spent ages polishing the brassware that my parents had.

I could hoover and put away shopping.

I do admit that by my teens I did all I could to avoid any of this..

My 3yo DS has been helping in the kitchen since he could stand on a chair next to me. I let him manage the sausages in a frying pan, put beans in and out of the microwave, whisk eggs, chop cheese, glooop the mixture for cakes into cake cases etc...

I'd certainly hope that by the age of 7 he could cook a meal with minimal supervision.

It was slightly scary for me to have him doing stuff from such a young age but his confidence in his abilities is lovely to see now; and it is fun for me to have him work with me.

My MIL on the other hand can't bear to watch DS working in the kitchen... She's convinced he'll stab himself in the eye with a knife or something like that.... fortunately she was such a bad cook herself that DH taught himself to cook so he didn't have to eat her food!

Dd is 9, she can prepare breakfasts in morning, load and reload dishwasher and loves to help chop veg with sharp knife. She will also stir food on the hob. I would not let her make tea or cook dinner.

My DS (8) is a real foodie and helps me make omelettes and pancakes - and tbh he does most of it I just stand there and guide him. It's fun, obv depends on the child and what they're into but ime creative kids with good appetites love to cook!

My DS could do a full English at age 4 with very little assistance from me- obviously had to be standing near him, and advise on timings etc, but he was perfectly able to do everything that was required. Now at age 18 he appears not to have graduated from English breakfasts alas although I suspect that he manages to sustain himself at university.

YABU 7 is too young to be handling a kettle.

My 7 and 10 year olds are the envy of my friends. They get up in the morning and do themselves breakfast, cereal, toast (in the toaster), croissants and warm milk up/make hot chocolate in the microwave.

I don't allow them to use the paring or carving knife or to use the hob or grill. I also don't allow them to open cans.

As a child I scalded myself badly making a cup of tea and also sliced my finger open on a corned beef tin, I still have the scars from both.

Sounds reasonable to me if you are there supervising closely OP, and from what you've said, it sounds like you would be.
I think some posters had thoughts of the 7 year old in the kitchen alone, cooking using cooker/kettle etc.

I was going to ask if this was more to do with you feeling unappreciated OP, but since reading more of your posts, I can't see what is wrong with what you are suggesting. Your DS sounds like he would enjoy it too.

I let DD help when I am preparing food, and she loves to pop a tea bag in my mug when I make tea. Sometimes, she flicks the kettle on, and worse than that, she has been known to stir the tea after I've poured the hot water in!!

If she was allowed, she would love to cook and make cups of tea for me, but at 3.5, I think she's too little atm.

(I love that age where they're keen to help...it doesn't last forever ime.)

My just turned 8 yo can make, tea, coffee, peel and chop vegetables, and can open and warm tins on the hob as well as make omelettes and other egg dishes.

I am going to start her on cheesey pasta soon.

My sister and my DH were both badly babied and as a result are spoilt rotten and believe the world owes them a favour. My sister is getting counseling and getting much better but not long ago she could not even ring her takeaway, she would text me to phone it for her and suffered badly with anxiety and panic attacks if she had to do anything for herself. DH is just a twat. I am determined that my children will not be raised like this and I teach them to cook, wash, clean. Dd1 is capable of showering, drying and dressing herself. Running a bath, loading the washer etc.

YABU 7 is too young to be handling a kettle

My 7 and 10 year olds are the envy of my friends. They get up in the morning and do themselves breakfast, cereal, toast (in the toaster), croissants and warm milk up/make hot chocolate in the microwave

a microwave heats liquid well past boiling point though, and there is way more risk of an accident there than with the kettle!

I've been trying to teach DS that our "family team" has to all work together to keep our house tidy and make our meals, etc. He's four and helps out with everything, why wouldn't he?

I am beyond boggled that anyone would think that "I did everything for them til they went off to uni" is good parenting.

Having come back to this thread, and read all replies since my earlier ones, I am wondering if my DC do cook meals. What I mean is, all the things people are saying on here the ops son should be able to do, ie peeling, chopping, stirring, my dcs have been doing since they about 2. I just never considered this stuff to be 'cooking a meal' but more 'helping out' iyswim.

So OP, YANBU :)

CheerfulYank Ny DD is nearly 16 and is mastering the art of pouring hot water over dried noodles (!), known in the UK as Pot Noodle. Did we ever work out of you had a US equivalent? They come in plastic pots with hopelessly optimistic flavour names such as 'Spicy Curry'.