To wonder how someone can reach their early 20's without being able to even boil an egg?

[IceCreamAngel]

Just that really. I could boil an egg at about eight years old! By the time I was 10/11 I could fry bacon and heat up some soup, spaghetti or baked beans on the hob. I could also operate a microwave to prepare myself a ready meal. It wasn't of my parents making me do it either. I wanted to do it all myself, and once I could their response would always be, "ok well you know where everything is".

So quite frankly I'm disturbed that there are young adults out there who can't even manage the most basic of life skills. How the fuck is that even possible? It's appalling and quite sad really.

Lacquitar The mothers who were brought up in an era where it was a woman's job and it meant you do this (cooking) instead of something else (studying, career) and the boys could do that other thing had decided to not repeat the pattern and encourage the daughters to do other things instead.I understand that and it makes sense.

I see now why I am like I am if that's what other people's families are like!

I distinctly remember my grandmother making a point that neither her mother nor her own grandmother "wasted their time on cooking and baking bread". All the men in that family could and did cook.

Similar story with my father's family - his mother could cook, but didn't tend to, as her husband doted on her so much he would cook for the whole family so she could spend her time doing nicer stuff, like going to the hairdresser, shopping and visiting friends. Or cooking dinner for me, her granddaughter.

My DH's mother can cook, but his father does most of it. I don't think he was ever taught to cook either but he's picked up quite a lot (although I put him off and neither of us eat all that much anyway, we like to be lean).

Oh dear!
So you didnt know that? It is first time ever to. read that there was not equality? Oh well i am glad that my post was so enlightened about 'other peoples families'.

Ok we get it. You are above everybody else. Your whole family is/was. Ten generations back. Both sides. All feminists. Congratulations.
Relax now.

My DH was like this. His Mum didn't show him or his brother any cooking at all.

My Mum taught my brother and I how to cook a few basic meals and baking too. I still love baking the most.

In the end I taught him the basics and he really enjoyed it. He taught himself lots more from TV programmes and now I can't get near the kitchen!

My PIL used to come round and he'd spent ages making a massive dinner/lunch and be complimenting me on it. They refused to believe for years that he was doing it and were a bit cheeky to him about it. :(

Oh and both my DC have been 'helping' since really young. Hopefully they'll be able to cook ok too.

It's a good excuse to bake more. :D

DrSeth Why does it have to be the school's responsibility? Are you one of those who thinks that children should be able to go to school in nappies?

A child can help in the kitchen from the age of 2. They like to 'help' and make a mess. It's good fun to see them enjoying something like preparing a meal , baking, cutting up something soft like peppers preparing to spoil me later in life.

"awful lot of rampant self-satisfaction about cooking now - it's become an aspirational thing and on mumsnet, yet another marker of 'good' parenting - witness IceCream's post earlier about feeding one's children "shit". I might be able to rustle up a casserole, but I've never wired a plug or changed a tyre, and I could argue those are equally as important skills"

The difference is that none of us are sneering at people who can wire a plug or change a tyre and saying they're boasting about that because they have no 'important' skills to boast about; which is basically what Chandler said in her first post.