To ask what age kids can make a brew?

[hawaiianhal]

Got to be getting close to it now surely 🙏🙏🙏

My dd is nearly 11 and I dont trust her

My just turned 8yo has been making tea for about 6mo. We have a boiling water tap so she doesn't have to struggle with a heavy kettle, and she really enjoys the independence still leaves the bloody milk out on the side though. She's more recently started using a sharp knife and taking things out of the oven under strict supervision too.

allolderthanilookapparently I agree making me a cup of tea has unlocked all sorts of favours ;) As life lessons go it's a win win!

Age 8 I think for mine.

Just make sure to tell them not to fill the kettle too much, I was told off by the nurse when mine scalded his hand . He was nearly ten at that point.

One of mine was eight and the other thirteen.

Depends how cack handed the kid is

DS 11 is too small to safely handle our (very heavy cast iron) kettle. He can use the coffee machine and make a G&T though!

I found it a good idea to start letting them do other things in the kitchen first and at a very young age so that some of the cackhandedness had worn off by the time they got to 7 or 8.

My SIL was much better at this than I though: still remembering her 4yo proudly perched on a kitchen chair making stir fry (he is now the best chef in the family).

Ds did make a bit of a mistake and tried boiling milk in the kettle, but suspect that may have been partly because he wasn't so used to kettles (his grandparents used a saucepan)- I was however reassured when he noticed the smell and had the sense to switch the power off at the socket.

Six. No need to fill the kettle, just for the number of cups required. Teach them to underfill the mug so they can safely carry it too.

Why on earth do primary age children need to make tea? I don't drink tea, but DS would make me a coffee, not for himself. There is also instant hot chocolate or fruit infusions they could make.

About 7 I think, although it's a long time ago now! Took longer for him to work out how to make coffee, he kept getting the measurements wrong and then not being able to drink it.

Why on earth do primary age children need to make tea? They shouldn't be drinking caffeine at that age, DH is a classic case study of introducing young children to caffeine, he now gets headaches if he doesn't drink at least a dozen cups a day. If it's for the parents, make your own!!!

For the sake of training. I was taught basic cooking skills from an early age. They have made me much more confident in the kitchen and I also think that sense of being capable and doing something nice for the family helped enormously with my confidence and made me much less prone to risk-taking in other areas of life. I was also taught basic woodwork and encouraged to take part in DIY from a young age. I think it encouraged responsible behaviour. And it was fun!

A friend of mine has terrible scars from when she knocked her mum's cup of tea over when she was 8, not worth the risk letting young children handle boiling water because you can't be bothered to make yourself a cup of tea

So was she actually making the tea? My own sense is that very few accidents happened in families where children were actively involved from a young age: they learned to be careful.

Wow. Feel like a bit of a failure here. DD 8 can prep cold stuff so sandwiches, bowl of yoghurt and fruit, fruit platter etc but so far I've been catious with hit stuff including lifting kettle. I just wouldn't forgive myself if she got burns.

That said if I make coffee in a cafetiere she pours a brilliant second cup and she's happy to bring me a glass of (pre poured) wine so maybe I should be content with that.

The Hospitality badge was always the first badge at Brownies which started at 7 and involved making and serving the drinks for parents who came along to whatever it was called after 6 weeks when you became an actual Brownie. There is no way I would have allowed a 7 year old to pour boiling water from a kettle 25 years later. I don't really know what the answer is, I suppose it very much depends on the child. Height and strength could also be a consideration when you think about kitchen worktop height and definitely no standing on a stool to be able to reach - far too much danger of falling.

Mine are 9 & 6 (almost 7) and I don't think either are anywhere near ready. My judgement may be clouded because my 6 year old knocked a mug full of just poured boiling water over himself at the age of 2 causing 3rd degree burns. His injuries were horrific.

I am not convinced that the experience of a child knocking somebody else's hot drink over through carelessness when they were not preparing it is an argument against teaching them to deal with hot water in a responsible manner. Ime being trained to deal with hot things (and tools) tends to make children more likely to focus, not less. Knowing not to overfill the kettle, focusing on pouring it safely into a cup which you have first placed in a safe position is very different from accidentally knocking into something.

Quite a few parents here are saying they wouldn't trust their 11yo with a kettle. But isn't this an age where they will soon be expected to use Bunsen burners at school? Won't they be safer there if they already know how to focus? (Obviously in the case of SN, a different approach may be required.)

@corythatwas when you have to hold your child down while drs peel your child's skin off with their clothes come back to me saying its not an argument

I think teaching children how to do handle danger makes them more safe, not less.

@corythatwas when you have to hold your child down while drs peel your child's skin off with their clothes come back to me saying its not an argument

LST, that sounds an absolutely horrifying experience.

My argument is that this is less likely to happen the more everybody in the household- including the child- has been trained in safety.

I grew up in a society where children take part in cooking and DIY from a very early age. They do not have a higher accident rate than this country and a noticeably lower rate of risky behaviour among slightly older children. For me, it's about keeping children safe.

Though I'd probably find 6 a bit early. I wouldn't want my children to reach their teens without any training in the safe handling of knives, hot water, cookers etc. My experience is that that many young people (not all) get into a reckless and less teachable phase after the age of 11 or so (think they know it all) and it's best to get safety training in before then.

@cory if I am honest I would probably trust my 6 year old more than my 9 yo (really clumsy), as the experience has made him, understandably, cautious around hot drinks

I have a huge burn on my leg from hot water as a child, I can still remember the pain and my leg is a mess I can’t wear skirts and feel self conscience in swimming gear. It’s going to be as late as possible in my house maybe 12? Even strong 8 year olds can slip or have a blip in concentration.

It's the blip in concentration that made me want to get training in earlier. Teenage brain is definitely a thing ime.

But obviously all children are different and I also understand that a horrendous experience would make you more cautious.

I get my DS (10) to fill my wine glass up, sod the brew 😁

@FairlyOddmother

This is all good. But, when can you train them to mix your G & T? 😬

3-4

No hot water involved!!