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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

I am not a personal chef!

373 replies

prettymushrooms · 23/06/2021 15:22

Back story
I WFH i am the main cook and I do the shopping.
DH self employed works very very long hours - sometimes depending on how big the job won't get home until 10pm.

There is no set arrangement when DSS will come to us, as he's old enough now to make his own arrangements he will just ring up last minute "Im on my way home" and that's the only notice we get. Sometimes if I'm lucky I'll get 24 hours notice. We can't refuse him because his mum sometimes doesn't come home at night, (don't ask - whole other thread needed for that!) so DH isn't happy with him being in the house on his own overnight as he gets scared very easily.

Because of this casual arrangement I have no idea how many people i'm cooking for, DSS has a large appetite so not like I can just give him a bit of mine and a bit of DH's - he would need a big portion. It isn't always things that can be frozen either and I'm reluctant to keep making extra portions on the off chance DSS will want to eat.

He also has allergies (not life threatening, just makes him itchy) so when he does come here if i haven't cooked something he isn't allergic to I then have to cook a whole different meal for him

Sometimes hes already had food when he comes here and isn't hungry, other times hes had food and still wants more when he gets to us, other times he hasn't had anything and I won't know until the last minute - we have our evening meal around 8pm on the nights that DH gets home at a reasonable hour so if DSS eats at 5pm after school he will want another meal at 8pm or depending how big the meal was he might not want much just something small.

DSS cannot cook for himself and in any case our kitchen is really really tiny so 2 people in the kitchen cooking at the same time would not work so it's always left up to me to sort. If he is at his mums he just orders takeway.

Three nights ago he had told us the day before he was coming to us and would be having food with us - great - i can then plan.
So i cooked enough for all three of us, ensured it wasn't anything DSS was allergic to, then he rocked up as i was plating up and casually said oh yeah i'm not hungry I had KFC with my mates half an hour ago...

DH doesn't think its a big deal and just says its fine, ill just eat his portion but its really not the point IMO! I think it's really disrespectful towards me as I'm the one worrying about what to buy, what to cook, having something quick in the freezer that i can just throw in the oven if he turns up.
DH doesn't worry because he doesn't have to plan, cook, go shopping and thinks i'm massively over reacting about something so petty.

AIBU to insist either he eats with us or he eats at his mums and to let me know which one within plenty of time??
He's a very sensitive soul so bringing this up usually leads to floods of tears that its not his fault he was hungry so he already ate etc - of course i'm not saying he shouldn't eat if he's hungry but to at least let me know??

OP posts:
HopeForTheBestExpectTheWorst · 24/06/2021 20:15

Ok so the freezer is teeny tiny and jam packed with stuff already - what about things that don't require freezing? Pasta (have pesto or jar of whatever sauce he'll eat), ramen/noodles that just require hot water, beans, toasted sandwiches, cup of soup, cereal....really just normal teenage stuff that you'd have in if he lived with you more of the time!

Confusedandshaken · 24/06/2021 20:33

The freezer is teeny tiny and jam packed with stuff. Presumably stuff for eating? Let him eat some of that.

My kids were shockers for being in and out at all hours and also bringing friends home with them. Firstly with after school activities, as they were older with parties and clubbing. I loved the hustle and bustle of a full house but as the OP points out, I'm not a personal chef or a short order cook. From early teens onwards if they missed a meal they cooked their own (or heated leftovers) and cleaned up after themselves. Admittedly neither the cooking or the cleaning were done as well as I would have done it but that was a small price to pay.

BruceAndNosh · 24/06/2021 20:44

I thought teenagers existed solely on toast, cereal and Pot Noodles?

YesPleaseMary · 24/06/2021 20:46

Do him a favour OP and turn the WiFi off, remove the batteries in the tv remote until he learns to cook. Get the ingredients, have a recipe ready, set the time aside - you sound like a lovely welcoming person, I think your DSS would appreciate the effort. It is kinder in the long run to instil life skills and confidence, and you aren’t his personal chef! If he’s “not interested” in leaning to cook then you could be “not interested” in feeding him. He’s not three. He’s old enough to learn responsibility.

The thing about not giving notice is bad manners on his part and your DH needs to step up and tell him.

BronwenFrideswide · 24/06/2021 20:51

@Bryonyshcmyony

The level of martyrdom and sacrifice some posters expect the OP to go is shocking

That is a ridiculous over exaggeration 🤣🤣 people are suggesting she makes one extra portion and freezes it, batch cooks and thinks about ways of accommodating him.

If that's martyrdom then as a mother of four teens I must be Joan of bloody Arc!

No, they are not, they are suggesting she makes only the meals he will eats whether she and her dh want to eat that particular meal or not and then if stepson doesn't want it eat the leftovers for lunch herself, so OP only cooks and eats what is deemed acceptable for stepson.

thinks about ways of accommodating him placing it all on the OP's shoulders as if the stepson is some kind of non functioning being. It's perfectly easy to accommodate him all that is required is that he deploys common courtesy and good manners and informs the OP when he is coming over and whether or not he would like food and then sticking to it, hardly an onerous ask is it.

Wearywithteens · 24/06/2021 21:22

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn at the poster's request.

Graphista · 24/06/2021 22:37

@BronwenFrideswide it's so extreme I wonder if it's genuine

Admittedly neither the cooking or the cleaning were done as well as I would have done it but that was a small price to pay.

Well quite! Grin but even me with the ocd was able to put up with that (to a degree - food left out of the fridge/freezer to spoil meant words were had - both from a food safety perspective and a budgetary/food waste one)

Graphista · 24/06/2021 22:40

The misquoting is quite something too from certain posters, at no point has op said the child is unwelcome or that she isn't perfectly happy to cook for him IF she knows he is expecting to eat with them

There is accommodating and there is being a doormat!

she should be kicking her DH’s arse to sort his child out

Again - as if it's that easy! Plus it is not ops responsibility.

The parents in this scenario are behaving appallingly they shouldn't NEED to be told to parent their child! That includes teaching dc basic life skills

billy1966 · 24/06/2021 23:02

@Graphista

It's astonishing the way people extrapolate a request for the basic courtesy of a heads up the lad would like to join them for dinner that the OP is unwelcoming.

The OP is the only person providing food while his two waster parents suit themselves.

But then no doubt she was targeted for her skivvy skills like so many muggins step mothers.

What are the chances of a step dad getting caught in a similar scenario...yea right.

Graphista · 24/06/2021 23:42

Absolutely billy!

Shocking levels of misogyny and criticism towards an op who is doing more for her step child than either parent is

BronwenFrideswide · 25/06/2021 09:19

@Graphista Shocking levels of misogyny and criticism towards an op who is doing more for her step child than either parent is

Agreed.

All the justs as well, all aimed at the OP just doing it and no comprehension that some people don't have the money, time or space to just do it:

Just fill your freezer with food for him
Just batch cook loads of meals for him and freeze them
Just cook extra of every meal for him
Just buy a bigger freezer
Just eat the leftovers for lunch the next day

All firmly on the OP's shoulders, no-one else is expected to do anything.

Bryonyshcmyony · 25/06/2021 09:49

Misogyny means hatred of women. I'm pretty sure posters suggesting the OP keeps a ready meal in the freezer are not demonstrating hatred towards the OP!

ChargingBuck · 25/06/2021 11:54

and thinks about ways of accommodating him ... If that's martyrdom then as a mother of four teens I must be Joan of bloody Arc!

Again, the OP has BEEN "accommodating" him. So I'm not sure why you''re taking this scolding tone @Bryonyshcmyony.

She's the only adult of the 3 who IS bothering to cook the boy's food.
Odd that you focus on how she's getting that wrong, when the father & mother don't even try.

& you skim over the fact that when OP asks for DSS & DH to accommodate her by the simple courtesy of a quick text to let her know who to expect & at what time, the DSS pouts, & the DH tells her "it's no big deal" ... & OP never gets "accommodated".

But yeah, lets keep the guilt piling on. Because OP doesn't have a penis, so despite her full time job, all the accommodation falls to her, & the penis-owners don't even acknowledge her inconvenience, let alone respect her time.

IntermittentParps · 25/06/2021 11:55

I'm pretty sure posters suggesting the OP keeps a ready meal in the freezer are not demonstrating hatred towards the OP!

Anyone coming up with suggestions for what SHE should do as opposed to the kid's father, who also lives in the household, is being maybe not misogynistic but certainly sexist.

ChargingBuck · 25/06/2021 12:02

Misogyny means hatred of women. I'm pretty sure posters suggesting the OP keeps a ready meal in the freezer are not demonstrating hatred towards the OP!

& I'm pretty sure you are oh-so-ingenuously missing the point, @Bryonyshcmyony.

& interestingly, not saying that DH keeps a ready meal in the freezer. For his own son. Whose comings & goings, nutrition & life-skill education he is responsible for.

Bryonyshcmyony · 25/06/2021 12:04

No, you are using the word misogyny when you mean sexist.

ddl1 · 25/06/2021 12:34

I agree with pp: have a few ready meals in the freezer; also perhape fruit, bread and a few things for making sandwiches. Then if he hasn't given advance notice, he can get himself a meal. Also useful for everyone if you can't get out to the shops one day for any reason, or none of you feels like cooking.

ddl1 · 25/06/2021 12:36

It would also be a good idea for dss to learn at least basic cooking, but that's more for his parents to sort out.

LucilleTheVampireBat · 25/06/2021 12:44

@Bryonyshcmyony

Misogyny means hatred of women. I'm pretty sure posters suggesting the OP keeps a ready meal in the freezer are not demonstrating hatred towards the OP!
Of course they are. A 15 page thread which is chock FULL of other women telling OP to be kind, and just do this and just do that, presenting her with these super easy peasy solutions for a problem that isn't hers. Telling her it isn't a big deal. All perpetuating misogyny.

You don't get 15 page threads like this on male dominated forums. Pages and pages of men wringing their hands about feeding their 15 year old stepchildren who can't use ovens (but can use smartphones). No of course not, it's the responsibility of women isn't it. Fuck that noise.

LucilleTheVampireBat · 25/06/2021 12:45

and no, misogyny is the perfect word. It literally means dislike of or contempt of women.

C8H10N4O2 · 25/06/2021 13:54

No OP I'm not trying to be antagonistic but tbh I'm not sure what you want from this thread as you've had loads of practical advice. Hopefully you can find a way that works for all of you

Practical advice? Which almost entirely ignores the OP's own posts.

"get a bigger freezer" - she has neither the space and the money, perhaps she should just cancel the cheque as well.

"just make more" - so she should make 50% extra at every meal, make sure every meal fits his list of allergies and all so that he doesn't have to trouble himself with saying "I'll be home for dinner tonight"?

"teach him to cook" - she has tried, he refuses. She isn't his parent, she can't force the issue. I'm sure you have read the many threads here where step parents are the spawn of evil if they try to insist on anything - she has no authority.

"keep in a ready meal" - a dry one presumably which is fine but part of the problem is that he rocks up, decides he wants what they are eating and then does the sad-face routine.

Cooking for 6 - yes we could always squeeze in a waif or stray and bulk things out a bit. Cooking for 2 and always making 50% extra just in case boy wonder deigns to make an appearance - no its ridiculous.

Its the actual parents who need to step up and as Worra says upthread - if he were a girl and the slacker who was too busy to attend to their child were a woman they would get a much harder time of it.

Graphista · 25/06/2021 14:19

The Oxford English Dictionary revised its definition of "misogyny" back in 2002, changing it from "hatred of women" to "hatred or dislike of, or prejudice against women." And after Ms. Gillard gave her "misogyny" speech in 2012, the editor of Australia's Macquarie Dictionaryry_ acknowledged that their definition was in need of a similar expansion.*

Plus such attitudes DO indicate a deep seated, perhaps unconscious hatred of women I think. Just because you are a woman doesn't mean you can't be a misogynist

All perpetuating misogyny

Exactly

AryaStarkWolf · 25/06/2021 15:32

All these people going on about evil step mothers etc, it's nothing to do with that, I wouldn't accept this lack of courtesy from my own children either (and don't) mine are a teenager and a young adult , if they're not going to be home for dinner they always let me or my DH know so we're not wasting food (besides the odd time here or there when they didn't know they wouldn't be eating until it was too late which is fine every so often) It's teaching them common courtesy, how is that mean or bad? It's not going to help them in later life not to teach them basic manners

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