Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

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:
AnneLovesGilbert · 23/06/2021 15:41

Why the fuck is a 15 year old, who’s capable of buying himself KFC, crying at being asked for a tiny bit of consideration to others?

That’s either really pathetic or extremely concerning.

Why are you ordering him everything he needs? He’s being treated like a toddler. How much parenting does his dad actually do? And at 15 why can’t he be at home by himself for a bit? At 15 I was regularly looking after 3 younger siblings and being paid good money to babysit babies and toddlers.

Notimeforaname · 23/06/2021 15:41

Its literally that simple. He's hardly going to drop to the floor and scream because you tell him to open the box and turn the oven on ..?

Goingplacestogether · 23/06/2021 15:41

I think this is standard teen behaviour, irrespective of him being a stepson.

PinusSylvestris · 23/06/2021 15:41

They do get hungry very often in the teen years.
He can definitely start to communicate more clearly and you can set that expectation but the reality is he will likely miss the mark while learning to be more responsible: when that happens perhaps let him get takeaway, perhaps he could learn to make/ heat up something simple for himself? I wouldn't have this as a hard boundary but a work in progress.

I keep what I think of as teenage "extra" food in the house: bread in freezer, eggs in fridge, beans in the cupboard, microwave rice, noodles which they can help themselves to. It's trickier with perishable food if he's not there at fixed times.

cupsofcoffee · 23/06/2021 15:42

Just keep a stash of frozen pizzas or microwaveable ready meals on hand for him.

I'm sure he'll figure out how to use an oven if that's the only way he gets fed.

luxxlisbon · 23/06/2021 15:42

This really isn’t that big of a deal, have some semi healthy frozen meals in the freezer or a few stand by pizzas and he can stick that on himself if he comes over around dinner time with no warning. I’m sure it wouldn’t bother him.

prettymushrooms · 23/06/2021 15:43

@longwayoff

You don't have much experience with teens do you? This is only an issue if you choose to make it one. Freeze some food for him. If he doesn't like it let him get KFC OR whatever.
No i don't - i don't have any nieces/nephews/siblings

DH keeps telling me i MUST have been like it when i was a teenager but i really really wasn't - we lived in the back of beyond, i never went to mates houses after school and there was no KFC/Mcdonalds for miles and miles - i ate what my mum cooked, there was no alternative option

It's probably why I find it so hard that DSS is like it.

OP posts:
KateTheEighth · 23/06/2021 15:43

I think you need to explain to him that if he wants to eat with you he has to give you more notice

He's old enough to understand that

If he doesn't give you notice he has chicken nuggets or whatever from the freezer

If my teens are out with friends and say they won't be back in time to eat with us then I don't cook for them. If they are home early then they make something for themselves

It's annoying for you but there is a compromise in there

Kjr33 · 23/06/2021 15:43

Bit standard teenager this. I’d just have some simple stuff he can have on standby, cereals/tinned food/microwave stuff and if he can have a bit of what you and dh are having that’s great and if he is still hungry he can have something on toast or whatever after.

Crazycakelady17 · 23/06/2021 15:43

I have a 16 year old boy so feel your pain OP they can be so fickle
It was getting like this for us until I snapped and didn’t make him a meal when he said he was out but turned up with two mates expecting them to be fed
They ended up with cup a soup he didn’t make that mistake again!
He can cook basic things like omelette bacon butty etc he’s off to uni next year he will learnt he hard was as has DS1 19

motogogo · 23/06/2021 15:44

Yes it's hard but his life with his mum doesn't sound the easiest. Whilst warning is good, can't you just freeze food when you have extra, and then you have something when he turns up unexpectedly. I got 2 hours notice last week, I already had shopped (had enough meat thankfully) so she had to make do with picking out the bits she doesn't like, I cook willingly but don't pander to the long list of don't likes (no allergies).

Notimeforaname · 23/06/2021 15:46

Just tell him to put the thing in the oven/microwave. I don't understand why he cant be told this?

Shoxfordian · 23/06/2021 15:46

It sounds like you should have some standbys in the freezer and/or order him a takeaway

It also sounds like this is your dh problem to solve

fishonabicycle · 23/06/2021 15:46

Few ready meals/pizzas in freezer. Show him how to work oven/microwave. If you get notice/have enough food do enough for him, otherwise freezer. I do this with my son and have done for years. Teens are all over the place!

Akire · 23/06/2021 15:47

If he lets you know he’s coming you can cook or else he have take risk that you have something he can’t eat and it’s something from fridge or fridge. He does need to learn to cook but should be able sort himself basic food if you have already eaten. Frozen jackets, eggs toast, pasta etc I wouldn’t be worrying about having perfectly balanced meal on a plate. Or worry about if he’s not having exactly same meal as you that it looks like you are not being welcoming.

TheSunShinesBrighter · 23/06/2021 15:47

Cook one meal. Enough for all of you.
Have pizza, fish fingers, chips etc. in the freezer as back up.
If DSS has already eaten & doesn’t want the meal you’ve cooked put the leftovers in the fridge & serve them up for DH or yourself the next day.
If DSS gets hungry after you and DH have eaten, tell him he can eat what you prepared for all of you (reheated) or have a pizza out of the freezer.

In other words, family meal (fresh or reheated) or frozen crap.

WorraLiberty · 23/06/2021 15:47

15 FFS and no-one in his life has taught him how to simply operate the oven 🙄

Also....

DH self employed works very very long hours - sometimes depending on how big the job won't get home until 10pm.

I'm seeing this ^^ time and time again on Mumsnet. If you have dependent children, you can only afford to work massively long hours if you have a mug someone to step in and take care of them for you during your long absences.

Conveniently for both of his parents, that appears to have been delegated to you. How happy are you about this?

BarbaraofSeville · 23/06/2021 15:48

If you cook for him and then he doesn't eat it for whatever reason, either freeze, or serve to DH/you in the next day or two. Anything that goes in the freezer is then available next time he needs feeding unexpectedly - bolognese or chilli is good for this. Then it only takes 10 mins to do some fresh rice or pasta.

Unless he has SENs he can put a pizza in the oven, warm up a frozen chilli (see above - a lot of the difficulties can be overcome by keeping a frozen pizza or two and some leftovers in the freezer) or do eggs/beans on toast or similar. That's not cooking, but he should be learning to cook for himself by now anyway. If not, point him in the direction of Marcus Rashford and Tom Kerridge. They're currently teaching non cooks to cook - that should be perfect for him.

While he may not have had the best start in life, he really does need to be learning some independence and not making all these difficulties for you to deal with.

JollyAndBright · 23/06/2021 15:48

My DS is 14,
He is more than capable of cooking basic things.
Pasta, omelette, eggs, baked potatoes, any kind of oven food such as pizza or a burger and chips.
He’s recently been learning to make bolognese.

We bought him a cook book for teenagers a year or so ago, it’s got some great basic recipes that he doesn’t need much help to follow, maybe you should try to do the same for your DSS.

But an immediate solution to your problem would be to batch cool some meals for your DSS, tell him if he gives you notice he is coming he can have something fresh cooked, otherwise it will be something reheated out of the freezer. Simple.

prettymushrooms · 23/06/2021 15:48

@AnneLovesGilbert

Why the fuck is a 15 year old, who’s capable of buying himself KFC, crying at being asked for a tiny bit of consideration to others?

That’s either really pathetic or extremely concerning.

Why are you ordering him everything he needs? He’s being treated like a toddler. How much parenting does his dad actually do? And at 15 why can’t he be at home by himself for a bit? At 15 I was regularly looking after 3 younger siblings and being paid good money to babysit babies and toddlers.

DH doesn't know how to use the internet (yes i know you probably are thinking BS in this day in age but he doesn't even have a smart phone!) so anything he needs for school or a new phone charger or just anything he needs I am generally the one that will order it online for him.

and yes my point exactly - he can order himself a takeaway online, go to KFC with his mates but gets all teary if i ask him for notice.

He is very very immature for his age - at least I think so, again I have no experience of teenagers so don't know if this is all normal!
He stays at home by himself in the afternoon/early evening -he has to when he goes to his mums as she's not there after school but he doesn't like being on his own at night, i think he watched too many horror films and thinks someones going to break in.

OP posts:
MarcelineMissouri · 23/06/2021 15:49

If your dh is home then it’s his problem to sort.

If dh isn’t home and you haven’t had any notice then he can make himself toast/sandwich/learn how to cook an oven pizza and if he complains then just say he needs to let you know in advance if he wants something more substantial.

lalafafa · 23/06/2021 15:49

you need a stash of ready meals in the fridge, show him how to use the oven ffs. say to him if he doesn't give you enough notice he has to sort himself out, if he doesn't let him starve!

BarbaraofSeville · 23/06/2021 15:50

nope, he honestly does not know how to use an oven

Does he have a mobile phone? If he can work that, he can work an oven. He can even use his mobile phone to google how to use an oven.

TheSunShinesBrighter · 23/06/2021 15:50

As for not being able to use an oven... it’s time he learnt.

LookItsMeAgain · 23/06/2021 15:51

@prettymushrooms

sorry i thought i'd mentioned that, he's 15 so not a little kid! he can't cook because he doesn't know how I have tried involving him in cooking before but he's not interested he'd rather go watch TV
You have to show him how to prepare his meals if he isn't going to give you enough time to cook ahead for him. Also, if he says he is coming and he's going to eat with you and then eats with his mates, you put whatever you prepared for him into a suitable freezer safe container so that he can reheat it the next time he visits. Don't waste the food because he's being a teenager and eating with his friends. Lastly - I wouldn't be big on eating fast food like KFC if I had a food allergy. Is he sure that what he selected from the menu is ok to eat with his allergy?