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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:
misssunshine4040 · 23/06/2021 18:11

@KikiniBamalam

He probably feels unwelcome wherever he goes, he’s 15, this isn’t about food, it’s about (or should be) making him feel welcome. Whether op likes it or not (and all the other cold hearted step parents on here who seem to think they don’t have a responsibility to their step children) he is family. Bloody well cook for him! I can’t believe these replies, some of them do border on abusive and really mean.
Agree with this
Birkie248 · 23/06/2021 18:11

I do have one or two things he can eat if he does turn up unexpected but then i get the sad "oh i really like the look of what you and dad are having" and then i sound spiteful by saying tough, you should have let me know.

Then the answer to this is ok you need to let me know in advance then!

There’s really no need for him to have a melt down if he’s asked to cook a pizza, he can be shown how to wash his uniform too- no need for you to be involved with either of these things. A 15 year old will be quite capable of doing these things if shown I promise you! I knock the dramatic crying on the head and calmly stare you will show him how to do these things - no hysterics required,

Bryonyshcmyony · 23/06/2021 18:13

I'm not sure why he has to tell you when he's coming over either. His dad lives there which makes it his home. I do think you could show him how to cook something but he's an immature 15, not 18. Cut him some slack.

whynotwhatknot · 23/06/2021 18:13

I thinik theyre having you on more so dh-he cant use the internet? How long have you been togehter-what would he if he was single

Sounds like hes teaching his son that women will be there to sort it all out and not to worry

godmum56 · 23/06/2021 18:14

You don't have to say it in a way that makes him cry....just tell him that he is so welcome that you will make sure that there is always something that he can eat in the freezer and because he is so welcome and adult you will let him use the kitchen and show him how to use the cooker/microwave and also of course the dishwasher and the sink....because you want him to feel like this is his home and he's not a visitor.

JackieTheFart · 23/06/2021 18:16

Wow.

Well, from my POV as a stepmum I would set down the following:

  • he’s welcome any time but with no notice he’ll have to forage or have toast
  • if he gives notice then he’ll be catered for
  • if he turns up having eaten and you’ve catered for him, then yes you’ll be annoyed.

PS these were the rules for my stepson but he wasn’t the type to cry or to claim he ‘can’t’ fix himself some food Hmm

He’s not a small child (and even if he was, god my 9 year old could sort himself out with beans on toast!) and he’s manipulating you into feeling sorry for him so you do everything. Your partner is also doing it - no wonder you just capitulate!

Set down some ground rules now, for your own sake.

Briarshollow · 23/06/2021 18:17

Yep. I wonder if they'd have the same attitude towards a teenage girl who claims to not know how to use an oven and threatens meltdowns when asked to feed herself?

Ditto if she had a mum who claimed she couldn't use the internet to help provide the things her daughter needs, yet is too busy to take time off work to physically provide them either.

Quite @WorraLiberty, you can bet there wouldn’t be any of this ‘be kind’ bollocks.

Why should OP be kind to a pair of lazy manipulators just because they have a set of nuts?

JackieTheFart · 23/06/2021 18:18

@Bryonyshcmyony

I'm not sure why he has to tell you when he's coming over either. His dad lives there which makes it his home. I do think you could show him how to cook something but he's an immature 15, not 18. Cut him some slack.
Because otherwise she won’t know to cater for him? It’s literally the topic of the thread Hmm
Bryonyshcmyony · 23/06/2021 18:19

Then get some stuff in if he turns up unexpectedly, or give him some money to get a KFC occasionally. Honestly. It's not hard.

me4real · 23/06/2021 18:26

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

Presumably he'll live by himself in a few years, so him learning to read a packet, turn 2 dials and then fetch the food when ready (he can set an alarm for the time if need be) will actually be helping him.

Same with cooking basic food, spag bol etc.

Even if he has a learning disability he'll still need these skills unless his learning disability is so impairiing he's going to live with his family/in a home for life.

The crocodile tears if you ask him for a perfectly reasonable amount of consideration is just manipulative.

billy1966 · 23/06/2021 18:27

Another step mother being made a right idiot of🙄.

How convenient that you are there to step in for both his mother and father.

And you are a short order cook too.

Tears if you ask for a bit of notice AKA basic courtesy?

Your husband saying you are over reacting?

The same man who doesn't cook or look after his child.

You are a MUG.

@AnneLovesGilbert is right.
Utterly ridiculous.

How convenient for this boys parents that the father married a skivvy/cook/au pair OP.

Hand back care for HIS chil, including cooling IF you have a scrap of self respect for yourself.

🙄

Lulola · 23/06/2021 18:27

I do think you could show him how to cook something but he's an immature 15, not 18.

I am a food teacher, today I had year 5s up at the high school for transition, they had an 80 minute lesson and every child made stir fry. I have a no teacher hand on food rule, one student is blind and managed it, being 15 is not an excuse - regardless of if he is lazy! If he doesn’t learn now, when will he learn? In years to come when his wife kicks him out for being useless?

arethereanyleftatall · 23/06/2021 18:28

@me4real

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

Presumably he'll live by himself in a few years, so him learning to read a packet, turn 2 dials and then fetch the food when ready (he can set an alarm for the time if need be) will actually be helping him.

Same with cooking basic food, spag bol etc.

Even if he has a learning disability he'll still need these skills unless his learning disability is so impairiing he's going to live with his family/in a home for life.

The crocodile tears if you ask him for a perfectly reasonable amount of consideration is just manipulative.

Ah, does he have learning difficulties? I missed that. That makes more sense.
WorraLiberty · 23/06/2021 18:31

I do think you could show him how to cook something but he's an immature 15, not 18.

Really??

You think the OP should teach him how to cook and not his own parents?

twoshedsjackson · 23/06/2021 18:32

If he turns up unexpectedly, and looks wistfully at the food you cooked for yourself and DH, something in the fridge is of course the obvious solution. But if he's hinting, why not suggest to DH that he passes over his yummy plateful, (fresh cutlery, obviously!) and fetches himself something filling but less exciting from the stash in the freezer. I'm sure his DS will appreciate his self-sacrifice and altruism.

WorraLiberty · 23/06/2021 18:32

Ah, does he have learning difficulties? I missed that. That makes more sense.

If he has, the OP hasn't mentioned them?

Bryonyshcmyony · 23/06/2021 18:33

@WorraLiberty

I do think you could show him how to cook something but he's an immature 15, not 18.

Really??

You think the OP should teach him how to cook and not his own parents?

Yes. She's a parent to him.
misssunshine4040 · 23/06/2021 18:35

@WorraLiberty

I do think you could show him how to cook something but he's an immature 15, not 18.

Really??

You think the OP should teach him how to cook and not his own parents?

Yeah why not? She's his step parent what's the problem? Why would you not want to?
CaptSkippy · 23/06/2021 18:35

@BruceAndNosh

Why can't DSS cook for himself? (apart from tiny kitchen) How old is he?
I second this. If hubby doesn't think it's a big deal he can take care of his son's food. He should have been doing that all along anyway.
CanofCant · 23/06/2021 18:36

The OP says she has already tried to show him how to cook but he's not interested, will go watch TV and prefers her to do it.

BeenAsFarAsMercyAndGrand · 23/06/2021 18:40

@NormanStangerson

Jesus Christ. If I were you id be struggling to give a shit here, OP.

A grown man who apparently can’t use the internet and his 15 year old son who claims he can’t even turn on the oven and cries when you ask him to take some responsibility for himself?

They either saw you coming and are having you on or this is most pathetic shit show I’ve come across for a long time.

I agree. How old is your DH? The internet will have been around for his whole adult life, but he just cba to learn how to use it, and as a result you get to do all his life admin.

He really saw you coming.

Naunet · 23/06/2021 18:40

Yep. I wonder if they'd have the same attitude towards a teenage girl who claims to not know how to use an oven and threatens meltdowns when asked to feed herself?

Ditto if she had a mum who claimed she couldn't use the internet to help provide the things her daughter needs, yet is too busy to take time off work to physically provide them either

Absolutely this. He’s being raised to believe women exist to skivvy for him and deserve no respect. Don’t we have enough men like that already?

WorraLiberty · 23/06/2021 18:41

Well in this case the reason I'd not want to is because this teenager (in the OP's own words) Is likely to have a full on meltdown if told to cook for himself.

I would gladly assist both parents by continuing the cooking lessons they insist their teenager has with them, but the responsibility for making sure this starts in the first place is theirs as parents.

But all while the OP is picking up from their slack parenting, it sounds like they're happy to let her and that's not on.

There are 3 adults in this teenager's life - not just the OP.

Birkie248 · 23/06/2021 18:42

@CanofCant

The OP says she has already tried to show him how to cook but he's not interested, will go watch TV and prefers her to do it.
Ha ha ha, if anyone accepts this as an excuse from teenagers then frankly they’re being treated as a MUG. My teenage boys would obviously prefer me to do all their cooking, washing, snack preparing, room tidying etc etc, so they don’t have to lift a finger, but part of being a responsible parent is equipping them with these life skills to look after themselves!!
MyAnacondaMight · 23/06/2021 18:42

If he asks for dinner and then doesn’t want it: meal goes in freezer for next time. If he shows up for dinner and hasn’t told you: he eats the freezer meal, or eats your husband’s meal and your husband can cook something else/eat the freezer meal.

This way only inconveniences you a little, doesn’t take up loads of freezer space, and has consequences for both husband and step son.