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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Kids don't need a hot afternoon meal in this weather. AIBU?

191 replies

MeltingFlamenco · 21/07/2021 17:36

DSC are here for tea after school. I have two little ones of my own here too.

I have heat exhaustion and the place is a furnace which I've been trying to cool down all day. It's an open plan living/dining/kitchen area so no escaping the heat from cooking unless you sod off into a bedroom.

OH insists we must make a hot meal, well multiple meals as they won't all eat the same thing.

I think sandwiches, crisps, sausage rolls etc would suffice just this once - DSC have had a hot meal at school so aren't going to be malnourished.

AIBU?

OP posts:
DontBiteTheBoobThatFeedsYou · 21/07/2021 21:09

I knew you were going to say you were pregnant.
It's so much harder to bear when you're pregnant.

My kids LOVE the excuse for a "lunch like" dinner and leap at it on the rare occasions it happens.

As you can see from the voting YANBU!

rantymcrantface66 · 21/07/2021 21:12

Most modern ovens don't get hot to touch on the outside let alone heat the entire open plan room. Mine isn't one of those it's 25 years old and doesn't even close properly but still doesn't make a marked difference to my small kitchen temp. Your idea for tea was perfect and not unreasonable at all but if he wants to go ahead and cook because of his fixed ideas then that's up to him and you can excuse yourself.

TurquoiseDragon · 21/07/2021 21:14

I bunged a chicken in to roast today. It's there for me and the DC to pick at. DD has had sandwiches, DS just wanted the drumsticks, and I made a big bowl of salad to go with some of it. We've all lost our appetites in this heat. I've stocked up on food for sandwiches and salads this week, kids can make ttheir own food when they want it. (They are 21 and 17, if anyone is worried about small kids fending for themselves.)

I'm wondering what MN people on this thread consider warm/hot weather. 25-30c is warm. Anything over that is hot. I get the distinct feeling that UK peeps think anything over 20c is hot. (It really isn't). That's just warm

How patronising.

How we feel about heat is relative and whether it's "hot" depends entirely on the climate we are used to living in. Here in Britain, we generally have much cooler temperatures, so anything above about 24C is hot. Plus, the humidity can knock me for six.

I cope very well in cold weather, something a Spanish friend of mine has struggled with, as it's colder than she's used to in winter.

Delphigirl · 21/07/2021 21:31

We’ve been living on gazpacho out of a carton (highly recommend by the way), pitta bread and ham, salad fruit and ice lollies this week. Nobody has complained (or died of malnutrition)

PumpkinPie2016 · 21/07/2021 21:37

YANBU there is no law that says one must have a hot meal in the evening.

We haven't had hot meals all week as it's been too hot.

We're still alive Grin

AliceMcK · 21/07/2021 21:42

Havnt read the whole thread, but for the record my DCs had a hot meal tonight. I worked very hard switching my iPad on and ordering burgers, nuggets and chips from a local takeaway. They finished it off with there homemade ice pops they have been making all week with their poppets.

Ozberry · 21/07/2021 21:46

He’s mad! Who wants to cook on a day like today? Salad, quiche, pork pies... perfect

PickUpAPepper · 21/07/2021 21:53

Heat exhaustion isn't fun, if you seriously meant you have that. I've only just managed to get rid of my headache and slight nausea.
Get in a cool shower and ignore everyone else for a bit. And have ice pops if you've got them.

Youdiditanyway · 21/07/2021 22:18

I have this too, I didn’t know it was an actual condition until I googled it this week. I always start feeling sick and lightheaded when it’s too hot, it isn’t fun at all.

Hot meals are unnecessary in this heat, your idea sounded absolutely fine.

RandomUsernameHere · 21/07/2021 22:18

YANBU. I don't understand your OH's thinking here. Hot food isn't necessarily more nutritious than cold food!

Benjispruce5 · 21/07/2021 22:39

Boil kettle, pour over cous cous, toss with tinned sweetcorn, tuna and , saladand serve with crusty bread/ pita. Fruit salad with yoghurt after.

Twillow · 21/07/2021 22:51

Maybe next time suggest a takeaway, at least that way the oven wouldnt be on. I love a picky tea! We've been eating cold all week.

MrsFlinch · 21/07/2021 22:51

Most modern ovens don't get hot to touch on the outside let alone heat the entire open plan room

I decided to “cook” for dinner yesterday when the thunderstorms hit. My oven is only 5 years old and does get hot to touch! Biggest mistake ever!

My kitchen and the rest of my house was ridiculously hot last night. (30+ degrees upstairs!) We’d been doing an ok job of cooling it down enough to sleep. But last night the heat built up so much that it just didn’t go anywhere when I opened all the windows!

Its not a small house but the amount of heat that my oven generated was unbelievable. Didn’t cook today and the difference in the heat level indoors is apparent so definitely caused by the oven.

LeighannHeywood · 21/07/2021 23:12

hey to other mums.
i have a 19 month year old and all i can say is this heat is too hot for us yet alone our kids. any advise on how to keep him cool through out the day???

Haffiana · 21/07/2021 23:17

@rantymcrantface66

Most modern ovens don't get hot to touch on the outside let alone heat the entire open plan room. Mine isn't one of those it's 25 years old and doesn't even close properly but still doesn't make a marked difference to my small kitchen temp. Your idea for tea was perfect and not unreasonable at all but if he wants to go ahead and cook because of his fixed ideas then that's up to him and you can excuse yourself.
It doesn't matter whether or not they get hot to touch on the outside. The heat has to go somewhere - it cannot just vanish. Unless your oven miraculously circumvents the Laws of Thermodynamics or vents to the outside, the excess heat will raise the temperature in the room.
ErrolTheDragon · 21/07/2021 23:26

It doesn't matter whether or not they get hot to touch on the outside. The heat has to go somewhere - it cannot just vanish. Unless your oven miraculously circumvents the Laws of Thermodynamics or vents to the outside, the excess heat will raise the temperature in the room.

True - but one which gets perceptibly hot on the outside must be losing heat faster from the inside and so will need more energy put into it and so will raise the room temperature more than the 'cool' one.

rantymcrantface66 · 21/07/2021 23:26

It doesn't matter whether or not they get hot to touch on the outside. The heat has to go somewhere - it cannot just vanish. Unless your oven miraculously circumvents the Laws of Thermodynamics or vents to the outside, the excess heat will raise the temperature in the room.
As I said mine does get hot and leaks air but between open windows and extractor fans i assume that's where most of the heat goes. My tumble dryer noticeably heats the room but never the oven

ErrolTheDragon · 21/07/2021 23:27

But anyway, the OPs DH is an eejit to insist on hot food.

Skiptheheartsandflowers · 21/07/2021 23:48

Take a hammer to the oven when he next leaves the house, OP. It's the only way to be sure.

I've now decided I will not be cooking anything again for the duration of the heatwave. Cereal or salad (fruit or savoury) it is.

omgthepain · 22/07/2021 00:21

Omg he sounds like a fruitcake
I'd be running for the hills!

Doodlebug71 · 22/07/2021 00:40

[quote SpeckledlyHen]@doodlebug71 "I'm wondering what MN people on this thread consider warm/hot weather. 25-30c is warm. Anything over that is hot. I get the distinct feeling that UK peeps think anything over 20c is hot. (It really isn't). That's just warm"

Oh I thank you so much for pointing this out. I never realised. I have been sweating my arse off, the dogs are struggling and my poor kids are besides themselves at night due to the heat, but I will remind them all tomorrow that it is just "warm"[/quote]
You are most welcome Grin

AlwaysLatte · 22/07/2021 00:41

Sounds fine! Herd them out into the garden with the sprinkler!

Doodlebug71 · 22/07/2021 00:43

@LeighannHeywood

hey to other mums. i have a 19 month year old and all i can say is this heat is too hot for us yet alone our kids. any advise on how to keep him cool through out the day???
We found that when the kids are that age, a garden sprinkler works wonders. No paddling pool to fill/clean/empty. The kid/s can cool down under the sprinkler, think it's a great lark, and when they're done, all you need is to towel the kid/s down. Or leave them to air dry, if possible. A small ice cream/lolly from Lidl works wonders for the ice cream bit.
Doodlebug71 · 22/07/2021 00:45

@AlwaysLatte

Sounds fine! Herd them out into the garden with the sprinkler!
I think we both posted at the same time. We used sprinkler to cool kids down. Kids love it, and it helps th egarden, too.
Doodlebug71 · 22/07/2021 00:49

@Ifitquacks

I'm wondering what MN people on this thread consider warm/hot weather. 25-30c is warm. Anything over that is hot. I get the distinct feeling that UK peeps think anything over 20c is hot. (It really isn't). That's just warm

Is that from the book called ‘the universal truth about what temperature constitutes ‘hot’’ or is that just your opinion?
I spent many years living in Madrid, where is gets really really hot in the summer.
It is 30 degrees where I now live (U.K.) today. It’s still hot. If other people are hot at 25 degrees, telling them it’s just ‘warm’ doesn’t change how hot they feel, or change whether they want a hot meal or not 🤷🏻‍♀️

It's somewhere between the temps shown in this link, and the ones me and my friends live with. They used to laugh at me when I thought 30c was hot. 40c is hot. 30c is warm... Wink

thinkmetric.uk/basics/temperature/