To ban cooking for teenage boys

[Boysfood]

I have 3 teen ds 15,17 and 19.

They cook all the time. Breakfast lunch , I make dinner they then cook in evenings and when getting home. My electric bill is too high.

I’ve asked them to have cereal or toast or instant porridge etc for breakfast. Sandwiches etc for lunch and snacks to be something that doesn’t need cooking. We always have these type of things available but they ignore me and start cooking. I can’t remove the oven etc and they often do this when I’m out or in bed. Only 19 year old works so I can charge him more rent to cover his share but others still in education and I don’t know what to do .

My daughter is a bit like this but I wouldn't tell her to stop, she just seems to need lots of food so is often cooking pasta etc. she seems to burn off her food like anything

I would be thankful they are capable of cooking and not ordering takeaways or buying junk

Personally I’m not convinced the cost of turning on an oven is anywhere near what you seem to think.

Bloody hell @Boysfood you need to pull rank on this. Your house, you pay the bills, they do as you tell them. There’s no negotiation here, you are in charge.

Anyone who doesn’t tow the line faces consequences. You will know how to hit them best. Don’t dilly dally about letting them get away with it for another single second.

Good for them!

You seem to have the dream, OP, three teenagers sorting their own meals out. I can’t believe you’d reduce their pocket money over this. The youngest is 15, that ship has sailed. They’re clearly responsible, so it’s time for a family chat over how bills work, the price of electricity, and a plan made together of how to tackle it.

Or one day, they’ll stop ignoring you, never cook for themselves and then you’ll be running a small bnb.

You'd seriously do that? No wonder some children leave as soon as possible.

This is insane. Get an air fryer and cop yourself on. Fair play to them.for cooking and baking

Only my 15 year old is sporty. None of them are overweight or anything

So they need the calories. Stop trying to control what they eat!

So they buy the food and you begrudge them the few pennies it costs to cook sausages or pasta?

You seem more upset about being ignored as you’ve repeated that bit a few times. I think you’re being unreasonable wanting to control what they eat. What’s wrong with cooking pasta? It’s a good filler and they are growing. Boys with healthy appetites isn’t something to be getting annoyed about. The amount of electric/ gas the three of them will use with every other daily activity like baths, showers etc, their cooking can’t be the biggest drain on your electricity bill.

It does worry me how much processed meat they buy and cook. Sausages and bacon all
the time

Yes it does feel very disrespectful the way they’ll just do it regardless.

You sound very controlling sorry. You can’t control what people eat.

Most teenage boys I know tend to eat out of chicken and kebab shops frequently, so at least there's that.

Wanting hot food in the winter is not unreasonable. And them being able to cook is better than them not being able to cook. Don't moan!

Manage it instead. Buy catering bags of fusili and catering tubs of tomato sauce. My ds is home all this week and I've put sausage rolls & Cornish pasties in the freezer, a dozen cans of beans, two loaves of fresh made wholemeal bread, large potatoes and tubs of pasta sauce portioned up for him to cook. Cheese, ham, fruit. That's just for one. He's 17, growing fast and hungry. Revising for maths a'level. He can't help it.

Asking them to eat avocado won't work, they need more protein, more calories, more fibre. Having three teen boys will cost a lot no matter what you do. They eat vast amounts of food at this stage.
Mine eats constantly, is 6'1' and has a 27 " waist. There's no flesh on him despite the mountain of food. That's just how some boys are.

But if they are regularly cooking meals after you clearly aren’t giving them enough food. The fact that they go out as teenagers and buy the food to supplement their dinners is crazy.

Make up your mind. What are you actually stressing about? It's just because they won't do what you want isn't it?

You need to get them into pre planning, eg If there's a lot of pasta being made, encourage one of them to put however much pasta they all want that day in a pan and pour boiling water over, put the lid on then leave for a few hours it really cuts down the time needed on the hob. What about a slow cooker and they can prepare dump bags there's lots of easy quick recipes you could put together and refrigerate or freeze until required then just stick it in the slow cooker in the morning and leave it going.

They aren’t asking you to eat it. They aren’t even asking you to buy it. Worry all you like but you can’t control what people eat.

Why would a fiver worth of avocados for avocado toast for 3 teenage lads be cheaper than using the hob for 10 minutes?

But it’s not your body. You can’t control what people eat. Surely you must realise the sort of replies you would be getting if you were a dad wanting to control what your daughter ate? You’d be torn to shreds on here. Honestly I think a large part of this is probably more a you problem than a them problem.

It feels like you are determined to attribute malice to your kids, who are cooking themselves food, which they bought, in their own home.

Or prepare it.

Could you persuade them to cook for each other rather than separately for themselves? That might cut down the cost.