At what age do you think its reasonable to teach a child to use a kettle?

[GrimmaTheNome]

Simple enough question... DH and I seem to have significantly different opinions.

DD is nearly 10, and, having seen younger friends making tea, asked if she could. It seemed reasonable enough to me so I was supervising when DH came in and had a fit. He's just brought it up again - made me swear she won't be doing it again. There's no point arguing when he goes off in HSE mode. But at some point DD will have to master this simple skill.

Obviously it depends on both the size of the child and the kettle, but what would you say are (a) the youngest you'd contemplate your child making tea, and (b) the upper age by which they definitely ought to be able to do this.

my ds had a sleepover on his 8th birthday and we taught him how to make us a cup of tea for us in the morning as his treat! He doesn't do it very oftern sadly.

I think it's a bit of an individual thing. My ds1 makes toast for everyone who will eat the stuff , but has no interest in doing tea - he's 8yo at new year
On the other hand, wild horses won't be able to keep my ds2 away from the kettle and teapot for another whole year, and he's just 5 - he can't cope without his (large) daily quota of tea. I'm introducing it to him now and he does all except the "boiling bit" of pouring hot water into the teapot. He does pour the tea from teapot to cup, with huge amounts of supervision. Thing is - the motivation and need is there with him, so I'm convinced he'd be tempted to do it on his own sooner or later, so would much rather teach him to do it safely now. Figure out what the 'risk' is of your child doing it, then make your mind up at what stage you think it's best?

never drink hot drinks at home so no idea, but my 6yo makes his own toast - well he did until he burnt himself getting it out the otehr week and now he refuses to go near, so he has bread instead live and learn!

When she's strong enough to lift the kettle safely. Which will depend on the child, but I would have thought that was well old enough.

DD does some basic cooking on the hob, at six, and is very sensible when she does so. But she's not strong enough to lift a hot kettle safely, nor to deal with anything in the oven, so those are a no-no for now.

cooking is easier than dealing with boiling liquids in heavy pans or kettles esp draining into colanders.
My just 7 yr old is capable and careful but quite difficult to control tipping heavy kettle and resulting scald not worth it and older ones were allowedat about 10 or so.

occupational therapist told my son he should be capable at 6! he isn't though

DD 13 has just started to make tea. She never wanted to before. I have bought a new kettle which is easy to fill. Before we used the elec rings on the hob but she always forgot to turn them off.

She's old enough now and your husband is being ridiculous.

Reminds me of a friend I had. I took her to the pub aged 19 (as we both were) and my dad asked me to "Keep her safe".
We got back to hers at about 1am to find beds made up in her room, and her dad STILL UP to make sure we were in and weren't in need of anything. He cooked us some supper (against my pleas).

I was a child of "Well? You know where it is!" upbringing, and I found his behavior clingy and bizarre.

My friend stayed at mine a few times after that, but I suspect her parents put a stop to it when her dad rang and asked how she was, and where she was, to be met with a polite but incredulous "Goodness me, Mr X, they are nineteen, they could be in France for all I know. It wouldn't be the first time Colditz has left the country without telling me!"

My point was, this girl couldn't use a map, couldn't read a train time table, didn't know who her BANK was, couldn't make a cup of tea, had certainly never cooked anything apart from closely supervised fairy cakes, and although she was a pleasant and sweet girl, she had got to 19 years of age and learned NOTHING she needed to know. She had no self esteem because her parents were always stopping her doing things that she knew deep down she could do. And in the end I stopped hanging round with her because I got sick of looking after her, which was sad...

Soory, HER dad, not mine!

My DD 9 makes tea, helps cook dinner and has learned to use a sharp knife responsibly. My DH thinks I am mad. I have my heart in my mouth any time she does any of this, but she is pretty responsible and careful and asks for help when she needs it.

Twins are 9 and have been making tea since 8. They are now capable of making Fabulous Tea

Dd1 is 13 and can cook most things unsupervised, especially cakes.
I'm in heaven, tea and cake without having to leave the sofa

My dd is 10. I guess she'd probably be ok, but I haven't really gone out of my way to have her do it.

I was burned very badly (as an adult) by water from a kettle. It was an accident, but even so they make me nervous...

My 11 year old just made me a lovely cuppa .

My boys are 9 and 11, and can both make me a cup of coffee entirely unsupervised.

I guess they probably started doing this at age 7 or 8.

You just have to teach them carefully and show them how to do it safely, and supervise closely initially.

A big, heavy kettle full of boiling water is dangerous. But if you just boil enough for a couple of cups of tea/coffee, it's easy enough to handle safely if shown how to be careful.

It's interesting what Colditz and others say about self-esteem. Sometimes I come home from work and just collapse in an exhausted heap on the sofa. It is fantastic for me if one of the boys says "Oh mum, you do look tired. Do you want me to make you a cup of coffee?" But it is also good for them. It is something they can genuinely do for me, it makes them feel proud and confident, and it makes us all feel a lot better.

10-11 years here. I would never have forgiven myself (nor would the doc at A&E !!) if my ds ever burnt himself using boiling water.

DS2 is almost 8 and has just started to use the kettle. The first few times I watched him do it and now I am quite confident he can do it on his own. I think it depends on your child really, but I think if DD is 10 it is quite a reasonable age to expect her to be able to do it.

Wow Custy that is quite an achievement! I have just started to let DD1 help with the ironing I am still unconvinced it is good but she soooooooo want to do it!

DD2 is 11 and stil likes her elder sister or one of us to watch her when she pours the kettle. But she can whip up a batch of fairy cakes or a fruit crumble with no supervision at all. So I think it really does depend on the child.

Dd1 13 gets paid 20p an item for ironing and makes cups of tea for free!

dd was 7 when she was very competently making tea; at 11 she was changing nappies on ds3 and about 13 when left to babysit. But then she is very competent at just about everything.

ds1 is very competent too and was a similar age. However, ds2 was a little older but is getting there.

my ex 3yr old charge is a really good fairy cake/cookie decorator!

she helps with all the mixing, and can crack and whisk an egg... obviously she can't do the baking (or use a kettle ) but she drags a chair over to the worktop, shoves me out of the way, mixes up the icing, evenly distributes it and decorates pretty well considering!
she also mashes potatoes and helps me to coat fish/chicken strips with egg+breadcrumbs etc

I think it depends on not only the child, but also the fact that allowing a child to take charge of the simple things will make them feel all grown up and good about themselves

I do think it depends on the child, but all children are capable the basics at a younger age than many get chance to these days.

Remember at age 8 or 9 they might be keen and willing to learn; if you wait til they are a grumpy hormonal teenager you might have a fight on your hands!

My boys (9 and 11) can (and regularly do) load/unload and programme the washing machine, dishwasher and tumble drier and have been able to since they were very young. They can also dust, hoover, empty litter bins, sweep up (not too good at that actually), mop (tends to be wetter then necessary), etc.

I always said they would be able to iron presentably before they started secondary, but ds1 (11) is truly hopeless on anything except hankies and teatowels: so I failed on that one.

8/9 in our house

depends on the kiddy, yes. Can't come quick enough as far as am concerned. dd is 6.