Little ones making their own food and drinks?

[Hunneybeez]

My 7 year old relys on me (or dad or nana etc) to prepare all his food and drinks. This might be completely normal, I don't know.

My oldish memory struggles to recall at what age I was successfully making my own cereal, sandwiches and other easy snacks/meals. My earliest memory of making a jacket potato is approx. 12 years old but that's not to say I didn't do it earlier, I just can't remember.

Don't misunderstand me. I'm a happy mammy when I'm preparing dinner for the family as I throughly enjoy cooking but I don't want to raise a sloth. My husbands mother did everything for him right until he moved out and for 4 years until we met, he lived on micro meals and store bought sandwiches!! Some might argue that's just men for you but he admits it was because he never had to do anything before and felt too long in the tooth the learn (that sharp changed when we moved in together and he's now a very confident cooker and enjoys sharing the cooking responsibilities) but I digress.

I've tried to encourage my son to join me in the kitchen while I prepare dinner, help with washing the veg, mixing the salad, stirring the soup etc. to get him used to the kitchen and all that comes with it but he's not interested at all. I half wonder if it's because I don't let him loose but I'm still weary at the idea of him around hot pans and sharp knives.

Do you allow your children to make snacks or easy lunches, such as sandwiches, for themselves? What age did you allow it?

Drinks too. He made his own juice yesterday and when I checked the bottle he'd used a good quarter of the bottle!! Thankfully it wasn't the double concentrate stuff but i could just imagine the strength of the stuff making its way through his system! Any tips or advice would be appreciated :)

DS (5) can get his own cereal and drinks and helps out in a not very helpful way with other stuff. He can't spread butter very well, but that's because it is proper butter, so quite hard -he'll probably manage in the summer when it is softer.

DD (8) can also make toast, porridge (in the microwave, not on the job) and hot chocolate.

And sandwiches.

The thing is that they start off with lots of enthusiasm and not much skill, but if you help them along and show them what to do, they are still enthusiastic and become more skilled.
If you hover and fuss or get stressed at them doing things that aren't your way, they give up and leave you to it. We had many minor mishaps, and occasionally still do, but that's how independence and learning go in most things.