Food for 2 weeks for lazy 18 year old!

mae

Atomised wrote: »

He is 18 and should be able to feed and water himself for two weeks! Remember - he will be some poor woman's bloke one day so it is time to start training him.
I'd leave him some stir fry veg , eggs , bread in the freezer , beans , oven chips , pasta , tomato puree , cheese , bacon and chicken , cereal etc and leave him to it.
Some money in case of an emergency is ok as if he hasn't been expected to look after himself up until now , this will be a shock to his system...remember to chub his cheeks before you leave and leave directions to the local Tesco's:p

Can I gloat and reveal that aged 13 I knew how to make pastry and cakes etc?! I'm actually quite proud:o

Yes I agree that is why I am not going to make it easy for the bone idle angel :rolleyes:

Yes there are relatives close by who will have some emergency money just in case but whatever I decide to do (money or get the basic food in for him) he shouldn't need any emergency money really.

You should be proud, I can't make pastry even now

mae

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

Sorry to be blunt, but how has your son got to the age of 18 and isn't able to do basic things for himself Mine are 16 and 14 and can:

• cook a basic meal for the family
• go to the Co-op to buy provisions for a meal
• make pies, cakes, biscuits
• mow the lawn
• look after the chooks
• do basic maintenance jobs - change fuse or plug, sew on a button, etc
• clean up and tidy away after themselves
• loads more to think of atm

I have to thank Guides and Scouts hor helping me in this (they're both Explorer Scouts now :T )

You say your 18yo is "on holiday". That implies he's a student about to go to university. How will he cope there

I'd give him £2 for each day you're away, a basic cook book, and if he spends it on noodles and beer, that's his look-out If he wants more money than that I'd offer it in exchange for keeping the garden and house tidy.

Penny. x

If you read my posts again he CAN do basic things for himself he is just LAZY :rolleyes: hence my post.

As for what your sons can do well my son

• Irons all his own clothes
• Strips and puts his own bedding back on
• Sorts his own clothes into colours ready for washing
• Knows how to put the washing machine on
• Tidies his own room
• He can cook (but chooses not to now he is 18 )

He cannot do anything manual in the house like mow the lawn, change a plug etc as he is literally like Mr Bean :eek: so coupled with him having no interest to do these things and the sheer panic from us if we tried to make him it wasn't worth it :rotfl:

So its not about us molly coddling him all his life and now being annoyed that he can't do things its about us always encouraging him to work and always teaching how to live life and look after himself and HIM CHOOSING to do everything the easy way and me thinking well do it that way but don't expect me to pay for your life your cheeky lazy darling child :cool:

mae

ubamother wrote: »

OK - I'll be the first to admit it - my initial reactions - let him earn some money, make him get off his backside blah blah blah. Then I realised, that awful turning point has come - I have turned into my mother. AAAAAARRRGH.

He's 18 - for boys I'd say that's a girl age of about 15.

Many 18 year old boys (and 15 yr old girls) generally flollop around being pathetic - they aren't only this way because we made them this way - they are this way because they are.

OP - please don't think that all around have happy smiling unlazy active - my daughter was soooo like this but slightly earlier (see above) and returned to her lovely active funny self in the goodness of time. And yes, she cooked like a demon from a very early age, then even putting the kettle on became toooooo hard!

None of this helps on the what to do front, but please don't feel it's all your fault or that every one else has happy smiling helpful teenagers. I think everyone should have the opportunity for 'phase' like this - if they don't do it at his age perhaps it'll all happen in a mid-life crisis when he's married with two kids - so at least you can say you've helped save him from that!

Thank you, that is a thoughful post

mae

robpw2 wrote: »

im sure hel cope he may suprise you it sounds like you have done a great job raising him but he is now distracted by gf and going out ( sounds like most 18 year old students) so i think hell manage realy well and you need to go away and relax

Thanks. I do intend to realx enjoy and I will as soon as I've decided whether I will give him money or shop for real basic food then thats as much thought as he is going to get out of me well apart from getting my parents to ring him a few times and maybe call up for a visit to check no wild parties :rolleyes:

CRANKY40

I'd leave him bread, milk, half a dozen eggs, a packet of bacon, some cheese and maybe some ham if he eats it, a box of cereal and a few tins of baked beans. I would leave him £5 to buy the following weeks bread, milk and cereal if you're going for 2 weeks.

Enjoy your holiday!

Penelope_Penguin

mae wrote: »

If you read my posts again he CAN do basic things for himself he is just LAZY :rolleyes: hence my post.

That's what I don't get He's able to do these things, yet you start a thread asking how you should prepare for him, while you go on holiday If he can cook for himself, you need do nothing - give him just enough cash to cook for himself from scratch and leave him to it. Job done

BTW, my 16yo is a girlie

Penny. x

ETA, what's he going to study at University?

mae

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

That's what I don't get He's able to do these things, yet you start a thread asking how you should prepare for him, while you go on holiday If he can cook for himself, you need do nothing - give him just enough cash to cook for himself from scratch and leave him to it. Job done

BTW, my 16yo is a girlie

Penny. x

ETA, what's he going to study at University?

No I started a thread asking what I should buy in for him so HE can prepare his own food. I was thinking I will leave him enough money for him to buy food for 2 weeks and then I thought that way he will not cook he will bung something in the oven or microwave or cook some supernoodles and if I am paying for his food I would prefer to encourage him to cook meals.

I didn't want to be so awkward that I bought just ingredients for more complicated meals so was thinking/looking for ideas that I could shop for so he would HAVE to cook but not expect him to be Jamie oliver for 2 weeks.

I am enjoying hearing peoples different opinions as it makes me feel better that I am not being too hard on him but when people say I should have taught him to cook etc I am just pointing out that I have already posted this information I have shown him how to cook and he can cook. Infact when he was younger I encouraged him to cook once a week for the family and he did. Oh the days when he was willing and enjoyed it

Alikay

mae wrote: »

I am enjoying hearing peoples different opinions as it makes me feel better that I am not being too hard on him but when people say I should have taught him to cook etc I am just pointing out that I have already posted this information I have shown him how to cook and he can cook. Infact when he was younger I encouraged him to cook once a week for the family and he did. Oh the days when he was willing and enjoyed it

:rotfl: :rotfl:

I understand completely! Mine have all been taught to cook too.....DS1 was also in Explorer Scouts and did DofE silver which involves food prep. Doesn't mean because he CAN, he WILL!!

Your son won't get rickets in a fortnight, he'll probably live on !!!! because its easier, but going by their flabby pallor so do a lot of uni students during term-time! Sending the gramps round to check on him is a good idea, but just get them to give the "4 minute warning" with a phone call so he can run around with a bin bag, and they don't catch him and his GF enjoying a bit of quality time alone together

lamplady

On the basis of what my teens eat, I'd fill the freezer with bread and the fridge with toastie ingredients -cheese, eggs, ham, tomatoes etc - maybe those toasta bags (from the poundshop). Mine would not cook a proper meal, but would eat fruit, so I'd fill the fruit bowl too. I might also leave some pasta and pasta sauce and some noodles and jars of chinese sauce.

Pooky

Have you spoken to him about this? Have you asked him what he's hoping to do meal wise? That would then give you an indication of what to get in.

Might sound like a daft question but does he know how to meal plan? Where to find stuff in the supermarket? Might be an ideal time for a lesson. Yes at 18 he should know, but sometimes, if lacking in confidence at never having done it before, these things can seem daunting.

I left home at 17, got a flat with my bf and we soon realised just how much our parents had done for us, it was a big eye opener and I really do wish I was left to cope a bit earlier on......but we all get there in the end.

As others have said, he won't starve, he might even surprise you.

Why not suggest he plans a nice romantic dinner with his GF, that might give him the spark of interest.