do YOU teach the grandkids to cook?

meritaten

just out of interest - do any of you grandmas/grandpas teach the grandkids to cook or bake?
I am considered something of an oddity among my friends in that I love to cook with the grandkids! most of them say that they havent the patience or that most families buy shop bought these days!
I cook mostly with the Twins (aged 8 now but I started them at 4) and with my 4 year old grandson (I started him at 3).
the twins like to both cook and bake and the GS loves to make cakes (we were short on time last time so I suggested rice krispy cakes and he gave me a look of pure contempt and said 'but nanny - those arent REAL cakes!).
The twins make really good scrambled eggs in the microwave and what tickles me is that Twin 1 will cut some herbs (either from the garden or the pots on the windowsill) to put on hers! entirely her own idea! Both of them can recite the ingredients for fairy cakes too! they did it in school once to 'prove' to their teacher that they can cook fairy cakes! I am sure she was most impressed!

So, how many of you grandparents teach the kids to cook? Am I really in a minority?
I would love to hear if you have any funny stories about your cooking sessions too!
Mums/Dads welcome to post too!:)

freyasmum

My daughter's only 5, but we always cook together - she loves to stand up beside me chopping 'soft' veg like courgettes/mushrooms with a palette knife and pinching all the pieces of pepper that I chop We also (constantly :rotfl:) make cakes as well but they need to know that they can cook, or at least help with, proper meals as well. It helps to take the 'fear' out of being in the kitchen, IYKWIM?

Not enough people cook with their kids however, it's extremely important not to underestimate how essential these skills are.


p.s. on here, I don't think you'll be in the minority

meritaten

freyasmum - I am sure you get as much pleasure from it as I do!
I taught all MY kids to cook - I think I was an oddity back then too! most of thier friends had never had a home made chip! or a roast dinner come to think of it! no wonder I always had 'extra' guests to meals!
The kids love mixing and chopping and tearing and getting their hands in! its a lot of fun for me too!
with the twins, one of them has ADHD and a water fixation - so she always does the washing up! takes her ages but she is thorough!

Hardup_Hester

I taught all 4 of my children to cook & now I'm teaching the grandchildren, they are 3 & 7.
Hester

Turkishdreamer

I wouldn't say I teach them, sometimes they teach me.

I have 3 grandchildren now 10, 7 (grandsons) & 4 (grandaughter). My daughter (their Mum) wasn't very keen to cook, but was more interested than her 2 brothers. So she does allow the children to help her, but doesn't always have the time, or if the truth be told the inclination.

I still love baking and cook from scratch daily, so when I get the opportunity, I like to involve the grandchildren.

The eldest one is quite inventive and we tend to adapt many old favourite recipes, sometimes for the better and sometimes a bit of a flop.

My grandaughter and youngest grandson love to bake and enjoy the mixing and decorating bit. Very unusual shaped bread rolls and a variation on a theme often, but great fun.

Cookery lessons at school were my inspiration, but I think now it is all convenience, such a shame.

ariba10

Taught three granddaughters, as there were no cookery lessons at school.

Did not have time with our own children, too busy earning a living.

wannabee_in_credit

My mum does baking with my kids (aged 3 and 7), but they both do cooking with me too. Have to confess I'm more into teaching them to make meals where my mum does the fun stuff like cakes. If I make them with the kids, I eat most of them.
I think it's awful how little kids know about food in general. Like a boy at school who asked me if beef came from a sheep or a cow. And today, another child asked me if sugar grew in cubes and was beaten into powder.

Rummer

Neither set of grandparent bake with my DD but my parents encourage his to get involved with the preparation of dinner and she often makes omlettes and various other things.

At home however we cook and bake together often

miffy257

Always encouraged mine to cook, now they and DH are better than me, I don't mind as I'm not that keen on cooking though I still do my share.
When my DD went to uni she was the resident expert in her flat, all her flatmates were totally amazed when she cooked them all a Xmas dinner at the end of the first term. It's such a good skill to have and lessons at some schools don't seem to be so good these days. Some of our Teaching assistants run an after school cooking club at my infant school but they can only take a small number of children. The original idea was to get the parents involved but very few come. Such a shame. No grandchildren yet but I hope I will have the energy to cook with them when they come along.

thriftwizard

Another with no grandchildren yet, eldest 23 & youngest 16 with 3 in-between, but I cooked with all of mine from a very early age, although two of the boys seem to be doing their very best never to put this knowledge into practise. I'd love to be given the chance to teach any eventual grandchildren to cook - but I suspect the three who do will beat me to it, and the two who don't would consider it tantamount to child abuse - anything except pizza, burgers, curry & noodles being "strange & bizarre" despite being brought up on a wide-ranging, cooked-from-scratch, local & home-grown diet!

meritaten

I did try to teach DS1 to cook - and he always scorned it - claimed his speciality was 'toast'. yet he cooks lovely meals these days I am told! lol! something must have 'stuck'!