What basic skills should we teach our children - and at what ages?

FunWithFlags

This thread is really interesting! I don't have any idea on this kind of stuff yet (only my own experience of being a child lol) so have no clue what kids can/should be able to do at certain ages but this thread has certainly got me thinking for the future!

Those of you who have seven/eight year olds who cook and make cups of tea etc, is that completely alone? Or with assistance or supervision? Were you worried at first with the safety side of it (tipping kettle on self, chopping fingers off)? How did you know when they were ready to do these things?

Genuinely interested as I probably will have to decide these things one day and have no clue where I'd begin lol!

MarilynMonroe_2

xXMessedUpXx wrote: »

Bar what i learnt in home tech classes at school i didn't really learn to cook till i went to uni. Mainly because my mum does all the cooking (she plans meals weeks in advance and likes to be in control of the cooking). Also never really did much cleaning as she has very high levels of cleanliness and prefers to do it herself (i did use to offer to help but she never took me up on the offer). To be honest it was exciting to go to uni and learn all of these things, it was a pretty steep learning curve but i kind of like the fact i taught myself.

Same for me, I never cooked or cleaned. My mam, like myself really, saw that as her job, as I dont see it to be my daugters job. Her time will come soon enough!

time2deal

This is an interesting thread. My husband never learnt lots of things when he was young, and it's only recently he has learnt things like cooking. I think he used to live on microwave rice and takeaway! He now enjoys cooking and is quite creative - I think not teaching kids key life skills can really limit them later on, and they could end up missing out on things they could well enjoy.

He also can't peel potatoes, or hang a picture - but I am working on him.

FATBALLZ

If you want your child to be a future chess genius you should start teaching them at age 3/4.

glitter_fairy

onlyroz wrote: »

For those of you who have 8-year-olds who can cook a meal - how do they reach the fridge/taps/hob? My 7-year-old isn't tall enough to do any of these things and so a simple thing like getting his own breakfast would be impossible.

He's great at navigating himself around the Sky system and Netflix these days though...

my 8 year old is 4ft 10

glitter_fairy

FunWithFlags wrote: »

This thread is really interesting! I don't have any idea on this kind of stuff yet (only my own experience of being a child lol) so have no clue what kids can/should be able to do at certain ages but this thread has certainly got me thinking for the future!

Those of you who have seven/eight year olds who cook and make cups of tea etc, is that completely alone? Or with assistance or supervision? Were you worried at first with the safety side of it (tipping kettle on self, chopping fingers off)? How did you know when they were ready to do these things?

Genuinely interested as I probably will have to decide these things one day and have no clue where I'd begin lol!

Tgey make tea toast and heat beans on the hob on their own other stuff is with supervision

Blue_Elephant

glitter_fairy wrote: »

my 8 year old is 4ft 10

Now I really feel short!! I'm 4' 9" and I'm 20 years older!!

glitter_fairy

Blue_Elephant wrote: »

Now I really feel short!! I'm 4' 9" and I'm 20 years older!!

she is a giant lol

make_me_wise

I clearly remember going to a friends house about a week before my wedding, and being so impressed because he was cooking a chicken and veg noodle stir fry. I was watching him cook what I now see as an easy to do meal and thinking he was awesome and so clever. It never occured to me at the time that I was rather unable and non domesticated. It still makes me chuckle recalling that memory.

The first few weeks of running a home and getting to grips with cooking meals were something of a learning curve for me

I_wanna_live_for_free

FunWithFlags wrote: »

This thread is really interesting! I don't have any idea on this kind of stuff yet (only my own experience of being a child lol) so have no clue what kids can/should be able to do at certain ages but this thread has certainly got me thinking for the future!

Those of you who have seven/eight year olds who cook and make cups of tea etc, is that completely alone? Or with assistance or supervision? Were you worried at first with the safety side of it (tipping kettle on self, chopping fingers off)? How did you know when they were ready to do these things?

Genuinely interested as I probably will have to decide these things one day and have no clue where I'd begin lol!

My daughter was able to get her own cereal and milk from around 4 - she went to nursery and they encouraged the older children to help.

She made tea at around 9 (when I felt she was able to deal with the kettle without incident) and has cooked eggs/beans for herself around the same age.

I have to point out that her dad and I separated then divorced when she was 11, so when she's with him it's "you want it you sort it" so she's self taught there.

It is a case of knowing your child's capabilities and how much responsibility they can take.

One of my friends (40+) often leaves keys in the door, windows open etc so age is not a factor! :rotfl: