General Parental Chit-Chat

I'm preparing to be snowed in. My kids are amused. My partner is amused. Everything is clean. I'm bored.

I'm cooking supper, and I cranked the oven to 450°F to roast some potatoes. This is arguably one of the best ways to roast potatoes, but it got me thinking about how vastly different my cooking style is than my parents. I remember cooking pizza at home around 18 years old and my Dad having a mild break down when I set the oven to 500°F, because it would break the oven. 😂 What? All meat is WELL cooked (at 325°, 350°, or 375°F ONLY 😂). All vegetables are mush. Nothing has a flavour beyond salt, pepper, mild garlic, butter, or Montreal steak spice.

I always despised both of my parents cooking, and I also don't like my mother-in-laws cooking.

What other fundamental things do you all do way differently than your own parents?

originally posted by: Atsbhct
What other fundamental things do you all do way differently than your own parents?

I haven't produced two asshole children like they did.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Weird. My Mom birthed us vaginally.

a reply to: Atsbhct

Where do you think lawyers come from?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

The taint.

I do the opposite of what my parents did to raise me. I turned into a emotionally unavailable dick. I don’t want that for my daughter.

a reply to: Metallicus

Same! My parents didn't really have much to do with us besides lending us a bedroom until we were 20+.

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: Metallicus

Same! My parents didn't really have much to do with us besides lending us a bedroom until we were 20+.

So you fed yourself from scraps you found on the street?

originally posted by: Atsbhct
What other fundamental things do you all do way differently than your own parents?

My mother didn't bother to teach us how to cook, we were banned from the kitchen if we wanted something more than toast, cereal or a TV dinner. Not that she was a regular Julia Child or anything herself, her own cooking skills were just as lacking -- Campbell's Chunky Soup mixed with whatever Cream Of soup we had on hand, on overcooked rice, anyone?. And her idea of goulash, oh my god. I've had real Hungarian goulash, the garbage we Americans call "goulash" IS NOT GOULASH. It's disgusting is what it is. Not goulash, a gross mix of whatever you throw together. Nasty.

Sooo, we ended up entering adulthood knowing how to nuke TV dinners at best. My husband has spent our entire marriage undoing that damage and teaching me the very basics of cooking properly XD

He's also in charge of teaching the kids (10 and 11) how to cook, because they're plenty old enough and it really is a skill they need established for adulthood. My older kid is a damn good grillmaster-in-training, she has serious grill skillz. She has very good cooking skills all around as it is, but the grill is where she does her best cooking, honestly.

My mother actually argued with my husband about it when he started teaching her, "She's not old enough for that!" She was 10. That's definitely old enough. If my mother had it her way, no one under 18 would be anywhere near a kitchen.

a reply to: Nyiah

Yes!! Kids need life skills. I let my 3 year old cook everyday. It's my favourite time with him.

originally posted by: Atsbhct
I let my 3 year old cook everyday.

I also let him sharpen knives, play with matches and run with scissors.

a reply to: schuyler

We were wild kids. Had a babysitting g job at 12 and paid for all of my own clothing/school supplies, toiletries, etc. No handouts at our house, lol. Mom cooked meals until we were 11/12, but mostly we stay at our grandparents. After that, they were mostly gone and we were provided Mr. Noodles, bread, PB &J. So yeah, no one starved, but not the experience I'd like to give my own children.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Live and learn baby!

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: Nyiah

Yes!! Kids need life skills. I let my 3 year old cook everyday. It's my favourite time with him.

Ours probably could have started learning earlier, but my husband's benchmarks they needed to hit first were when they stopped acting like morons with the prep knives (it's not a goddamn sword fight, the first brief try at that was the last and had a lengthy period of being grounded after a stern lecture) Quick edit: I should clarify that our prep knives all have blade guard covers, so it's not like they were trying to sword fight with bare blades here! The point remained -- they're not a damn toy.

And when they listened to him for longer than 5 seconds when he was showing them how to do something. That one took a while, before "What did I just say" was answered with a recap of what he said, instead of "Huh?"

I was made to sit at the table until I cleared my plate.
I am aware times are different.
For most of us, we have microwaves, food storage ability, and access to food.

I have never forced my kids to eat if not hungry, nor withheld food when there were.
(Clearly they’re not getting a treat before they eat there meal, though)

Cool thread!

I think I & my siblings do most things differently than the parents did. As for meals, although my mom was a really good cook, I remember what seems like most of the 60s and early 70s living on peanut butter sandwiches and cereal.

The cabinet was always stocked with cereal. Rice Krispies, Frosted Flakes, Life, Corn Flakes, Wheat Chex, Kix, Trix, Honeycomb, Quisp, and a kind of weird, sorta bland one called Team Flakes. (that I inexplicably liked)

I remember a neighbor kid being jealous, because his mom made him eat what she cooked. It's weird to think of a bowl of Frosted Flakes being so much more desirable than roast beef and potatoes.

a reply to: ColeYounger

Team Flakes!? 😂 I remember as a kid thinking cereal was something rich kids ate. 😂 We were only allowed to have the bagged puffed wheat. We did occasionally get a box of Quaker Oats and loved the animal facts on them. I always kill Jeopardy animal categories thanks to those.

a reply to: Atsbhct

Team Flakes! Wow, what a trip down memory lane!



Did you ever see Quisp? There was a little space guy on the box.
It was one of our favorites. Little flying saucers.

What the hell were you people eating when you were children?

a reply to: ColeYounger

I think Quisp is the same as Special K?! I'm in Canada, and I don't think I've ever seen either of those.