i am the stay at home parent and i cook all the meals and when she tries the kids hate it, every thanksgiving which my wife wants to cook she makes things the kids hate except the turkey, last year she put sour cream in the mashed potatos, it was awful, i am not looking forward to this again, what can i do
2007-11-20 06:30:10 · 12 answers · asked by MR MOM USMC RETIRED 3 in Family & Relationships ➔ Family
I suggest you make the cooking a collaboration. So at least the kids can get half of what is on the table! LOL!
Also tell the kids to take a little of everything so as not to hurt her feelings and if they don't like it, don't eat it but don't make a big deal over it.
May I also suggest going out to eat or ordering a prepared meal that you just have to heat it up. Make it about not having to clean up so much or about not having to cook for hours and having more family time.
Good Luck!
2007-11-20 06:38:11 · answer #1 · answered by wondermom 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
*grin*
I am not politically correct whatsoever.
When bringing up my children, they had the option to select ONE item that they disliked and could refuse. One only. As a parent, I worked to prepare nutritious meals. There were always some things they did not like.. whining was not an option. I always joked that menus were when we went out to eat, and they could select from that.
Your wife MAY be a horrible cook. The other side of the coin is respect. It is a balancing act. I put sour cream in my mashed potatos all the time.
My son used to gripe all the time about certain dishes (well, he tried). Part of being a kid. Today, his wife is being told to call me, to learn to make "my" meatloaf. My message to him, is you live with HER now, and he is cutting his own throat, if he doesn't show appreciation for her efforts.
During the year, you might start having the kids plan and cook a meal for the family once a week. When they put effort into doing that, and get criticised, they may have a bit more tolerance.
2007-11-20 06:50:43 · answer #2 · answered by wendy c 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
First off you do not say if this is the kids biologival mother or step mother. If it is the latter this might be a way of your kids protesting your marriage to your new wife. Just a possibility.
If that is not it. You could sit down with the kids and your wife and have a family meeting before thanksgiving.. You could decide together what would be on the menu. That way all would be accepting of what is going to be served and the ingredience that was going in it. You could also delegate dishes that the kids could make or you and your wife could help them make. This would be a peaceful compromise between all family members.That includes the cleaning up afterward too. No running off to watch football or to friends leaving the dishes to your wife or you. Happy Thanksgiving.
P.S.
Try to bring back the origin of Thanksgiving. What your family has to be thankful for over the past year.
2007-11-20 06:48:35 · answer #3 · answered by BiggyBear 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had this issue with my mother in law, now sadly gone. When I first got involved with my husbands family, we were very young and ate at his parents for most holidays. My mother in law, bless her heart, was a horrible cook. How they survived is still beyond me.
I simply decided that among several holiday issues(like not wanting to travel), I would have the holidays and do all the cooking. I simply gave her the "gift" of relaxing on the holiday as she did so much for us. She actually did, but I also wanted to control what we ate, as well. So she sat like a queen while I cooked a meal we could all stomach, and I included all her "favorite" foods so she got what she wanted.
Tell your wife that you love her so much that you want to do this for her, in her honor. Have the kids make a special chair for her, bring her drinks or coffee, basically fuss over her and make her comfortable. When you serve the dinner you made, make a toast to her and all she does for everyone(make it specific if you can), and make this day her "special" thank you. At least until the kids grow up. Happy Thanksgiving.
2007-11-20 06:40:24 · answer #4 · answered by tjnstlouismo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe you could all sit down and write up a menu that everyone would like. Once she sees the kids don't want things like sour cream, she can find something that you can all live with. Then, when she is in the kitchen, you can really help and oversee what is going on...or better yet, the entire family can help to make sure that everything is more edible.
2007-11-20 09:23:46 · answer #5 · answered by beaners1229 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Talk to her About it But Dont be abrupt about it Just tell her that you want to cook for thanksgiving and that she can help, But also break it in that maybe you should cook from now on. TRUST me she wont be offended that bad Its Food. Tell her that she's not that great of a cook but you can give her some tips and maybe she'll want to learn for the kids sake
2007-11-20 07:06:35 · answer #6 · answered by Ally 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think the best thing for you to do is tell her you are going to help her this year to cook, and if her cooking is that bad helper very time she cooks and that way she'll start cooking like you do,and it would be a good idea to tell her after you guys eat that the food was very good and she'll know that her cooking is better than it was before..
2007-11-20 06:42:24 · answer #7 · answered by emerald 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Let her make the dishes that she is good at. You do the rest. After the Holiday. Go to cooking school together. It will bring you closer and you will both learn a few things as well.
2007-11-20 06:51:29 · answer #8 · answered by looking4answers 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Offer to let you have the "Day off" from cooking. Try to talk to her about it without telling her straight out that she is a bad cook.
2007-11-20 06:34:41 · answer #9 · answered by achunt 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
tell her you want to help and so do the kids
tell her your tastes are different then hers or print some new recipes out and tell her you want to try them this year
2007-11-20 07:03:51 · answer #10 · answered by summerbliss 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋