I’ve Asked My 11-Year-Old to Make Dinner Once a Week – Here’s How It’s Going

Mom = Real Life Wonder Woman

I saw a TikTok recently where a woman stands at her front door, and the caption reads, "Let me introduce you to our house staff." She proceeds to show herself cleaning toilets and making beds. The caption read, "The Maid." Then, it did a jump cut to her driving the kids around, and the caption was, "The Chauffeur." She was the nanny, referee, the accounts payable and receivable person, and of course, the chef.

I googled it and here's a similar video I found.

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I feel all this in my soul. My therapist is surprised I haven't had a midlife meltdown yet. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I do... usually on a bi-weekly basis. Managing a family is hard. And guess what? It's even harder when you work a full-time job.

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I Recruited Help

I'm also big on cooking fresh, nutritious dinners as many nights each week as I can. So, that means planning, grocery shopping, and cooking. Yeah, I'm out of my mind. About a month ago, I made a decision. I decided that each week, my 11-year-old daughter would plan, prep, and cook dinner one night a week.

At first, she looked at me like I was crazy and said, 'Hard pass.' So, I had three choices:

• I could either tell her that it was happening or no one would eat
• Give in and tell her she didn't have to do it
• Appeal to her ego

Of course, I appealed to her ego! She loves, loves, LOVES being in charge, so I told her she gets total control and I'd be her assistant if she needed help. Then one of the adults would do the dishes. (And by one of the adults, I mean my husband.)

She reluctantly agreed.

Getting Started

I have a list of easy-to-make ideas on hand that she can pick from. I've even tossed around the idea of subscribing to a meal kit, but I'm not quite there yet. If you have experience with a great meal kit, please let me know in the comments!

I get out all the ingredients and a printed recipe for her to follow. She has a blast in the kitchen and so far hasn't needed too much help. (She could make ramen, boxed cakes, and breakfast for dinner, so she has some basics down.) I did have to teach her how to grill though, which is something I didn't learn until I was in my thirties!

How's It Going?

We've both enjoyed it. I like having a day off from cooking, and she likes being in control. She also loves the attention she gets at school when I post photos of her meals on socials. So far, she's made shepherd's pie, kabobs, breakfast for dinner, patty melts, and this week she's making shrimp tacos.

I'm proud of the work she's been putting in to learn a new skill and give me a bit of a break.

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Here's the List of Ideas

Here's the list of ideas curated by my friends. She can also go on Pinterest and look for something alternative to cook.

• Tacos 
• Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans 
• Frozen Ravioli Lasagna
• Tater Tot Casserole
• Smoked Sausage Stir-fry
• Impossibly Easy Pies
• Crockpot Dinner Kit (in your meat section of your grocery store)
• Easy Peasy Chicken n Dumplins
• Mac and Cheese Bar
• Sloppy Joes
• Fajitas
• Shrimp Scampi
• Lazy Cottage Pie
• Patty Melt
• Lemon Butter Chicken Kabobs (I had to really help her with this one)
• French Toast