SHAME on you, Mrs Citizen Smith! You had a son at home for 18 years and you never taught him to cook.
What sort of preparation for life is that? Every parent should teach their children to cook and if they don't know how to cook themselves, they could go to evening classes or read a cookery book. Perhaps the Citizen could run a basic cookery course.
The Jesuits say "give me a child until he is seven and he's mine for life." Well, to teach a child to cook you need to start young and give lots of encouragement.
We have three boys aged eight to 14, and they can all cook and bake. The older boys make perfectly acceptable sponge cakes, often far better than some we have bought! And they are expected to do the washing up afterwards.
May I suggest that parents start their boys off before they are five years old, making chocolate rice crispies.
Then move them on, aged five and six, to biscuits, then buns and pizzas. By nine or ten they can take their turn at cooking simple meals and helping parents with the more complicated ones.
We can't expect our children to become responsible young adults unless we give them responsibility in a controlled and structured home environment.
Dr Andrew Ross
Goodshaw Close
Blackburn
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article