So how was your Mothering Sunday? Mine started a bit earlier than I wanted it to, as my daughter woke me up at 7am demanding to make me a cup of tea.
I taught my ten-year-old to make tea a few weeks ago. I didn't force it on her, she was very keen to learn. She doesn't actually drink it herself, but I think she likes getting involved in an adult ritual. Plus, being allowed to do something that her little brother isn't, is always welcome. Ever since then she has taken to the task with great enthusiasm, to the point of getting very disappointed if I don't want a cuppa, and positively insulted if I make it myself.
But on talking to other parents, I'm surprised at how many of them aren't in a hurry to pass on this vital skill. My friend wants to know if my daughter can teach her boys how to make tea, because they've yet to do so – these are lads in their late teens! Another teenager of my acquaintance has had the finest education money can buy, wouldn't know what to do with a teabag if her life depended on it. Other parents say they would never let their child near a kettle because they don't trust them to pour boiling water safely.
Have we become so obsessed with safety that any task with even a modicum of risk is not allowed? Where does keeping children safe become wrapping them in cotton wool? And where's that cup of tea I was promised?
But I must remember not to take this for granted. My mum was an incessant tea drinker, and I remember at one point getting so hacked off with running in and out to the kitchen to supply her with cuppas that I made 10 cups of tea at once and presented them to her on a tray. I think she drank most of them, then sent me out for more.
So what's your child like on the domestic front? Would you feel happy with them making you a cup of tea, or is it just an accident waiting to happen? Leave a comment below