Most MS age kids can at least cook things like eggs or grilled cheese sandwiches. Definitely use the microwave.

That said, most snacks don’t require cooking… fruit, salsa and chips, hummus and pita, cheese stick, baby carrots, etc.

One of mine had an interest in cooking and was always eager to cook with me. That kid was using the toaster and microwave independently in early elementary and the stove independently by late elementary.

My other kid, my daughter, with little interest needed instructions on using the stovetop and oven in middle school and how to follow a basic recipe. Coon with your kids. They need to learn.

And yes, both as teens had big appetites at some points and could eat massive frozen food and not spoil a dinner. Frozen burritos were popular for a while.

I often make extra dinner and my teenagers heat up the leftovers as “snacks”. They will repurpose meat into sandwiches or wraps with veggies. Rice becomes this fried rice thing they make with an egg stirred in, frozen veggies and soy sauce. They will also make scrambled eggs, cheese toast or quesadillas, hummus with cucumbers and tomatoes, etc.

It is really what they don’t eat in my house. I have to specifically label certain items I need for meals or they will try to eat it. Last year one ate a piece of a Biscoff pie shell I had baked that was cooling on the stove for a Thanksgiving pie.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids have a snack when they come home from school but otherwise, no they are not snacking at random times and when they feel like to or they will ruin their appetite for dinner.

Do you have a teen boy? I can’t imagine mine not having an appetite for dinner, even if he ate a huge snack (and he does every day it’s basically two dinners)

Teen boy or girl! Both my kids have always come home and made themselves a meal after school since middle school. They are starving again by dinner time.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Kids are in middle school. They come to me when they are hungry. I do not know that they are supposed to make their own food. They only know how to use toaster and grab cookie/chips. They can make peanut butter sandwich & make a bowl of cereal themselves. I have not shown them the proper way to use microwave, air fryer, stove or small oven. What age are they supposed to make their food and pick their food ( whatever they want, even junk food)?

Certainly by middle school! Kids that age are at various stages of cooking, but not being able to use the microwave or stove?!

Anonymous wrote:My kids have a snack when they come home from school but otherwise, no they are not snacking at random times and when they feel like to or they will ruin their appetite for dinner.

Do you have a teen boy? I can’t imagine mine not having an appetite for dinner, even if he ate a huge snack (and he does every day it’s basically two dinners)

My kids have been using all the appliances since they were in mid-elementary school (but DH still does not like them using the oven when they are home alone - they are in middle school.)

Things they will often make for a mini-meal type snack are ramen noodle packs, pizza bagels, egg sandwiches (both homemade or they will heat up the frozen ones), quesadillas, deviled eggs, potstickers (from frozen), platter with pepperoni/cheese/fruit, popcorn, oatmeal packets. They are not allowed to snack on chips or cookies (except they can bring one serving in their lunch) but I have an exception for homemade treats- so sometimes they will make a tray of brownies or chocolate chip cookies and can enjoy those within reason.

If we are about to eat dinner, they can have fruit or vegetables while they wait, or maybe a cheese stick.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Kids are in middle school. They come to me when they are hungry. I do not know that they are supposed to make their own food. They only know how to use toaster and grab cookie/chips. They can make peanut butter sandwich & make a bowl of cereal themselves. I have not shown them the proper way to use microwave, air fryer, stove or small oven. What age are they supposed to make their food and pick their food ( whatever they want, even junk food)?

My second grader makes his own chicken nuggets all by himself. I insist on being in the kitchen when he makes pasta for safety.

Teach them to use the microwave at least!

Mine likes those bao buns/veggie dumplings for a snack. And it's easy enough to teach tweens how to microwave them. We also do cereal, popcorn, banana/apple with peanut butter and leftovers for a snack (ground turkey with cheese for instance, again, super easy to heat up.)

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Kids are in middle school. They come to me when they are hungry. I do not know that they are supposed to make their own food. They only know how to use toaster and grab cookie/chips. They can make peanut butter sandwich & make a bowl of cereal themselves. I have not shown them the proper way to use microwave, air fryer, stove or small oven. What age are they supposed to make their food and pick their food ( whatever they want, even junk food)?

I can’t even remember teaching my kids how to use any of these things. They just figured it out by that age.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Kids are in middle school. They come to me when they are hungry. I do not know that they are supposed to make their own food. They only know how to use toaster and grab cookie/chips. They can make peanut butter sandwich & make a bowl of cereal themselves. I have not shown them the proper way to use microwave, air fryer, stove or small oven. What age are they supposed to make their food and pick their food ( whatever they want, even junk food)?

Now is the time (I would have recommended early elementary, but here you are) for you to teach them how to use the microwave, air fryer, oven, stove, etc. Teach them now.

I highly recommend creating a system of having each kid cook one dinner a week. Start with you helping them, but move towards them doing it independently. By cooking the meal each week, I mean from idea all the way through cleanup. So they are assigned Thursday, and they have to put on the family meal plan by the Saturday before, what they are planning on cooking for Thursday dinner, and what ingredients need to be on the grocery list. Then do the prep/cook/cleanup for the meal.

You can help to start, and recommend easy meals (ex: pasta, jarred sauce, and frozen meat balls) but let them move up to more complicated meals as they get independent and gain more skills.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whatever they can make themselves. I keep sandwich foods, pasta, fruit, cereal, hamburger patties, pizza bites, Tostitos, stuff to make quesadillas, toast, bagels.

Not healthy!

Maybe not but my child has an eating disorder and the medial directive is calories of any type.