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How to Get Kids to Do Chores: Does the Maya Method Work?

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233 points Xcelerate | 1 comments | 04 Sep 18 00:03 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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toomanybeersies ◴[04 Sep 18 02:33 UTC] No.17906212[source]▶
The problem is that most parents don't want to (or can't) invest the time and effort into teaching their kids how to do household tasks.

When your children are young it's easier to just to tasks yourself than to try and get your children to do it, they'll break things and make mistakes in the course of learning.

But that's how you learn. I had to cook dinner once a week from the age of around 12. Sure my parents had a few shit dinners when I started out and sometimes I made a massive mess (or set things on fire!), but I learned how to cook and bake. Same goes for any other household tasks.

Of course, the other secret to the Maya Method is La Chancla: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/11/04/361205792...

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refoundglory ◴[04 Sep 18 03:37 UTC] No.17906454[source]▶
It's totally possible to learn to cook without ever ruining a meal. You start by working under supervision and doing prep tasks - a lot like the hierarchy in a professional kitchen.
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1. toomanybeersies ◴[04 Sep 18 07:19 UTC] No.17907202[source]▶
My parents were never adventurous cooks (ironic, considering they love travelling to other countries for their cuisine), but I've always loved pushing culinary boundaries. A standard dinner cooked by my mum might consist of rice, microwaved vegetables, and microwaved chicken breast with a jar or packet of sauce mix. Most meals my parents cooked were based around pre-made sauces or seasoning packets.

I think the ruined meals were more a case of me biting off more than I could chew and attempting something beyond my skill level. I've always loved experimenting in the kitchen, but when I was starting out it didn't always go so well.

My experimenting has paid dividends though, as people are constantly impressed at everything I cook.