How many kitchens do you have?

amother

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 12:42 pm

I grew up with only one kitchen, and it was so dysfunctional. I had to wait for my siblings to use the toaster every morning, and sometimes I even had to use the firepit in the backyard.

I'm traumatized from waiting for my brother to finish looking in the fridge to complain there's nothing to eat, until it it was my turn to stare meditatively at the shelves and come to the same conclusion. I even bumped my head on the freezer door a few times when my mother was trying to take out food for supper, and it was my turn to look in the fridge! I still can't talk to her to this day.

Never mind erev shabbos! What a nightmare! I still have flashbacks.

I don't want to be irresponsible and neglectful like my parents were, I want to do the right thing for my kids. How many kitchens would you think a family of 5 should have?

hodeez

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 12:44 pm

I so dont want to downplay your pain, but I doubt that the main issue was having one kitchen. Having one kitchen is neither neglectful nor irresponsible, just teach your kids how to respect each other and use a communal space.

amother

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 12:45 pm

hodeez wrote:

HOw dARe YoU downplay my pain!!

flowerpower

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 12:48 pm

We have a built in kitchen in each of the kids bedrooms. Rumor has it that teens like to sneak food into their bedrooms anyways. May as well make it legal for them. I’m also trying to do everything possible that my kids shouldn’t have to go to therapy.

icedcoffee

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 12:48 pm

You're going to want each person to have their own milchig, fleishig, and Pesach kitchen, so start with 15. You can probably save money by having 2-3 pareve kitchens for everyone to share, though it might get crowded in those. You'll also want kitchens for guests (you can probably get away with just a guest milchig and guest fleishig, unless you often host on Pesach).

I also recommend an extra set of kitchens (milchig, fleishig, Pesach, obviously) for when your kids are in shidduchim and you can customize those towards what's trendy for when their dates come over.

hodeez

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 12:48 pm

The issue might have been being home at all! What kind of abusive parents let their kids eat from home and not at a 5 star restaurant! You had to go into the fridge even, no catering???? Nebach!!!

amother

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 12:49 pm

flowerpower wrote:

So true. You know what they say, individual kitchens are cheaper than therapy!

amother

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 12:50 pm

icedcoffee wrote:

The think is, one of my kids will only eat steak for breakfast lunch and supper. Do you think I should get him a milchig kitchen, I mean, what if he has friends over? I don't want them to get the wrong idea...

Wife1

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 12:51 pm

Yes part of planning on getting pregnant is calling the kitchen guy to install another kitchen. We currently have 10.
When kid turns bar or bas mitzvah we start planning to install another for their spouse

amother

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 12:53 pm

amother [ Red ] wrote:

3.5. But one we only open for pesach. 1/2 is for snacks.

I can't believe what I'm hearing. Mothers like you are why we have so many kids going off the derech! You think 2.5 kitchens year round is enough??!!

chocolatecake

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 12:54 pm

I have four kids and I have 5 small kitchenettes, each with a mini fridge, toaster oven for milk, microwave for fleishig, sink, small pantry cabinet and of course table for two. Why should anyone ever have to wait patiently while a different family member uses the the toaster or looks in the fridge? The thought of that is just too much for me.

Of course we also have one full sized kitchen for me to properly make dinner in. I of course lock the door so no one disturbs me while I cook. I cook most of the day. If anyone needs anything they can just get it from their own kitchenette. We do have a full size table in the main kitchen but my kids usually prefer just to pick up their dinner from my kitchen and eat in on their own tables in their personal kitchette.

amother

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 12:56 pm

chocolatecake wrote:

...but what I really want to know is, do you have a separate kitchen for making chocolate cake?

amother

Coffee

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 1:02 pm

I'm poor, so we only have one kitchen. But I did go dumpster diving for a shelving unit so we can have a separate toaster for each child. There is a helmet next to the fridge so that I won't accidentally bang people's heads if I open the freezer.

My Rav said I can ask for tzedakah money for a Betty Crocker unit for each child, so I open a GoFundMe when each kid is born. A therapist I spoke to (shul-sponsored) said that if I have enough cheesecake in the freezer they probably won't be scarred for life.

amother

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 1:02 pm

Bump. I really need some more opinions here! DD was crying the other day how everyone in her class has at least 10 kitchens. I don't want her to grow up with issues (she's 5) I'm renovating my house now and I need to know what to tell the contractor! Maybe I should make a poll.

amother

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 1:04 pm

amother [ Coffee ] wrote:

Thanks for answering, but I really judge you for your life choices. Did you ask your Rav BEFORE you had all those children without money set aside for enough kitchens for each of them? People like you shouldn't be allowed to get married, or maybe for companionship only, to support each other morally in your miserable poverty, making sure not to produce any young that could be a drain on the rest of us more deserving folks.

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 1:30 pm

I know this is a joke, but I will say that it's not the amount of kitchens that matter but the size. One kitchen that you can't walk in if someone what is in there is really not functional whereas one where you can work and have at least one other person in is a game changer. BTDT.

amother

Plum

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 1:37 pm

Glad this was reported. OP, while I appreciate your playful humor, I don't know if you get that it comes at the expense of making fun of posters who really struggled in their childhood, or who are struggling now with their current environment. It's not nice.