Was Harry really too young to cook?

[brokenquill92]

Was Harry really too young to cook?
I learned to cook on the stove at the age of seven and was most definitely not abused, I was actually a very pampered child. There are a lot of fics out out there that make a big deal about Harry cooking at 11 but I'm not conviced it was really that big a deal. The rest of his chores were rather much but I'm not one to make a big deal about cooking.

Your thoughts?

[kumainpink]

Given the lack of supervision that would have followed with Petunia in charge, then yes, it is.

I cooked, but my mother was always by me and never let me do anything involving the stove until I was 12.

[viralic1]

The difference is the supervision. Leaving a 7 year old to cook alone is at the very least neglect.

[kumainpink]

Agreed. I doubt Petunia supervised him enough...

[Kaiserin]

especially frying things. Grease burns anyone! Harry must have had grease burns on his arms from cooking for them. As an adult it is hard to avoid but a 10 year old will not have much of a chance to avoid.

[lucyolsen]

What was showed in book 1 of Harry cooking might not be unusual for a ten year old. However, as it had just been revealed that he was sleeping in a cupboard, people were likely to come to the right conclusion.

[sherza]

No ten year old has any business dealing with a stove OR sharp knives without constant adult supervision. Lesser cooking tasks, not so much of a problem, but those ... oy.

[Nahara46]

I have to disagree with you all. I was nine or ten when I cooked without parental supervision... Granted, I was never particularly good at it (I still have stories about my attempts at making cookies!) But I never burnt the house down or hurt anyone/thing. I think the issue is more of the fact that Harry as the main cook in the house. The only time I approve of a child as the main cook is when the parents have so many kids, or work so much to make ends meet that they don't have much time to cook. Even then, I don't like it.

[sherza]

I'm less worried about the kid burning the house down than I am about them seriously hurting themselves. At ten, most kids are only barely tall enough to see over the lip of your average pot sitting on your average stove. The angles and leverage needed to take said pot off said stove are ... unfortunate ... and run a FAR higher risk of spillage than for an older child or adult. And since most pots on a stove hold, at best, boiling water, and at worse VERY hot oil, butter, or other suchlike things, the chances for tragedy are REALLY high.

Same goes for dealing with sharp knives. Most counters are set at a height convenient to adults, which means a ten year old child would have to be kneeling/standing on a chair to be at the right angle to the cutting surface, which presents all sorts of possibilities for slippage and ... yeah.

It's *possible* for a kid that young to cook and deal with such things, but they NEED an adult on hand at all times, just in case.

[Nahara46]

I'll give you the height issue, since Harry was shorter. That part is definitely bad. However, about Harry hurting himself- I don't think that the grease from bacon would hurt considering the baggy clothes that probably covered his arms. However, I guess it is a bit of a risk for a child to cook, thought I personally don't see a problem with it.

[sherza]

having been burned by fat from hamburgers as a teenager (which is rather similar) I can state categorically that having the grease burn through clothing is *worse*, especially if you can't get the soaked cloth away from your skin fast, which would be true of Harry's clothes as he'd have to have the sleeves rolled up to be able to do anything, which would take a minute to undo before he could yank his arms out of the sleeves. The cloth holds the burning hot liquid against the skin, and rubs the burn even rawer than it otherwise would be. *wince*

[Kaiserin]

Risky places for grease to splatter: hands very hard to avoid, arms (see sherza's post), face (you will say he was short enough to avoid, but he was probably on a stool or chair, which then made him high enough) and for yourself parents should not leave a child that young to operate an oven and put things in it by themselves.

[sherza]

Not to mention, that especially with bacon (the American version), I've been as much as three feet away from the pan and STILL been hit by flying, red-hot grease when the bacon pops. Standing right over it, you get splashed repeatedly even if you're the most careful cook ever.

And I still have a faint pink area devoid of freckles (I have them all over my arms) where I got hit by that hamburger grease, and that happened when I was like ... 17. And I'm 35 now.

[Ithiarel]

I think the main reason I have a problem with Harry cooking is that I'm certain that he hadn't been properly introduced to it by Petunia. She probably just told him to "go and cook" one day, and that was that.

On the other hand, I really don't think that it's as big a deal as people tend to make it. When I was 12 I cooked lunch everyday. My mother was working full time, and someone had to make lunch when my sister came from school. Since I was the older one, the duty fell onto me.
But - here comes the but - my sister and I have helped my mother cooking on the weekends ever since we were old enough to hold a knife (4 years or so), so we had been taught under supervision. And even then we didn't get to use the really sharp knives until we were 10 or so...

In my opinion what is the real abuse here, is not the fact that Harry is cooking at that early age, but that he (a) probably learned without supervision and hence possibly suffered quite a few injuries during learning, and (b) that it isn't appreciated.
The Dursleys don't value his work around the house at all and the way they talk to him about cooking/cleaning/etc. is clearly abusive.

[sherza]

Jul 14, 2012 4:48:20 GMT -5 Ithiarel said:

I think the main reason I have a problem with Harry cooking is that I'm certain that he hadn't been properly introduced to it by Petunia. She probably just told him to "go and cook" one day, and that was that.

On the other hand, I really don't think that it's as big a deal as people tend to make it. When I was 12 I cooked lunch everyday. My mother was working full time, and someone had to make lunch when my sister came from school. Since I was the older one, the duty fell onto me.
But - here comes the but - my sister and I have helped my mother cooking on the weekends evers since we were old enough to hold a knife (4 years or so), so we had been taught under supervision. And even then we didn't get to use the really sharp knives until we were 10 or so...

In my opinion what is the real abuse here, is not the fact that Harry is cooking at that early age, but that he (a) probably learned without supervision and hence possibly sufefred quite a few injuries during learning, and (b) that it isn't appreciated.
The Dursleys don't value his work around the house at all and the way they talk to him about cooking/cleaning/etc. is clearly abusive.

*nodnod* Like I said, it's possible for a kid Harry's age in Chap 2 of PS to cook, especially relatively simple things, they just need to be supervised because even at that age, height, reach, and leverage are an issue and things can happen. Kid might be able to cook their entire childhood without incident, but then again, all it takes is one unfortunate slip, and you're dealing with third-degree burns, hacked-off fingers, and other such horrifying disasters.

[Ithiarel]

*lol*
I think it's a good thing that my mother was never home when we cooked lunch. The times we were climbing onto chairs and even shelves to reach stuff... *shakes head*

But honestly, our mother was always very trusting in that regard. We knew how to act around knives. We knew how to act stoves. We knew what to do in cases of emergency. Heck, we knew how to react to burning oil!
I'm not sure if she ever worried back then. Anyway, we were mostly fine. Nothing ever happened except for some very minor burns from hot grease, some minor cuts, and one memorable scar on my arm from where I burned myself on a hot baking tin. It happens. *shrugs*

[Dimcairien]

I've been either helping in the kitchen or cooking for as long as I can remember. I think I was probably about seven or so when I started to make my own sandwiches with already sliced bread and would start making cookies soon after that, though my parents would put it in the oven for me.

When I was nearly twelve though, basically the entire cooking responsibility fell to me for a few weeks as my mother broke her foot. My dad was around in the evenings, so he could help some with dinner, but I was mostly in charge of cooking for a time.

So, I personally think cooking at ten with limited adult supervision isn't that big of a deal, but cooking at a younger age is. Yes, he probably learned with little to no supervision and would have had his fair share of accidents, but then, everyone has had some sort of kitchen accident. I've burned my fingers or nicked them with a knife more times than I can count, and I'm careful.

[Kitty279]

Another point to worry about would be Dudley thinking it funny to shove Harry, possibly while he's cutting something or working with a pan full of grease ... the baby whale doesn't have enough brain to realise that it could be dangerous for Harry. Or, if he did, he'd find it funny.

[physicssquid]

Dudley probably wouldn't try to shove Harry, he'd be likely to hurt himself if he did, and while Dudley likes beating people up, he's too much of a coward to do it without someone making sure the people he beats up can't fight back.

[kumainpink]

I dunno, Dudley is pretty reckless at times. I could see him shoving Harry when he's frying eggs or something, and causing Harry to get hurt because of it. *winces*

[viralic1]

Plus don't forget his mom and dad are right there, and that's all the backup he needs. His father obviously doesn't care, as he even tells Dudley to hit Harry with the smelting stick.