Was I a hard mother?

My DS used to iron his Action Man clothes when he was about 6. Both my children are great cooks and will and can do most things around the house. I am very proud of them . They also say thank you, which seems to be disappearing .

I wasn't allowed to wash or iron a pure wool jumper until I went to college; my mother insisted on washing them by hand, in Lux soap flakes, rolling them in a towel then stuffing them full of tissue paper and laying them on a rack to dry, which took about three days in our unheated house.
Soon as I was at college they were spin dried, then hung over the radiator in my room, (oh, the luxury) until dry. I stopped wearing hand-knitted jumpers immediately.

I remember another mother complaining that her children wouldn’t sleep so she was up all night playing with them. I said she shouldn’t be amusing them but making it so boring that they’d stay in bed.
She told me I was a hard mother.
None of my daughters has ever ironed anything. People don’t iron nor scrub doorsteps anymore.

I did do all the ironing because I’m fussy, but if it was something they expected me to drop everything for, because they needed it right then, they could do it themselves.

Lunches were different, they weren’t allowed packed lunches, until they were old enough to get up and make them, I couldn’t see the point when they had perfectly nice school lunches provided.

Not at all farmour15 it definitely stood them in good stead for the wide world.
In fact I should of been stricter on mine.
Being a mother doesn’t come with a instruction manual,you do what you feel is best?

Thanks for re-assuring responses! I did believe in making them reasonably self-sufficient but they weren't neglected! I mended their clothes as I hadn't taught them to use sewing machine and they still sometimes give me trousers to mend/hems to turn up. Only one dil so far, but I think she appreciates my son's household abilities .

My ironing skills are probably a bit lacking, as father-in-law came to stay one time and I ironed a couple of his shirts. He suggested doing them himself next time, so I left him to it!

I did the last pile of ironing for my two on the day they took their last A level exams. After that if they wanted it ironed they did it themselves. DD hardly ever irons anything, DS is fussy about shirts and I showed him how to iron them. DGD is fairly useless so far and gets away with it but that will probably change once school exams are out of the way.

You sound an admirable mother, Farmer, and have encouraged independence and self-sufficiency. I am impressed!

I think you did exactly the correct thing, mine were taught to iron but older than 1O

Sorry Farmor I didn’t answer your question, the answer from me is that as long as you gave your family your love and attention in other ways, then of course you weren’t a bad mother, or a bad wife!?

I did all the ironing in the house, also made up my children's lunchboxes. My choice, and I enjoyed caring for them.
I also worked, but had bags of energy in those far off days.
I think that ten years of age is young to be wielding a steam iron, but that’s just my own view.
They are all independent adults ( and were in most respects I think as teenagers) never giving us any worries.

I did teach my children to be independent but admit to not allowing them to iron until older than 10

My children had non-iron school shirts, and as soon as they were old enough they ironed them themselves if they wanted them ironed. My husband also ironed his own. There is no reason to spend time doing unnecessary ironing, and certainly no reason why women should do it rather than men.

It is sad when children reach university age and can’t look after themselves. I have met some who don’t even know how to use a bus!

My ex expected me to do all the ironing, as well as all the rest.
Except for his trousers. It seems his mother had ironed his trousers 'sailor fashion', ie flat. So no woman could be trusted to do it right.
A tip to all other mothers of sons?

There is more than one way to be a good parent. I wasn't taught how to take care of myself nd it caused no end of issues. I also have 5 children an their chores leave plenty of free time to be children, they probably average 30 minutes a day at most. I still feel I will be calling them for the rest of their lives checking they had a shower and put clean pants on but really I know they will be able to take care of themselves x

Sorry Farmor15 - I meant all of your five children!

Farmor15, I agree with GrannyLaine and others. Your sons (and their partners) are surely going to appreciate what you did in making your boys independent and able to look after themselves. I have a DS (only child) and I was determined that he would be independent and self-sufficient. This all contributed to making him a sensible, capable, and reliable person, who can get on and do what's needed around the home, including child-care, washing, ironing, cooking and cleaning. DiL has (more than once) voiced her appreciation to me!

Surely teaching them to be independent is the best thing you can do, so you did the right thing there. It can be difficult giving jobs to the children when we know we can do them so much quicker, and I'm probably guilty there, but they have to start learning to fend for themselves and the sooner the better.

My husband and I split the ironing 50/50 once he retired, I'd hate to be married to a lazy git although I did all the ironing prior to that.......and I was working part time! I tended to do it between finishing work and picking the kids up from school................whilst watching "Neigbours"(guilty secret)

They learnt by example with me. I’ve found the children who had to be adults from an early age resented it later, my husband included. I didn’t have to work though, so can appreciate that would have made a difference.

Good for you! In retrospect I was probably too soft and did all the ironing of shirts and making of sandwiches. I'm sure it's a positive asset to be independent from an early age, I was full of awe when one of mine was in nursery and we went back to one of his little friend's houses and the child, aged 4, made himself a sandwich and very competently I might add. One of mine is very house trained and the other..............well could do better, or certainly when he stays with us, I don't hesitate to point out any annoyances on the domestic front, at least I get a profuse apology now, so I suppose that's some improvement at least!

Ah! Who is the best mother competition! Please ignore it.

What does your family say? Have they expressed concerns? It is all that counts, not another mother trying to see how you measure up according to her standards

Let me tell you something - your future dils are going to be very happy your sons do not expect their wives to do basic things for them - aka being the husband's servant.

My mother taught me to iron from a young age. I started on tea towels handkerchiefs and table cloths and then graduated to skirts, blouses and shirts. I remember ironing my own school blouses.
I taught both my daughter and son to iron before they went off to university.
I didn't teach either of them any cooking skills, but they are now as competent as me in the kitchen. My daughter says she learnt by watching!
I think you did a good job OP as it's good to teach your children to be independent from a young age.
Now, if only I could get my husband to iron his own clothes!

I was not allowed to touch DF's or DBs' shirts - oh no!!
In fact older DB ironed his own he was so fussy.

I suppose I'm too fussy to let a 10yr old iron their own clothes.

My mother was awful at ironing so as soon as I was able ( about 13) I told her I would iron my own.

You definitely were not a hard mother Farmor15, you gave them life skills. My girls used to help with the laundry and did their own ironing as I did when a girl. Husband's shirts a different matter, how I hated having to do them when he was working, he does his own now!