Am I being mean by not cleaning the fish my children catch??

Cleaning the fish is the thing I dislike always, so mostly, I buy cleaned fish from market. If we get fresh fish, I have to do that by myself, my wife does not like to do it either. For children, if it is the first time, meybe they need some advice about how to do that, they may feel strange or a little bit nervous to do that work,in the case, maybe you can help for a short while. Otherwise, just let them do it by their own.

I agree with you 100%, they are in their late teens and they are old enough to clean what they catch. If they were children, then I would say that you should help them so they learn how to clean them themselves, don't let them get away with you having to do the dirty work and they get all the fun. Remember the story of the little red hen? Same thing.

I think you're doing the right thing, and your mother's way would do them a disservice. Kids become more capable and (I think) more respectful of parents who expect them to take on responsibility.

absolutely they should be doing it on their own. I agree with you. Your mother sounds like she's stuck in the stone age, lol! I don't really like cleaning fish, even though it's fish I caught. I would definitely not be doing that for anyone else. Late teens!? That's old enough to know how to use a fillet knife. You are right. You aren't always going to be there for them to clean their fish and wipe their noses. They need to become young men and women who can be independent. Stay strong, sister!

I can understand if you were cleaning it to cook it immediately for dinner, but if they are just catching it and your not cooking it that night, then I think they should clean their own fish. They need to learn to care for themselves and not have mom do it for them. So, I don't blame you. They wanted to go fishing, then they can have the responsibility to clean their fish they caught. I mean it is like you going shopping and you expecting them to clip the price tags off of your clothes and hang them up for you. They would absolutely tell you no! So, you are right in doing this. Grandma only wants to spoil the kids. She forgot what it was like to teach responsibility, ha!