we've had a lot going on/my son cooked his first meal by himself

That is wonderful.

Thank you, my goal is to teach him enough that he can apply it to being able to cook full meals whenever he's hungry and not necessarily just have to rely on one or two recipes. I am not the world's greatest cook, but the food usually turns out well, and we have never gone hungry, which are the important things.

I agree, it's a great thing for everyone to know how to do. Both my husband and my father know how to cook, and both actually cook better than I do, but I have banned my husband from the kitchen because he makes huge messes that I have to clean, and I told him if I have to clean, I may as well cook. My husband will get a new dish every single time he does something instead of washing the one he already has, and then leave an entire sink full of dishes for me. I do the dishes as I go, and I rewash what I need, which was a big reason I taught my son to clean his mess, too. As far as my situation, or rather situations, we are working on them; a couple have gotten a bit better, but I'm hesitant to say they're completely resolved, but enough that I can actually get a little breather in. Life is exhausting sometimes lol.

I think learning basic life skills is so important. It's super important to be able to take care of your own basic needs. You don't have to be a top-notch chef to be able to cook yourself a meal. I take a lot of shortcuts with cooking, just for the sake of time. We are a busy household most of the time, so doing things like buying bread or jarred garlic saves on time. There are a lot of simple meals that can be made that don't take a ton of time or effort, but you still have to put in some work. I feel like the biggest issue with most adults is that they find it easier to just do it themselves instead of taking the time to teach a child. It is easier to do it yourself sometimes, but by doing that, you handicap a child; you are not doing what is best for them, you are trying to save time instead of teaching something basic and important. I have been guilty of it in the past, especially when my son was smaller. I think we have all done it to some extent, but we have to eventually come around to see what is in their best interest, not just ours. Yes, it's easier for me to just cook the meal, but what does he gain by that? What can I potentially gain in the future by having a child who can make his own meals? It's easier in the moment, not necessarily in the long run. My son not only learned how to do something on his own, but also had something to be proud of later. He was so excited for his dad to try his spaghetti for work the next day. It meant so much to him that he did something that benefited not just himself but also others. Last week, I showed him how to do everything with some help from him, and this week, he made the same meal on his own, with me standing nearby telling him how to do it. The goal is for him to be able to eventually do it all on his own. He did tell me he wants to get one meal down before learning how to make a new one, so we may be eating spaghetti for a while. I guess I'm glad it's one of his favorite meals lol. I feel like once kids get a certain age it's much more difficult to break certain habits, which may be the issue with your step grand daughter. At 22, you're pretty much set in your ways until you have the motivation to want to do better. Ideally, the best time to teach children things is when they're much smaller, which I had tried with my son, but he really struggled because he was dealing with fine motor delays among other things, so he was doing OT and dealing with that stuff, but he's able to do it all now.

Thank you, while I'm hesitant to say some of our issues have since been resolved, things have happened that have allowed us to actually breathe. In the grand scheme of things, things could be worse, but it's just a lot going on all at once, and it can get overwhelming. I'm working on handling my situations the best way I know how. I know there are worse things happening to others in life, and I try to keep that perspective sometimes.

Thank you, I'm glad he's not only learning it but seems to enjoy it.

Thank you, and that's the goal.