I don’t cook for my kids and I am proud of it

“I feel a bit ashamed that I don’t want to cook for my kids every day, I didn’t want the neighbours to know”

A customer once told us that - and it felt like a stab to my heart.

I wish I could tell you without a shred of self-doubt that it’s 2023, that we literally have a trillion-dollar food delivery industry (if anything, strangely, we didn’t yet have one for children!)But as a mum, I know what she means. I FEEL the judgement.

You don’t need to look further than some comments on our social media channels to see the negativity towards using a meal delivery service for your kids. What hurts more is that oftentimes, they come from fellow women.

So what do I do when I read those? Well, I rely on logic. So here’s to the common criticisms I’ve seen.

“Don’t you know how to cook?”

Well, the question seems to me to be beside the point. I also know how to wash clothes, but it doesn’t mean I don’t use a washing machine or a dry cleaner.

It’s a question of time. I believe my time is better spent enjoying my children - that’s where I’m irreplaceable and the memories are there to stay with me. Babies are only babies for only so long and I’d rather spend those precious hours playing with them, taking them out for walks or classes or just simply enjoying sniffing their heads while reading a book on those rare occasions when the stars are aligned.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy cooking for my family from time to time, especially on holidays when everyone is together. It can be relaxing and fun. But it is not on the days when I’m trying to keep the house tidy, get my toddler to school and need to run between those baby classes!

“But baby food is so easy! You must be so lazy.”

Well, to the contrary. Just like I can swim but I don’t teach my children swimming - it’s not because I’m lazy, but rather, I want them to be taught by professionals, to be able to do it properly.

So why is food any different? I’m not a children’s dietitian and I don’t plan on training to be one but I want to make sure my children are provided with the best nutrition possible. So it seems natural to outsource this to professionals where the menu is planned in detail for the appropriate ages.

There’s actually so much to babies’ nutrition that’s different from adults - from their intake of carbs and fat to their needs for iron and calcium… Providing them with a balanced, healthy diet requires a lot of knowledge and is in fact far from easy!

“It’s such a wasteful habit.”

Again, it’s quite the opposite. Yes, getting a service like V&Me may not be for every wallet (yet) but for me to provide the same quality and variety, it’d actually cost me more to do the shopping AND there will be a lot more food wastage. V&Me offers different dishes every day and every week - and the menu changes seasonally. That’s a price I’m willing to pay so my children can experience more than the 5 go-to dishes I throw together week after week.

So there you go, those are the reasons why I’m proud to be using V&Me and proud to be part of the team that created it. I hope you are lucky or strong enough to have never questioned yourself. But if you have, I hope you can join me in saying no to that mum-shaming and become a proud V&Me user!

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