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> You want them away from boiling water, dropped knives, and dangerously hot ovens. This sort of stuff is exactly why the separate kitchen doesn't work at our
by bunderbunder 7y ago
> You want them away from boiling water, dropped knives, and dangerously hot ovens.
This sort of stuff is exactly why the separate kitchen doesn't work at our house. The kids want to be where they can see us, and, with the way our kitchen is set up, there's no way for them to do that without being underfoot. At the same time, we want to be able to keep at least a vague eye on them, and that's not not really possible if they're in a completely separate room.
Versus, when I was little, our house had a kitchen that was separated from the living room by a counter. Which things much easier: We could hang out in sight of Mom, Mom could keep an eyey on us, and we weren't creating a safety hazard (or hassle) just so long as we stayed on one side of the counter.
It's also a total PITA at dinner parties. These aren't the old days, where it was OK for one person (always the same person) to stay isolated in the kitchen for half the evening, and it was understood that it's a private space where guests aren't allowed. Instead we end up with more and more people congregating in the kitchen, socializing with the cook and then with each other, until eventually literally every guest is there, getting in the way of the cooking, and they all have to get kicked out so that we can open the oven safely. Then you're isolated for a little bit, until someone needs to get another beer from the fridge, and ends up staying in the kitchen to chat, and then another, and it slowly ramps up until a mildly dangerous cacophany again. Rinse and repeat until dinner is served.
- saddestcatever 7y agoThat's the unwritten rule of house parties. Unless something absolutely amazing is happening in the living room, the smokers will be out back, a pair of introverts will be in the hallway, and everyone else will slowly gravitate towards the kitchen until everyone is in the way.
- asteli 7y agoI've seen this so many times. The introverts and smokers I can explain, but to this day I have no idea why people congregate in the kitchen even when there's nothing specific to draw them in there (food, etc.)
- elipsey 7y agoIt's where the beer is.
- DanFeldman 7y agoThere's just something enticing about watching home-cooking. It's better than any TV you've ever seen. If your subject is a better cook than you or has a much larger range of recipe comfort, watching their technique or process is really eye-opening. I love seeing what my friends do or don't do in the kitchen, always something to learn about. It smells amazing too being near the action. Sight + smell getting stimulated all at once.
- Rychard 7y agoIn nearly every other room of the house, you're meant to sit down. The kitchen is optimized for walking between appliances. When the available seating is exhausted in the living room, it feels a bit strange to remain standing if everyone else is sitting, so you excuse yourself to the kitchen for another drink, where you find a number of other people standing and conversing. This feels less strange, so you don't see much point in going back to the living room. Once everyone has made the inevitable trip to the kitchen to freshen up their beverage, and gets caught up in a conversation in the kitchen, the living room gradually becomes empty, and at that point, nobody wants to go sit alone in the living room and miss all the action happening in the kitchen.
- pauletienney 7y agoThis seems to be quite universal (at least in western countries?). I witnessed it so many times but I never found the reason/psychological mechanism which lead to this. Any idea?
- cnf 7y agoHas been this way at every family party for at least 60 years, 40 odd ones of which i have been a part of. Eventually, everyone ends in the kitchen.
- cdubzzz 7y agoJust a small aside re: kids being underfoot -- our little 1.5yo loves to spend time with us in the kitchen and always wants to be in on the action on the counter. This was problematic until we built him a little tower[0] to climb up and see/do things. We still have to be very aware of where we leave things on the counter, but he absolutely loves climbing up and down the thing and has mostly learned by now not to touch the stove or "big knives". [0] https://www.ana-white.com/woodworking-projects/little-helper-tower https://www.ana-white.com/woodworking-projects/little-helper...
- bunderbunder 7y agoHa. Wait and see - in another 6 months he'll be using it a stepping stone to climb up onto the counter and get into stuff that used to be out of reach.
- ycombobreaker 7y agoThen over time they graduate to moving silverware (dishwasher to tray, tray to table), washing/drying fresh produce, pouring their own water, mixing ingredients, etc. It starts with curiosity and a step stool (or "tower"). Though, some kids are easier than others to redirect.
- tropo 7y agoThey graduate to moving silverware (dishwasher to trash, table to electrical outlet), stabbing/squishing fresh produce, pouring everybody's water, mixing ingredients (rice in the milk jug), etc. Oh, that feeling of taking a drink of something opaque, and feeling unexpected solid items in your mouth...
- bunderbunder 7y agoSounds like our kids could be great friends.
- ycombobreaker 7y ago