‘The Great British Baking Show’: Mary Berry Has This Tough Rule For Her Grandchildren

Mary Berry is used to judging cakes, pastries, pies, and all forms of baked goods on The Great British Baking Show, all the while having contestants conform to a variety of rules and specific techniques on the beloved baking program.

Now, Berry’s sharing how she keeps her grandkids in line. She’s raised her own three children and knows what it takes to raise great kids. Much like her baking show, there are rules to be followed. Find out the values she’s passing on to her grandkids and the one tough rule Berry insists on when they visit.

Berry says keep working, don’t retire

One rule Berry has for herself, that she has kept and intends to keep on following, is don’t retire. She loves working and believes when one works, one keeps useful and feels alive.

She recently told The Telegraph last month she’s “busier than ever” after leaving The Great British Baking Show.

“One day they’ll push you to one side and say they don’t want you any more. It isn’t work, it’s sheer pleasure.”

“My advice for children is: when they’ve finished their schooling, for goodness sake, find something – whatever it is – that when you get up in the morning, you want to go and work. You get out of bed and want to go and enjoy it. Because when people say, ‘I can’t wait to retire’, I’m not going to retire until they kick me out.”

Berry says ‘get your kids in the kitchen’

The baking show host feels children shouldn’t be kept out of the kitchen. In fact, they should be allowed in to help out as much as possible. The proud grandmother shared with The Guardian in 2012 about her enjoyment in working alongside her grandchildren in the kitchen.

“My…grandsons…have their own little omelette pans. When they come to stay (usually unexpectedly) they nearly always make themselves an omelette. Frozen peas, a bit of chopped ham, some sweetcorn… anything that they see, they’ll put in and experiment.”

“Every child who leaves school will have to cook; it’s part of family life,” she continued. “So many parents are out working and often they haven’t time to cook, so it’s essential that children are taught about healthy eating, and that they know how to do it inexpensively and are not always buying packets. It doesn’t take long to peel a potato or shred a cabbage.”

Berry’s 1 tough rule with her grandchildren

Berry loves her grandchildren and feels it’s utterly important for them to learn to cook. She also wants them to hold mealtimes with family as a very important time together.

And her tough rule?

“When I go on holiday with the children, Granny has all the phones,” she continued with The Telegraph. They hand them in to me and they’re allowed them for half an hour in the mornings and an hour-and-a-half at night while we’re getting supper. And it works.”

Read more: Mary Berry’s Disturbing Habit During Breaks on ‘The Great British Baking Show’