Should students have cookery classes for university?

Some parents, concerned about their children's welfare when they go to university for the first time this weekend, have been signing them up for cookery classes.

The courses are designed to prepare teenagers for a healthy lifestyle away from home.

On Today, Kumud Gandhi, who runs cookery classes for freshers, explained why students should consider such courses:

"This is your way into independent life and this is a new phase in your life. You're going to do this for the rest of your life and so university is a great place to start to learn to cook.

"Some children unfortunately don't experience food being cooked at home."

However, Times columnist Alice Thompson thought it was a step too far: "I think we've become too obsessed with doing everything for our children at university. They have to learn to be self-sufficient and resilient.

"In a way there's nothing wrong with what we did, which was living on Pot Noodle for a couple of weeks until you learned that actually you wanted something more substantial."

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Thursday 11 September.