When you let your kids help you out in the kitchen, they
learn valuable life skills, and you learn the patience of a saint. So,
basically a win/win situation. I let my first born daughter, April, start
honing her mad culinary skills at age three. The confidence she has now, three
years later, is remarkable. At the tender age of six. she has lapped some of my
peers on the maturity track as she can cook healthy meals ALL BY
HERSELF. While I, of course, do the classic mom-maneuver of "watching
while pretending not to watch so she doesn't feel like she needs to be
watched".
It's important to let your kids make a mess, too. Don't let the
fear of your kitchen looking like the aftermath of a prison riot stop you from
letting your little ones experiment in the kitchen. I know we all try to teach
our children to do things the 'right' way, but little hands using big utensils
will ultimately end up with some spillage and imperfection. Who cares? When
you're done with your cooking lesson, a cleaning lesson just seems natural.I
remember a couple years back, my husband came home to me standing on a ladder
wiping the kitchen ceiling. I told him that April had made her own smoothie,
but hit the blend button before we had put the lid back on. You have never seen
a child so terrified and then instantly elated with herself as when that food
started flying through the air! A mess that took me a half hour to clean up is
a memory that will make us laugh for years to come.
When it comes to kids in the
kitchen, I say, "Let them eat cake! And bake cake! And make a good ol'
mess to clean up!" Trust me, you won't regret it. And when they are little
expert chefs and want to make meals for the family, that's one less thing for
you to do. Win/Win!
