Did you know there’s an activity you can do with your kids that will cultivate personal responsibility and a feeling of pride, as well as give a natural environment for practicing math abilities? The very best part, if you don’t eat out for each and every meal, is that you are doing it : cooking.
My kids were young when I started to teach them. The older two took to baking immediately. My older daughter, Lydia, whose nickname is Birdie, became such an avid baker, we started to call her “Birdie Crocker.” I made cookbooks for her and her older brother, Christopher, with simple family favorites.
Alison Hodgson
Eden, age, slicing vegetables. Look at this ascertained (and chocolatey) little face.
My youngest, Eden, was excited to follow in her siblings’ footsteps. She parked herself in our little island loved to help. She was much younger than the other two, but she wanted to do whatever they did, such as cracking eggs. This made me nervous, until I recalled that her eagerness was a fantastic thing and that the only way to learn how to crack an egg would be to attempt it. She obliterated a few, but it wasn’t long until she had been cracking them like a pro.
From the time she was 4, she had her own little paring knife and cutting board. Once when we had been creating quesadillas together, she happily diced green peppers while I cut poultry, sliced onions and peppers, cooked up it. We talked while we labored, and she would reach over to catch additional peppers as needed. It had been such a natural gesture. She didn’t request more; she simply helped herself as anyone would who had been serving me cook dinner. I told her how much I loved cooking with her — and it was true, maybe not just motherly enthusiasm. Her quiet industry and graceful confidence brought joy to what could have been a mundane job.
Williams-Sonoma
OXO Cookie Scoop – $12
Now every one of my kids have been accomplished bakers, and Eden is delving to breakfast classics: French toast, pancakes and waffles. The older two do not cook as much as they did when they were younger, but they’ve all expressed an interest in learning more.
I checked in with my friend Sara, a mother of four women who are 15, 14, 13 and 8 years old. Whenever we see the women are flowing in and out of the kitchen, helping in big and tiny ways. The last time we came across, the 15-year-old offhandedly shook a homemade vinaigrette and tossed the salad without being requested. For breakfast the 14-year-old made a batch of waffles that were so good, I asked her for the recipe.
True, there was a minor miscalculation at first, leading to a batch so big that it fed all 11 people with sufficient left over to freeze for another day, but after a little check-in with Sara, that was immediately solved. I respect the casual relaxation and power Sara’s women have in the kitchen. When I asked her how she fostered this, she had a couple of ideas to share.
Boor Bridges Architecture
Place this woman to work!
Kids are never too young. Sara started her women helping out in the kitchen whenever they can stand on a chair, stirring, dumping premeasured cups yes, hammering that egg the very first time.
Kids will need to get excited about what they’re cooking. Allow them to choose recipes, meals etc.. Ownership happens when kids delight in food and are pleased with their creations. Sara’s motto: “We could never make too many cookies.”
Kids who cook can help you. When you invite kids into the kitchen, then it may slow down the process initially, but you will need to take the long view. Sara’s older women can tackle easier recipes and routinely prepare dinner for the whole family, a bonus for Sara, who works part time and just started back in college.
Discuss about nourishment. Sara does this all of the time. “We discuss what is good for you as well as what appears to be good and actually isn’t. We talk about color — a fantastic plate has color.”
Presentation matters. Sara says, “They see Mom shooting pictures of a table, and they know it’s a major thing. A quick meal could be just tossed on the island, but on occasion the meal is a lovely spread with candles and fairly plates. The women commence the fairly setting now and then also.”
Williams-Sonoma
OXO Vegetable Chopper – $20
This chopper is really a safe choice to maintain an eager helper’s little hands protected.
I’d add only these hints:
Equip them. My kids had their own aprons, and Eden had a cute little chef’s hat. She wore it only once, but it was adorable. The aprons they utilized regularly. Eden began pruning with a little safety knife we bought for carving pumpkins. It was basically a thickly serrated paring knife. This was fantastic for her to begin with, but it had been dull, it immediately turned into a pity, and I moved her up to a real paring knife. It was scary the first time she used it, but I carefully showed her the way to cut things safely, and I had been judicious in what I enabled her to cut in the beginning.
Phinney Ridge Cabinet Company
Give full control. When Christopher and Lydia were 8 and 10, I gave them a budget and then set them loose to plan, buy and prepare all of the ingredients for a dinner celebration. They made spaghetti with bread and salad, most of which Lydia handled herself with just a little guidance. Christopher produced a flavored olive oil for dipping the bread which he labored over and was touchingly concerned about getting the best flavor for. It was so fun to see them work and they had been so proud of these.
Notice: this is not the time to conserve. There’s always a place for instructing frugality, but the first time your son or daughter plans an whole meal, it’s a time to splurge.
Williams-Sonoma
Epicurean Pizza Cutter – $19.95
Be effusive. Every cook appreciates praise, and kids are no exception. Point out something special you enjoy about what your child has made and ask questions about the procedure. When Christopher and Lydia had their dinner party, we invited friends to share in the pleasure, as well as the reinforcement.
You may want to teach your kids how to get compliments. Once when Christopher left his specialization, fettuccine Alfredo, for company, we all poured on the praise. He started to apologize for its being not quite as good as he normally made it. I stopped him right there: “Buddy, you can take note of everything didn’t work, but keep it to yourself. When folks compliment you, the proper answer is, ‘Thank you.'”
Alison Hodgson
Here is Eden with a few of her cookbooks, making pancakes from scratch. This was the morning after a huge party and the final thing I needed to do, but she whipped the batter up and needed a hand only with flipping.
Prepare for errors. Even the most accomplished cook has had things go awry. Your response when errors are made is key. Attempt to keep upbeat and take the long view. Years ago when Lydia had been studying to bake, she chose to make chocolate chip cookies. It wasn’t long until she called me, since the mix looked strange. It was easy to see she had not fully creamed the butter and sugar before adding the vanilla and eggs. I started the mixer and beat everything into a creamy mix. It wasn’t quite what it would have been, but it had been fine.
“Is it going to be OK?” Lydia asked as she stirred from the flour.
I assured her it would be and asked, “What if it wasn’t? Imagine if it had been ruined?”
She thought for a minute, then answered, “We can start over.”
In most instances we could. That afternoon we had plenty of butter and sugar and eggs; it might have just taken time to quantify them.
Afterwards, as we were cleaning up I said, “Sweetie, you know if you attempt anything, chances are –“
“You are going to make mistakes?”
“Yes, and the more quickly you conquer your fear of creating them the happier you are going to be.”
If you’d noticed our kitchen that afternoon, it might have been obvious I had been teaching my daughter to bake. But you may not have known — and what I am coming to understand is the truly glorious work of parents, as I taught her an important life skill — is I was also teaching her how to live.