Kids In The Kitchen

From an early age I have always involved my children in our daily kitchen duties.  By the age of two my children were dumping the trash, helping to set the table and put things away.  As they grow up their responsibilities increase along with their capabilities.  Now they are learning to cook and boy are we having fun! 

For the past two years or so I have been teaching my girls about nutrition, meal planning and grocery shopping.  We discuss watching prices and what constitutes a good buy as well as using coupons and sales fliers to save even more and allow us to stay within our strict budget. 

Food waste is another area we have discussed in relation to the fact that for one thing it just isn’t okay to be wasteful and secondly that it costs money to throw away our food.  So we learn ways to be careful and avoid waste as we shop, cook and prepare our meals. 

My girls, just as their brother did, actively participate in the preparation for shopping as well as the meal preparation itself.  What used to be a solitary chore for me on Sunday mornings with the newspaper as now grown into a family event.  I have helpers going through the ads and coupon circulars and making suggestions. 

Meal planning is a fun family project now too as they offer good suggestions.  It is a big help to have their input so it isn’t always up to me to figure out what to fix all the time.  Plus it helps us to stay out of a rut. 

We all enjoy looking for new recipes to try too.  I love it when they find something and want to give it a whirl.  They get so excited.  Especially, when it turns out delicious and tasty. 

Finally, I am teaching them how to properly use knives and other kitchen utensils.  Gladly, they are my chief cheese graters.  They are also learning to read recipes and follow directions, measure ingredients and clean up after themselves in the process.  The clean up part is still a work in progress. 

Happily, as my children grow up and leave the nest they will possess the skills to effectively grocery shop and prepare meals for themselves and their families.  It is an essential skill to have and the sooner they learn the better off they are.