by Olivia Emisar

Created on: September 25, 2009   Last Updated: September 27, 2009

We all agree that we all need to eat, and since we all need to eat, sharing the required tasks does not have to be a dreaded chore, but a creative environment that fosters learning skills, confidence and good memories.

Our kids have been "helping" in the kitchen since they were toddlers. They have always been eager to hand a plastic container or place a cup on the table. As they have grown, they have observed adults cooking and learning basic recipes.

As they have gotten older and taller, their contributions to the kitchen duties have expanded greatly and we now have a couple of chefs in the making, who have their own pumpkin pie recipe for Halloween, and have invented their own home made salad dressings.

How to start with all this family fun?

*Good habits start early and kids learn by watching and doing. Instill proper hand washing and utensil handling from the very beginning. It should come naturally to wash hands before, during and after handling foods.

*A mantra in our kitchen is to "Clean as you go", it greatly reduces the amount of clean up after a meal and teaches organizational skills while carrying on conversations.

*Start with what they can safely and competently do. Nothing builds confidence like being trusted with a job that can be done well and quickly, from setting the table to getting the ingredients needed for a meal. Every child of every age can contribute to the creation of every family meal.

*Increase their knowledge base by allowing stove cooking with supervision. A child that needs a stepping stool to stir a simmering dish should never do it alone, likewise, with retrieving things from a hot oven.

*Be receptive to their need to create their own recipes when they think they can add or replace ingredients to a standard staple. Some of our common recipes have been altered many times and no harm was done while they explored new tastes and textures.

*Make it a daily ritual and enjoy the conversations that only seem to pop up during the time they are slicing mushrooms, setting the table, making a salad or putting sandwiches together. It is amazing how much we can learn about their thought processes while they are busy doing side by side chores.

*Allow their creative side to shine! Holidays are special times for all but they don't have to be exactly the same every single time. Shake things up a bit by encouraging them to create a completely different menu or add less traditional dishes to the table. The entire purpose of the holidays is to share time together and less rigidity means more carefree time.

*Kids love to make fun stuff and making desserts, decorating cookies for classmates or neighbors also fills them with pride when they can say "I did it myself" or "mom/dad just helped a little".

*Make it an international day. Make it Italian, German, Chinese, or Portuguese night and share what you all know or think about the culture, their Geography or History.

*Blindfold the child and let his/her finger pick a country or a state in the map and help them search for a dessert recipe on the Internet that is typical of the area.

*Your children will be well rounded adults in the blink of an eye so don't forget to take the occasional messy pictures as they grow up and make a copy of the recipes used at that particular time.

Bon apptit!

Learn more about this author, Olivia Emisar.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.