Cooking Together: A Lasting Bond Which Started with Pancakes!
As a Dad who works a very high stress job, I often find that my energy levels are at their lowest when I get home from a long day at the office, which is not the best recipe for spending quality play time with my two boys. Our eldest son turned two back in December and he seems to learn something new every day. He is starting to use his imagination a lot more, and I noticed that one of his favorite Christmas toys this year was a “build a pizza” puzzle by Melissa & Doug called the Pizza Party. We have a fire place in our living room, and he places the pizza in front of it saying something like “I’m cooking a pizza” or “This is gonna be good!”
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I wanted to build on his newfound fascination with preparing food by showing him how to cook something simple, so we chose pancakes to get started. One of my favorite times of the week is breakfast on a Saturday or Sunday. On weekdays I’m out of the house by 6:30 AM, so I usually don’t get to share in breakfast time.
I did some research and found a great article about teaching toddlers the basics of cooking and baking. I learned that involving them in the cooking process teaches them physical motor skills when performing tasks such as pouring or stirring. It also teaches them cognitive skills such as listening to instructions and following steps in the correct order. Cooking also engages the senses with the textures of different ingredients, the various smells and tastes, etc.
A couple of months back I decided to take advantage of a lazy Saturday morning by inviting my son to help me make pancakes for the family breakfast. We pulled up a chair for him to stand on so that he could see how everything was being prepared. He helped me measure out the pancake mix and milk with a measuring cup and stir the mix after we broke an egg into the bowl. I was surprised at how well behaved and attentive he was throughout the whole process. He listened when I told him to sit down, and he resisted the urge to grab all the interesting things on the kitchen counters.
Making sure he was at a safe distance, I heated up a skillet, and he watched as I cooked the pancakes one by one. I tried to explain each step to him, and he seemed to understand. The thing I liked the most was that there were several moments where things appeared to click–I think he realized that all of those home-cooked breakfasts that we make for him actually take work!
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After our pancake-making session I figured I had earned some bonus Dad points but wasn’t sure there would be any lasting impression. However, several weeks later when I was making some scrambled eggs and bacon, my son came racing into the kitchen and started to drag a chair over to the same spot where we prepared the pancakes. He got up on the chair and watched as I cooked breakfast, asking the obligatory “What is that?” every thirty seconds!
I realized that the simple act of letting him help me make some pancakes had established a lasting bond between us. He doesn’t sit and watch me cook breakfast every weekend, but I take great pleasure in seeing him drag that chair over to help out, learn, and keep our bond alive.
If you are interested in more ideas for learning and development play activities for your child, sign up and check out the wonderful resources at www.babeeplay.com.
*This post was contributed by guest blogger Martin H.
Playful Bee
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