Mealtime Monday: Helping Hands

Having dinner together is one of the best ways to let your children know you love them. Having them HELP make the dinner is even better. When children help make what the family is going to eat, it gives them a sense of accomplishment and appreciation for the work that goes into feeding a group of people, as well love for those being served.

As a mother of six children, I know that having little uncoordinated hands assist in the food prep process takes a LOT more time than if mom just did everything…but isn’t that the point?

*When they are young, start out with simple assignments like: setting the table, sprinkling cheese on top of something or adding water to something. 
*As they get older the tasks can become more challenging like: grating the cheese, rolling out the dough, chopping the tomatoes or preparing the spaghetti noodles. 
*When they are over 12, they can make an entire portion of the meal: a complete salad, a casserole of lasagna, or dough for the pizza. When this happens, believe me, the choirs in heaven sing and you will be ever so glad that you spent time having them help in the kitchen.