My kids repeatedly ask to help in the kitchen. I make it a habit to invite them to assist me with age-appropriate tasks for a number of reasons. We get to spend time together, they get to learn new skills, it builds confidence, they learn that work can be fun... the list goes on. Recently, Anna has been requesting greater independence in the kitchen. She wants to make her own creations. My first thought: "Aughhh. Another mess." My second: "It's not enough that I cannot engage you in the meal that I already have to prepare, but now I'm gonna have to stand by and watch to make sure you don't slice off any fingers." Third: "You want to add milk? Milk is so stinkin' expensive right now!" (These thoughts are pretty indicative of my priorities: cleanliness, my child, and money, respectively). Hee hee.
I indulged her on Tuesday. We had Ratatoille with our dinner. That's short for water, powdered milk (yep, I found a way to bypass her request), onions, celery, lettuce, rosemary, and salt boiled in a large stock pot for 10 minutes. Mmmm.
Wednesday she was at it again. This time it was something a bit more generic. Not to mention, useful. Scrambled eggs. She even took a few suggestions from me.
She asked again today. How long must I give in to this little girl's need to express her creativity? My answer: two days. I flatly told her no. Which leads me to the conclusion that I am, indeed, no fun. No fun at all.
2 comments:
One of my biggest frustrations as a mother is that it seems no matter how much we give and try to be fun, it inevitably comes back to saying no and setting limits. The more I play with my kids, the more they want me to. We could spend 3 hours outside and they would still want more. I still have to say no at some point. But still, they must be better off for the time and experiences they get, even if the ultimate result feels awfully similar for me. :) You are a great mom. I doubt my kids would have gotten a single free cooking day.
Wow Susie, she got two cooking sessions more than I would have given my kids. It is all I can do to let them crack the egg or stir the mixture! I am impressed.
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