Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

Just recently, as I was chatting away with another mom, she asked :

‘So do you cook at home?’

‘Yes’, I said.

‘Then where are your kids when you’re cooking?’, she asked as she gave a puzzled look.

(She briefly shared earlier how she found it hard to do anything around the house when her two kids are not in bed).

‘They’d play by themselves somewhere around the house’, I explained,

‘OR they’d be with me in the kitchen, helping me out with something or watching me cook.’

…

When I grew up in Indonesia, we had maids to cook and clean the house for us. And so as a little girl, I didn’t spend much time in the kitchen.

If I stepped into the kitchen (when I was no older than seven years old), I’d most likely get told to wait and play elsewhere, for fear of getting ‘hurt’ from all the cooking and cutting.

Boys generally are not expected to be in the kitchen, too.
(ie. generally practised among the more traditional chinese families at the time)

I guess, it’s just simply easier to NOT have kids in the kitchen.

…

Things are run rather differently at our home though.

We try to involve our kids in age-appropriate ‘kitchen activities’ since they’re young, while teaching them the importance of knowing what’s safe and what’s not, and the kind of things that can only be carried out by adults.

(I wrote a post on ‘Getting kids involved around the house‘ in 2008, when Vai was less than 2 years old)

For example, kitchen activities that can be done by toddlers are:

– Move fruit pieces from the big bowl to their own small bowl
– Hand over the vegetables and fruits from the grocery bag to Mommy
– Stir the marinated chicken with a big spoon
– Place banana pieces into the blender, stand aside and watch Mommy make some yummy banana milkshake

(I wrote a post titled ‘Vai’s pictorial instructions on How to Enjoy your Meal‘. Vai was 2 years and 3 months then and he helped out with our meal preparation)

…

Basically, we try to let our kids see how their contribution and active participation can indeed be a rewarding and positive experience
(read: This does not mean they ALWAYS need to be in the kitchen when we’re cooking though)

And if you ask me, the fact that Daddy helps out and cooks for the family once in a while also plays an important part, especially for the son (as the little boy gets to see how helping out around the house, including the kitchen, is meant for all members of the family, regardless of their gender)

Anyway.

I’ll now leave you with a video clip I recently took of Anya as she helped cut some vegetable for dinner (she used a ‘bread knife’ as it’s safer for her age).

She’s 5.5 years old.