Join a live chat, Tuesday 3/24, to discuss cooking with your kids! Talk with other Gather moms and dads to find out why this is important to them. Questions to consider for the chat include:
- Did you cook as a child?
- Do you teach cooking skills to your own children? Why is this important?
- Does your child have the opportunity to cook for festive occasions, including parties?
- What are your child's favorite dishes to make?
Participate on 3/24 from 3-4PM ET and you could win a prize pack of DK Publishing's cookbooks for kids that includes the new, Cookbook for Girls. You'll also receive:
Kids Fun & Healthy Cookbook
Around the World Cookbook
Mom & Me Cookbook
Healthy Cooking for Kids
Three chat participants will win prize packs!
How to join the chat:
The chat takes place within the comment field of this article. Submit your responses in the comment box. Be sure to occasionally RERESH your internet browser so that you can see new responses from other participants. There is no moderator for this chat.
Bookmark Parenting.gather.com so that you can easily find this chat on Tuesday 3/24 @ 3PM ET!
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Comments: 301
Do you teach cooking skills to your own children? Why is this important? yes I do. I love the time with them and plus i think they all should learn to cook for themselfs for the future especially the boys
Does your child have the opportunity to cook for festive occasions, including parties? we don't have parties
What are your child's favorite dishes to make? my kids love to bake with me..especially cakes..
Yes, I taught cooking skills to my kids, my son and my daughter.
I taught my daughter how to make desserts from scratch, how to make fine, old European dishes like Stroganoff, Boeuf Bourginon, Salads, home made soups, bread and more.
I taught her how to make Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.
Teaching cooking skills to your children is important because she or your sons will need to carry on the individual family traditions, as well as to know how to make fine, tasty food for a good price, how to budge their time and how to have a great time doing it.
We make some Polish dishes, such as Favorki, (Chrustiki) as well as American and European (French/Italian) dishes.
We do have the opportunity to make festive dishes.
YES, my kids do... yay! I let them help out when I was baking up all our holiday goodies and they had so much fun doing it. We made peppermint bark, a few different kinds of coconut macaroons, fudge, cherry & filbert cookies, caramel & filbert clusters... you name it, we made it.
We also invite friends over every month for the UFC on pay per view and I always try to cook up something new for everyone. The kids get to help me with those meals too.
I'd have to say anything sweet would be their favorite because they always get to lick the bowl and beaters, ha.
My oldest son and I picked out a neat looking dish a few weeks ago though and spent hours on it together. Flank steak with roasted red pepper sauce and garlic mashed potatoes. He loved making that one with me especially because we went out and specifically bought things to make THAT dish. It was fun for him to help out with shopping too in preparation for the dinner.
'Cookbook for Girls' probably won't apply too much to me since I have 3 boys but I have a friend who is pregnant with her 3rd girl right now and another friend who has a 3 year old daughter who really likes to help her mommy out in the kitchen. That book would make a GREAT gift for either one of them.
'Kids Fun & Healthy', 'Around the World', Mom & Me' & 'Healthy Cooking for Kids' ALL sound like really cool books to have in my collection. Like I said, we're always trying out new things in the kitchen and having different cookbooks is a great way to provide inspiration.
The books that DK Publishing is giving away for this chat have awesome recipes that your kids will have so much fun making!
I'm actually not sure if I did. I'd imagine I did, but honestly I can't remember anything about it.
I did. One of my favorite sets of pictures of me as a preschooler were ones my aunt and grandmother did as they helped me make cookies, with pictures taken at each stage. They made it look as if I did it all myself.
As a teen, some of my favorite memories were cooking with my sisters. We'd make candy or cookies and talk. Those were some of our best times.
I do.
* Why is this important?
So many reasons. To live frugally, to live healthily, one needs not to be dependent on fast food or microwave cooking.
When you find members of the family have sensitivities or allergies, the ability to make from scratch can be the difference between having certain favorites, or not, or at a reasonable cost, or great expense.
I have two boys, and a daughter, and I feel it's equally important for all of them to be comfortable in the kitchen.
I do, but it's because he has a genuine interest in cooking. I admittedly don't cook much, so while I teach him I learn new recipes that we wind up making afterward.
This is helpful in many ways:
1: Gideon learns the joy of cooking (something I'm learning as well!)
2: Gideon learns a skill that's needed (Yep, me too, LOL)
3: Gideon learns about mathematics in the measuring.
4: Gideon has one more thing to take pride in when we all LOVE his cooked foods.
5: Gideon feels more like a daddy because he, too can cook. (Identifying with male role models is always important to kids)
Not so far. They're pretty young yet. It's a great idea, though, and I'll have to work this in.
Pretty much anything they get to have a hand in preparing. I like to find ways they can help with our regular meals, even if it's as simple as getting the ingredients from the fridge or pantry, or helping combine things. They feel so proud because they helped make it.
We don't go to nor throw parties, but he cooks around the house for special holidays sometimes.
Basically he cooks everyday things. Like pizza, dip, eggs, and macaroni and cheese (from scratch!)
Jennifer - math in measuring is a GREAT point.
Yes, I remember ALWAYS helping my mom in the kitchen! I also took Cooking 4H when I was a kid, loved it!
Yes, when I was about eight I began to cook things for myself like macaroni and cheese. I also would bake brownies sometimes for the family. I also assisted my mom and dad in several projects.
* Do you teach cooking skills to your own children? Why is this important?
It is important to teach children how to cook. Not only is it just plain important to learn how to cook, but it also lets children learn how to follow directions and see results at the end of their working.
Yes, we wanted our children to be independent and that included being able to create healthy meals.
Of course! Both of my kids have been helping me in the kitchen for years, it's fun for them. Plus it teaches them a valuable life skill, they might not always have someone around to cook for them and it's something they will need to know how to do.
It also teaches them measuring, following directions, etc.
All of the time, I let them help me on a regular basis.
They love making pancakes, flipping them is their favorite part of it all! LOL!
I had to learn early, as my mom went back to work when I was in high school and someone needed to start the dinner. I learned rather quickly out of necessity.
Absolutely, our daughters were always a part of creating meals. I think we had the most fun creating holiday cookies. That and our Thanksgiving meal. Even their guests were a part of making the meal. Everyone had a job and we all did a cooking dance in the kitchen.
For a while there it was muffin pizzas.
I think his favorite now is macaroni and cheese. It might have something to do with several ounces of cheese being added into the mixture. I dunno, call me crazy, but he's a big cheese fiend. LOL
Another favorite is eggs because he has his own REAL miniature frying pan that's big enough to fry one egg in.
You are SO right! Great statement:
"I have always found that people who know the basics of cooking are generally more self-assured people. The people who say "I can't cook" are the people who "can't" do anything . Anybody can cook. We can't all cook on a high level, but we can all prepare basic sustaining meals.
(wait, should I be offended like he doesn't like my cooking?) LOL
He cooks rice dinners, roasts and so on.
I would have to totally disagree - I think it makes them secure in who they are!
Nah, I wasn't suggesting he end up being a House Husband but just offering to help someone in the kitchen is pure romance to me. LOL obviously I don't get much romance, huh?
* Do you teach cooking skills to your own children? yes Why is this important? I think children should be able to cook any meal.
* Does your child have the opportunity to cook for festive occasions, including parties? My daughter enjoys cooking for her friends and makes them food for their birthdays, as a homemade gift means you can leave items out that the other person is allergic or just doesn't like to eat.
* What are your child's favorite dishes to make? My daughter loves to made rice and serves it once a week with biscuits.
We do let him help during dinner at home, but it's not the same as making something for a book FOR kids to cook with, and he knows that.
You do have a point that it's not the same to make something out of an 'adult' cookbook. That's why I think it's so cool that there's so many 'cooking with kids' books out there.
* Did you cook as a child?
Yes...a lot. We grew up watching and helping my grandmothers and mom cook. Before long, my sister and I were responsible for cooking the meals after school.
* Do you teach cooking skills to your own children? Why is this important?
My daughter is grown now, but I taught her cooking skills. I think it is important for people (male and female) to know how to cook. When my twin granddaughters are here, we bake. When they get older, I will teach them how to do "more" cooking.
* Does your child have the opportunity to cook for festive occasions, including parties?
She did and now has her own daughters to share this with.
* What are your child's favorite dishes to make?
When my daughter was young, her favorite was mac & cheese (homemade~not out of the box.
As a side note ~ one of the things that impresses me the most about my husband is his ability and love of cooking. He loves to get new recipes to try and then "make them his own".
My kids help cooking as well. In fact one of their favorite cook books is my first children's cookbook.