19/01/2025
On the dinner menu today was cream of pumpkin. She wanted to make the soup with me, but the sink was full of dishes from breakfast, and I didn't want to get started until we cleaned up a little. I had a cut on my finger, she offered to do the dishes for me.
My heart sang when I observed how she hummed tunes from while doing the dishes. In their early childhood programme, the older kids wash their dishes every day. The fact that she was humming showed how much she was enjoying her task.
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Though being in the kitchen together was the norm when she was younger, we didn't do much of that last year. There wasn't much time to include her on a weekday dinner prep, and we mostly ate outside on weekends.
Over the December holidays, I noticed that she wanted to work around the house together more often. "Can I cook dinner with you?" "Why don't we wash the dishes together?" That was the revival of our kitchen time. At 5.5yo, she already knows the basics of meal preparation and cooking. For example, I can delegate the task of cutting pumpkins and trust that she will do so with care. When cooking, she knows not to go too close nor splatter water on hot oil.
This year, I want to impart the culinary skills of how to add fragrance and oomph to a dish: which spices to add, how much to add, and when to add to extract the most flavours from our food.
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In a culture where convenience and efficiency are highly valued, families either outsource everyday household tasks to paid help or complete the tasks without the children. But don't forget the children. Don't wait till they are older. Don't use a reward system to get them to contribute around the house. Taking care of THE home together is their job too. And it goes beyond just putting their toys away. Don't underestimate the tasks of cooking and cleaning. The process of learning + mastering these skills shapes your child's character.
