It started a few years ago with a special sandwich recipe. To the naked eye it was a simple sandwich, to my son it was a proud moment. Letting your child try new things and praising their efforts is the start of something priceless. INDEPENDENCE and self confidence!

Both my kids help me in the kitchen. When my daughter was little I asked her, what is your favourite part of baking with mommy? She would reply “The licking part.” Because she would lick the spoon after the icing was made.

 My son loves it as well.  His specialty is fried eggs. Last year he asked me to show him how to fry an egg. He was so proud of himself, and so was I. 

Here is a picture of breakfast he made for me, he made a beautiful presentation as well.

This Halloween we had a dinner party and we made meatloaf mummy faces. The most exciting part for my son was all the freedom I gave him. He didn’t need to measure and he could pick the ingredients he wanted to add. I put out some appropriate choices and let him go to town!

He was so excited. It was amazing for me to watch the wonderment in my son trying something new and feeling so proud of himself. 

Here are some pictures of our process.

Thick cut bacon for the wrappings. Onions for the eyes and teeth.

The results were yummy! And scary looking! Which was the point of the project.

Provide an opportunity for these life skills to develop. Don’t worry so much about the details. Yes, it will take longer. Yes, it will make a mess. But you will be building memories, a stronger relationship with your child and invaluable life skills.