"Cook with your children. The memories are worth the extra time and mess." I'm not so sure about that!And received the following reply from a friend:
I've been told I can't cook with children, no matter how delicious they may be.Typical Jonathan! LOL Anyway, I've heard the quote about cooking with your children being a great memory building activity, but at this point, with a 6 year old boy who has zero attention span for cooking, it is just not a good idea. He does have attention span for other things (LEGOs, Wii, movies), but no matter how much he wants to help me cook, he can't stay focused long enough to do anything but make a mess, and he drives me crazy wanting to move to the next step before the previous one is finished. I get so frustrated. It takes twice as long and makes 3-4 times the mess!
As Jenn pointed out during the same discussion, the point is to have good memories for your children, but I'm afraid all he's going to remember is that I was terribly annoyed. Partly, I need to work on my patience. Partly, I need to pick a better recipe to let him help with (not brownies from scratch; huge mess!!). But partly, I really think I should wait a few more years, like age 9-10. He might can help at the stirring stage or something, but having him in there "helping" at every stage is just too much for both of us at this point. I do fully intend for him to be proficient at feeding himself before he goes off to college, but I think age 6 is just too early for him (not necessarily for all children, just mine in particular). If he starts showing promise before then in terms of maturity, I'll try again. For now, I really think it is better to wait.
Currently feeling:
chef-ish
Maybe start with a packet mix for brownies or cupcakes instead of from scratch? Less time, less mess = less stress!
ReplyDeleteHave you had him tested yet for autisim or ADHD???
ReplyDeleteWow Anon - ADHD or autism because he doesn't focus on a cooking task? That's jumping the gun.
ReplyDeleteErin - My two are 12 and 14 and i *JUST this weekend* made boxed brownies with them. I had grand plans of cooking with them when they were younger but I have little patience for messes and so I put it off. They still made a mess this weekend but they cleaned it up. Now that they are older, I will be giving them more opportunities to do it themselves. They can follow directions and read so why would they not be able to follow a recipe.
Anyway, you are not alone. You will know when the right time to have him join you in the kitchen! =)