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Parenting Lessons In Cooking

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Lately Lydia and I have been cooking while Asa takes his first nap. I am not a cook by nature. My dad and brother are the chefs in the family. They love food and understand how it works together. I just follow recipes. I was recently introduced to once a month cooking (also called batch cooking) and since then I have started cooking dinner during breakfast or lunch, making hundreds of pancakes at a time or cooking 12 chicken breasts at once just so I can freeze them and have easy meals for the rest of the week!

So the last few days Lydia and I have made a shepherd’s pie, crustless mini-quiche and meatballs. As we’ve spent this time together I’ve learned a few things…

1. Matching aprons are best. Lydia and I have several different aprons but Lydia’s favorite are the matching “Mommy and Me” aprons. I love that Lydia wants to match me. It’s such a reminder to be worthy of imitation.

2. Cooking teaches obedience. Lydia wonders if she can stir a certain way, pour as much as she wants or handle a knife. She’s learning to obey the recipe, trust my knowledge and be meticulous in following the rules. This is a double lesson because the results are always good!

3. I’m turning my daughter into a homemaker. Making quiche and browning ground beef doesn’t seem too exciting. But I’m planting small seeds of being a home manager, a caregiver and a woman who loves her family. Yesterday we were at a bakery and she said, “Mommy, you could learn to make bread. Then you could teach me and I wouldn’t have to come here [the bakery] to buy bread when I’m big!”.

4. Cooking teaches confidence. Lydia may only be breaking eggs or stirring something that doesn’t even need to be stirred, but when we pull a delicious meal out of the oven, Lydia believes she made it by herself! When we eat that meal and her Daddy and I rave about it, she glows! I could just cook by myself and tell her she’s too young to help. But instead, I’m giving her confidence and showing her that she can do anything!

I want to be purposeful in every area of my parenting. Cooking with Lydia has brought another dimension. It’s helped me realize that everything I do with her makes a lasting impression. I’m determined to lead my daughter on a path that will honor God—be it with a craft, a story or a crustless mini quiche.

Respectfully submitted to the fabulous Finer Thing Friday by Amy.

Comments

  1. Love it! I wish mine had more interest in it and that I had more patience with her with it. Think I need to work on this. I’m actually considering giving her a night of the week to plan. She really likes to plan. Have no idea where she got that from.

    Oh! And thanks for linking up to my guest post.
    .-= Kathy Hill´s last blog ..Finer Things Friday: Date Days =-.

  3. I’ve been trying to let my little ones (3, 2, and 2) help when I bake. They take turns putting in ingredients and I also give them a “tasting plate” where they can taste each ingredient as we put it in. You’re so right when you say cooking together teaches obedience – right now we’re working on keeping little fingers out of the mixing bowl!
    .-= Anna´s last blog ..Scenes From The Back Porch =-.

  4. I can’t wait to do this with my daughter. She recently turned two and is currently more interested in touching hot things and running and trying to get me to hold her while my hands are full than watching me. But I am biding my time. Soon, I will have her and her big brother (four) helping. My four year-old has just started to at least come up and watch me for a couple of minutes and ask questions. That’s exciting!
    .-= natalyn´s last blog ..day 167. =-.

Hi there!


I like to think of fun ways to lead my kids to Jesus and I like to share them with you. If you're new here, start here for some fun family-time ideas!

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