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Last Updated: Jul 2nd, 2008 - 21:15:22 |
(ARA) - Some of the happiest family memories are made in the kitchen. Everyone cherishes a time when they baked cookies with grandma, or remembers the first cake they made for dad’s birthday.
Children learn so much though cooking and baking. They learn how to follow directions, math and measurement, as well as food and kitchen safety. They sharpen fine-motor skills and practice getting organized and sharing family responsibilities.
But adults and children who spend time in the kitchen together gain so much more. Cooking together opens dialogue between child and parent, grandparent, babysitter, or any caring adult who is spending time with a child. It gives them an opportunity to listen to each other’s thoughts and ideas while working through the creative process together. Cooking also helps children feel a sense of accomplishment and gives the adult opportunities to encourage and praise them.
“You’re creating a memorable experience each time you bake with a child,” says Andrea Zeilinger, mother of two and co-creator of Crayola Crafty Cooking Kits, “and the best part is the memory lasts long after the treats are gone. The smell of something special in the oven conjures the happy memory every time."
“Creating shared experiences is what is most important,” adds Jimmy Zeilinger, Andrea’s husband and the co-creator of Crafty Cooking Kits. “We want our children to have the fond memories that we both have as adults about cooking with a loved one when we were kids. And we were inspired by the fun we have with our daughters in the kitchen. Best of all, you get to eat when you’re finished.”
The Zeilingers are not suggesting setting kids loose in the kitchen. Rather, adult and child should cook as a family activity. By working and spending time together, the channels of communication should naturally open up, allowing for often-needed bonding for time-crunched families.
Families should cook and eat together as often as possible. Though the demands of work, school, soccer practice and dance classes can strain a family, research shows that eating together often becomes a thread that holds the family together and the kitchen table a place where bonding occurs through conversation and comfort.
But where to begin? The Zeilingers offer these tips for creating shared memories in the kitchen:
* Allow children to be original. There’s no right or wrong way to decorate a cookie! Let them be free with their imaginations, and they’ll be proud of the end result.
* Play with food. Let kids explore by kneading, rolling and re-rolling dough and trying different shapes and sizes. Do so along with them.
* Use the down time while the project is cooking to talk with your child. Start with how you’re going to decorate the treat, for instance, once it’s out of the oven.
* Be patient. Things are going to spill on the counter. Worry about cleaning up the mess later.
* Use your imagination and urge your child to do so as well. You never know what you may come up with together.
* Share what you baked. Write a message on a brownie to turn it into a “postcard” for grandma, or paint a batch of cookies in school spirit colors for a teammate. For relatives out of town, consider taking a picture of the baked creation and emailing it. It will extend the enjoyment for everyone. For ideas and creative decorating tips, go to www.CraftyCookingKits.com.
Once done, make sure your child knows that he or she is responsible for helping to clean the mess left over. Whether it’s washing dishes, sweeping up crumbs or simply bringing things to the sink, everyone who cooks is responsible for cleaning up, no matter how small the part.
If you’re family is crunched for time, Jimmy and Andrea Zeilinger have the solution with Crayola Crafty Cooking Kits, the innovative product invented by parents who know what busy family life is like. With Crafty Cooking Kits, the Zeilingers offer a unique shared kitchen experience between child and adult. These all-inclusive kits allow the child to “think outside the cookie cutter” and create treats that are as much fun to make as they are to eat. Kits include all ingredients, puzzles and activities and information about posting your creation on a Virtual Refrigerator to share with friends and family through the Crafty Cooking Kits Web site.
For more information, visit www.CraftyCookingKits.com or call (216) 292-7700. Courtesy of ARA Content
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