Often times I just don’t even want to take the time to be in the kitchen with my kids. It takes too long, to teach them, and to clean up after the mess.
I really have been missing out.
Recently, Stella broke her collar bone, and that has limited a lot of the things that she can do. She can only use one arm right now. But she has been asking more and more, to bake and to just be in the kitchen. Offering to help with meals and doing what she can with one arm.
I have learned to love it. She is beginning to eat more of the whole foods that we are cooking, and trying more things that seem scary, because she is in there with us, learning and being proud of what she is making. She now has a sense of accomplishment.
I missed a lot of opportunities with her. When her hands are working, I mean, right now she can only use one, but when she isn’t able to reach for her phone or see any screens, it’s a time for her to be present and be in the moment as well. That’s something I remember about my mom growing up. We didn’t have those distractions like we do now. We were told to go play and come home when it’s dark. It can be difficult to get them out there to play, especially when we just don’t have a lot of kids in the neighborhood. The kitchen is becoming that for her. A place to escape and make memories.
They tell you to pick your battles with your children. Some things that are more of a struggle for some, aren’t a struggle for us. Some things that are a struggle for us, aren’t for other parents. When they were younger, dinner time became miserable. I was yelling, they were crying, all because I was freaking out because they weren’t wanting to eat the vegetables. How long was I going to stay in this fight? Or was I going to just move on and try to teach by doing it myself?
That was my answer.
Lead by example.
So that’s what we have been trying to do. It’s working. More green beans have been eaten. More broccoli has been tasted. They won’t all be her favorites, but she’s trying them.
Levi grew out of a disdain for vegetables, and I know she will too. As long as we continue to have a good time and just spend time together. The memories will be the solution.