Sometimes it feels difficult, in this day and age, to come up with an original, fun activity for you to enjoy with your kids which won’t involve either

• Taking them out for a meal at a fast food restaurant which will leave them hyperactive and out of control
• Spending copious amounts of cash on garish entertainments and sugary snacks
• Or spending hours listening to them complain those tried-and-tested words “When are we going home?”

Home cookery

A great way to overcome all of those problems is to get your kids interested in a little bit of baking and cooking. They’ll love this for several reasons. Firstly, and most importantly, they’ll love being included in what they normally see as an activity they can’t take part in. At mealtimes, they may well be jumping and shouting all over the place, getting under your feet and “shooed” out of the kitchen frequently, but if they get the chance, now and again, to take part in the food preparation process, then they’ll understand more about what goes on, why it needs done and they’ll respect that, leaving you that little bit more breathing space come mealtime.

Secondly, and just as vital, it’s fun. Cooking contains that one element that kids love in any activity, they get to get their hands mucky! Kneading dough, mixing sauces, licking fingers and more await them in the kitchen

Baking

One of the best things to get kids involved in is bakery. It’s a fun process - kneading and mixing gooey, sticky dough appeals to almost all kids! - it’s great for showing them the overall food preparation process, from ingredients, to how important measurements are, to mixing, baking and serving and it gives them great satisfaction in knowing they’ve actually created something they can enjoy, and share with others.

Some other ideas you might want to try include

• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Muffins
• Pizzas - There’s nothing quite as much of a challenge as tossing pizza dough!

A good thing to consider is where your child will be able to reach to help out with the preparation. Working surfaces would normally be too high for a child to reach, so you might want to think about clearing space at the table for them to help out at.

Try and choose equipment which is child-friendly too. Jugs with big spouts and anything with rubber-rimmed bottoms to make sure nothing slips off the working surface are a good idea. Also, buy them their own little utensil set so they can bring something of their own into the process. This will also teach them about the importance of cleaning up afterwards.

Other cooking

You could also let your child help out with the preparation of other food, such as the evening meal. Plan your dinner so that there are activities that he/she can join in with, something like pushing one button to cook a microwave meal isn’t going to be much fun!

Perhaps go for mashed potato and allow your child to help mash, or maybe try some more hands-on food like fajitas or pancakes, where they can get involved in the preparation of sauces and, if you feel they are old enough, chopping up vegetables

Safety Concerns

Of course, the kitchen should never be seen as a playground, and you must make sure that your kids understand this completely. Before you begin, make sure that any sharp implements are well out of reach and that if you do need to use knives, scissors or electric mixing devices, that little fingers are kept well out of the way and that the kids are supervised at all times.

Something you might want to invest in is child-proof cupboard and drawer devices, to stop prying hands from opening things they shouldnt. This will also make your kids more aware of what’s important in a kitchen, and where the boundaries are when you’re in there doing the cooking.

When doing the actual cooking in the oven, you want your child to have some involvement, but you probably want to keep things like the handling of hot baking trays to yourself. Make sure they understand why they’re not permitted to do this -because it’s a dangerous activity. Make sure you allow anything you cook to cool for a while first of all too.

Marking Your Boundaries In The Kitchen

Making sure children have respect for the safety aspects of the kitchen, and respecting them enough to allow them to join in now and again will help maintain that ever present, ever movable but invisible boundary which defines where their space in the house ends and where your space begins. It might seem like they have the run of the house, but by helping them understand the true purpose of the kitchen, you can ensure that at least you can find peace in at least one room.