I have a small Thai boy who dresses me and every year I let him pick what campaign I am going to work on. It saves me having to worry about it and, bless him, it makes him feel involved in the struggle for global liberation.
The kids are really great at baking cupcakes, cookies, of course - that kind of stuff - but I love delegating responsibilities for dinner so you have them picking herbs, or I have plastic knives for them so they're learning sort of how to chop. It's pretty great.
Like anything, you don't force kids to cook. It just becomes part of life - have them be around it, keep them informed - talk about it. I try to relay my passion for it in these ways. The second you try to force anything on your own kid, they rebel.
Preparing food is one of life's great joys, but a lot of times, parents ask their kids if they want to cook with them and then tell them to go peel a bag of potatoes. That's not cooking - that's working!
You know, I put my little brother in the movies and he's still in the pictures. My mother makes me put him in the pictures.
I don't know about the world, but I know kids. And I feel like sometimes kids don't get involved because they think, what can I do? I'm just a kid. And really kids can do so much.
The kids get a vote. That's very important when it comes to raising kids. And always keep the bigger picture in mind.
People always tell me how lucky I am that my kids are adventurous eaters, but I don't believe that it's luck at all. By my involving them in the process, not only are they more likely to try something new, but also I can count on them to make better choices when I'm not around.
I know it's a lot harder for women who don't have enough help, but the truth is, no matter how much money you have, if you want to stay involved with your children and don't want to lose being a primary parent to them, you're still in the game.
I just love the storyline, I thought it was hilarious - I loved that part when we opened the door, we all look ahead and we have to look down and see that we're actually dealing with this little boy who did this horrible thing of ordering a wife through e-mail.
Thus the Convention is unequivocal in its call for children to be consulted, to have their opinions heard and to have their best interests considered when law and policies are being drafted.
Bringing your kids into the kitchen doesn't require you to be a top chef; only time and maybe a willingness to get a little messy.
My kids and I make pasta three days a week now. It's not even so much about the eating of it; they just like the process. Benno is the stuffer, and Leo is the catcher. They've got their jobs down.
In my family, we let our boys have a say in what veggie side they want for dinner that night. We list off a handful of options and get them excited about helping to plan the dinner menu. They're much more inclined to finish their plates when they've helped decide what goes on them.
