BY LIESEL SCHMIDT
School activities, work activities, sports activities, social activities…you name it, it’s there, demanding time and focus and making you wish you could divide atoms to be all places all at once. And whether you’re a parent or a kid, that feeling of having too many things to do within the space of a week is shared by pretty much everyone, and one of the things that’s been sacrificed at the almighty altar of the tight schedule has been sitting down at the table to share a meal and talk. Cell phones down, mobile devices dark. Talk. Chew. Pass the plates and look at one another in the eyes. Have face time face-to-face. It’s a sad fact, but it’s definitely true. And the effect it has on so many things, from our family relationships to our kids’ performance in school even to our waistlines is indicative of the ways that the lack of family meals is having a negative impact. Fortunately, you don’t have to cook elaborate meals to make dinnertime worthy of gathering around the table. They can be simple and fun—and if you’ve got young kids, use that simplicity to your advantage and turn cooking time into teachable moments that build your relationships and create memories. Think about it…even if you don’t have recipe cards or cookbooks passed down from your own mother, chances are, you’ve got a few memories of doing something in the kitchen with those little hands of your child-sized self. Whether you were helping mix muffin batter and licking spoons or just rolling out balls of cookie dough, those kitchencentered moments are something that is indelibly inked on your sensory brain, easily accessed whenever you catch the whiff of a freshly baked treat. And now that become an adult with children of your own, you’ve got the chance to make memories of that your kids will take into their adulthood and treasure forever— even if there are a few recipe flub-ups along the way.
Make things even more kid-friendly with kid-sized kitchen tools and products made just for little chefs. Check out a few ideas in our Add to Cart section and get your little one at set up for some fun! October 2017 | www.vipclarksville.com • 69
V I P K I D S + FA M I LY
Kitchen in the