One of the best things you can do for your kids is to bring them into the kitchen with you when you’re cooking. The younger the better; it’s never too early to get them interested in cooking.

While it may seem like more work to have your kids helping to prepare a meal, and it often is – particularly when they’re little – in the end you’ll benefit from having a helper, someone who will be self-sufficient, and who might even cook dinner for you once in awhile.

Having kids help with cooking gives them something to do. It allows them to imitate mom or dad.  It provides bonding time, and it teaches them numerous skills that they will be able to draw from their entire life.

One of the best things they’ll learn is how to prepare food at home. This will help them appreciate fresh ingredients and develop a sense of nutritional content. The more they can cook at home, the less likely they’ll be getting take-out or junk food somewhere else. They’ll be in control of their diet and what goes into their bodies.

Obviously they can’t do much when they’re very young. But even a baby can sit nearby and watch, and play with small pots and spoons and measuring cups designated for baby play.

When they’re able to stand close by on a step stool they can be taught how to carefully pour water from measuring cups into a mixing bowl and how to stir. They can take turns hitting the top of a chopper or pressing on a salad spinner.

When my kids were three and four, I’d have them help decorate cookies, knead bread dough and peel oranges. When making pancakes, they could pour the ingredients and do the stirring, and for dinner they could set the table and arrange vegetables on a tray. Anything that doesn’t involve boiling water, sharp instruments or a hot stove is fair game for the little ones. My five-year-old loves to help me sift flour, run the hand mixer and put baking trays in the oven. He also knows how to properly wash vegetables like broccoli, asparagus and peppers. Getting him used to these vegetables increases his interest in them, which is why he doesn’t shy away from eating them at dinner time.

As they get older, they can graduate to things like cracking eggs, measuring ingredients and even making simple sauces over low heat with supervision. All that’s required there is measuring, stirring, and patience.

By the time they’re twelve they should be able to learn basic kitchen knife skills, such as chopping, peeling and dicing (again, with supervision). They can be taught cooking techniques, such as sweating vegetables, braising meats, making dough and boiling pasta. My thirteen-year-old daughter is my official sous chef. When I announce that I’m going to make dinner, she jumps into the kitchen, dons her apron, washes her hands and asks what we’re making and how she can help. I assign her the tasks that are on par with her learning, while I show her some of the more advanced things I’m doing, and why each step is important. She’s successfully made chocolate chip cookies, ratatouille and most recently smoked Salmon sushi. I know that when she’s out on her own, she’s going to be an excellent cook because she’s learned to love cooking.

Kids love to do what their parents are doing, and from a very early age want to help. You can take advantage of that love by bringing them into the kitchen to help. It may require a little more effort on your part, and maybe a lot more cleanup, but in the end you’ll both be glad you did.

So, when your kids ask, “What’s cooking Dad?”  You can say, “I’m glad you asked.  I could use some help!”

Tom Bowns is a Contributing Writer for Discovering Dad. His personal site is Being Michael’s Daddy. You can also follow Tom on Twitter @michaelsdaddy.

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Last April my wife and I received an unexpected reality check:  We were pregnant.  Again.

I’ll be honest with you, it took us a few weeks to warm up to the idea of a third child. We were happy with the two children, and the even numbers made it easy for my wife and I to divide and conquer when it came to bed time and other parental routines.

Early in the pregnancy, though, our anxiety turned into excitement, and our worry turned into a focus on our children to prepare them for the arrival of the new baby.

Here are five things we did that I feel had the biggest impact in preparing them for their new sibling:

• Babies are busy little bees – Our doctors gave us a poster that outlines the baby’s development month-by-month. We brought it home and hung it on the fridge. Our kids began looking forward to the new month, so that they could turn the page and see what their new brother or sister would be doing over those next four weeks. If you cannot find one to hang on your fridge, Sutter Health has a great Cliff’s Notes version of this.

• One-on-one time – We always tried to spend time with each of our kids one-on-one but after finding out about the new baby, we made an even bigger effort. We explained to my in-laws how important it was that the kids continue to have quality time with us, as well as with their grandparents, during the pregnancy as attention began to swing toward the new arrival. We did this so that the kids would know that even after the baby was born, their entire world would not come to and end.    During these “dates” with our kids, we would talk with them about their worries regarding the new baby. We let them know that they were free to say what they wanted and open up to us with their emotions. Through this process, we also were able to share our own worries about a new baby. They both came to understand that a new baby really is a big deal but that, as a family, we would adapt and welcome the new baby with love and care.

• The freedom to choose – We let them be as involved (or not) as they wanted with the pregnancy. All of our pregnancies have been handled through a birthing center, staffed by licensed nurses and doctors who happen to follow midwifery/natural birthing practices. Because of this, they’re more accepting of involving our kids. They let our youngest help with the hand-held heart monitoring equipment, dedicated an entire appointment to showing the kids with the birthing center itself and gave them a kid-friendly overview of child birth.When our son was born, our daughter came into the room with us when she felt comfortable doing so. This was usually to check on her mom, pat a washcloth on her forehead and tell her “You’re doing a good job, Mommy!” She even had the opportunity to cut her baby brother’s umbilical cord.

• Don’t keep them in the dark – We wrote up a birth plan, reviewed it with our family members and also talked to the kids about it. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what a birth plan is, it’s a formal request of certain things during the labor and care for the baby after birth. Our birth plan contains things such as family members we welcome to attend the birth; stipulating that, per my wife, painkillers were not to be administered unless she specifically asked for them; and who was going to be caring for our children. The kids have known for months who will be with them during the labor so they are not worried about being overlooked or forgotten in the chaos. For more information about birth plans, click here. If you would like to see a copy of our birth plan, feel free to email me.

• “A person’s a person, no matter how small.” – Dr. Seuss wrote it and kids respond to it. When their mom started showing, the kids seemed a bit stand-offish about the thing growing and moving inside their mom’s belly. We helped them get comfortable with the notion by talking to the baby. I give my wife’s belly a kiss and talk to it when I get up in the morning, when I go to work and when I come home, just as I do with them. Slowly but surely the kids began to talk to the baby, too. Even though they haven’t been able to see or hold their new sibling, the kids already feel a connection to it and have begun to proactively establish a relationship with their new brother or sister.

Please feel free to share your tips on how to prepare kids for the arrival of a new baby in the house too!

Daniel De Guia is a Contributing Writer for Discovering Dad.  His personal site is deguia.net. You can also connect with Daniel via Twitter @deguia.

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The other thing I love about the summer is family vacations.  This year, we were fortunate enough to go to the beach (the “shore”) and to Disney World.  We went to the beach with my parents and nephew, and we went to Disney with my inlaws.  Both trips were fantastic, so I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures.

Nothing like starting the first day of vacation with a little PILE ON!:

Here’s Hans and Franz getting ready for the beach:

Here they are trying to pump (*clap*) me up:

After a few hours at the beach, it’s always fun to take a ride on a Pirate Ship:

The kids enjoyed hunting crabs with Nana:

Pop is really good at making me smile:

Nighttime at the beach is fun too, especially at the carnival:

Chani even talked Lori into riding the Himalaya:

It was great to get away and spend time with family at the Shore:

A few weeks later, we headed down to Disney World:

We saw Mickey and Minnie:

And, we ran into Tigger too!:

Grammy and Pop Pop always make things a big (fun) Hoopty Doo!:

And, we got to celebrate a birthday too – Happy Birthday Grammy!:

We almost lost Chani in a rogue rocket accident:

Fortunately, we made friends with someone at Star Command who brought us back together:

To make sure no one got lost, Lori decided to dress all of the girls alike:

Meanwhile, me and Ty got roped into some monkey business:

All-in-all, it was a Magical adventure enjoyed by all:

School starts next week, which means fall is right around the corner.  Our family had a great time this summer, and I hope yours did too!  Please read below for how you can share your favorite summer photos.

If you have a blog, feel free to write a similar post about your summer adventures.  Share your favorite summer pictures too.  Link back to this post, so me and all of the readers of Discovering Dad can share in the fun.  I’m already looking for ideas of fun family things to do for next summer!

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Mealtime at our house is, to be completely honest, my least favorite time of the day. By the time I’ve finished working all day and have battled through evening rush hour traffic, the last thing I want to deal with at home is more chaos. It’s taken a long time, but my wife and I have come up with some ways that work well for our family to make dinner time a little bit more relaxed and less anxious.

• 15 minutes of clean – Depending on the state of the main living area, we’ll have everybody to spend 15 minutes putting toys back in bedrooms, picking up books, putting away DVDs and CDs, or just de-cluttering in general. Myself or my wife will cook dinner while the others help clean up. This not only gets the house tidy, but can also help the kids burn off a little of that extra energy with all those trips up and down the stairs. That means, less fidgeting during dinner.
• “The besta parta day” – When the kids are in extra talkative moods, we help them settle down and remember to wait patiently by going around the table and asking each other “What was the best part of your day?” (or, as my son says “What the besta parta day?”) This little game helps force the kids to be patient and listen. It also lets us all take part in the high points of each others day. Sometimes, asking that one question will turn into a conversation of how to handle situations at school which we may not have known about without this open table discussion.
• Put those kids to work! – When the kid’s energy tanks are full, we let them help set the table. Our oldest puts the cups, plates and utensils on the table, while our youngest helps put napkins and condiments on the table. We let them set the table however they want. They (usually) work together to decide where each person sits and, in the end, they both feel accomplished and our compliments score points which seem to pay off if we need to ask them to calm down during mealtime.
• Silence is golden – When we really need just a few minutes of silence to compose ourselves and get back into the right frame of mind, the “Quiet Game” will sometimes give us those few minutes.
• When you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em – Some nights, despite our tenacious efforts, the kids simply overpower us. In cases like this, we put on some upbeat music and crank it up a bit. Once the kids hear the catchy tunes of Motown oldies, Santana or the Dave Matthews Band, they stop talking, start eating and boogie & groove in their seats. Sometimes all you can do is harness their energy into something less aggravating.

Do you have any other tips for how to control energy levels during mealtime?

Daniel De Guia is a Contributing Writer for Discovering Dad.  His personal site is deguia.net. You can also connect with Daniel via Twitter @deguia.

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Little kids can get majorly bored. My four-year-old son Michael, when he gets bored (and that’s every night), hops around like a jackrabbit with its tail on fire, bouncing off of this bit of furniture and that, twirling and spinning, knocking over whatever might be in his path. It’s not a pretty sight.

Rather than just getting angry at him when he misbehaves, I’ve found that it’s far more productive to engage him in doing something. So I’ve constructed a list of things to do with him during these fits of boredom.

15 Fun Activities for Dads with Preschoolers

Building with blocks or Legos. I usually let my son be the architect here, and I follow his lead. He responds by telling me what he’s building, and by asking me to put some parts together to add to the construct. What he likes about this time most is that he knows he has my undivided attention, and that he has the freedom to let his ideas reign.

Drawing pictures. When we’re drawing, I like to divide the time up evenly between guided drawing and free form. At first, I keep Michael focused on drawing something specific like simple shapes or forms; squares, triangles, circles and faces or other very simple line drawings. Sometimes he’ll tell me he can’t, so I’ll gently guide his hand with mine to trace out the shape we’re after. This can help train his hands and arms to feel the movement associated with making that shape. After a few minutes I’ll ask him what he wants to draw, and give him a fresh sheet of paper. He always surprises me with what he comes up with.

Spelling. We have a bag of bananagrams which are small tiles with letters on them. With them in a pile on the table, I’ll pull a few out and spell words that I know he knows, and ask him to tell me what they spell. So far his review list consists of words like Off, Exit, Fire, Stop and Fox. Then I’ll spell out a new word and ask him to sound it out. Then we take the words he knows and change the first letters to see how the word changes. Then I ask him to spell something of his own. He’ll spell out words that don’t mean anything and I’ll pronounce them for him. He loves coming up with bizarre words that are nearly impossible to pronounce.

Toss a ball around. Little kids love playing catch, and feel great when they can make a catch or toss the ball so that you can catch it. And they invariably laugh hysterically when they toss the ball and you miss and react in a comical way.

Riding the Bicycle or Tricycle. My son is not quite to two-wheeler stage yet, being somewhat short, so he still rides a tricycle. But when the whether permits, he loves to go riding around the sidewalks and driveways of the neighborhood, and wants to be sure I’m right there watching. In years to come he’ll ride behind me on nearby trails and we’ll go on riding adventures.

Pipes. Michael has always had a fascination with drains and what might go “down the hole” so this was obvious for him. We’d had a set of 1½ inch plastic balls that belonged to another set of toys, so I bought a few sections of 2 inch pipe and fittings such as elbows and other couplers. Michael and I can spend hours connecting the pipes into different shapes and configurations so he can put the balls down the hole at the upper end and hear them clank all the way down to the bottom.

Reading. While he has a hard time sitting still, Michael does love to listen to someone reading to him. I think this is important as it helps develop a strong vocabulary, imagination and a love of language.

Boxing. Seriously. We have a set of gloves for both kids and grownups. Going a couple of rounds really helps us both get out some aggressions. We don’t usually last more than two. His favorite move is to distract me and then run around so he can strike from behind. So far he’s learned how to guard with his left and jab with his right.

Taking a Bath. This doesn’t involve a lot of interaction all the time, but while playing he loves to wrap up his toys in a washcloth and then offer it to me as a “present” which I’ll carefully unwrap and give the requisite surprised and delighted reaction.

Disassembling something. It costs five bucks tops to buy some old electronic or mechanical doodad at Goodwill, but it provides an entire afternoon of joy taking it apart, screw by screw, wire by wire. Of course, you’ll want to be on the lookout for sharp things, poisonous things or things that might hold a charge like old television sets.

Making music. Could use anything, from a cheap set of kids’ musical instruments to pieces of scrap lumber or pots and pans. Anything that will make sounds can be used to make music.

Blowing bubbles. Another great sunny-day outdoor activity. I make my own bubble solution out of glycerin, dishwashing liquid and distilled water. Cheaper than the pre-made stuff and lasts longer.

Car games. “I spy” is a classic. I tell Michael that I spy something yellow, and he has to tell me what it is. Another one we like to play is “Cash Cab”, in which I have to ask Michael a question about a favorite show or story and he has to provide the right answer to win “cash” along the way. This is best on short little trips, otherwise you’ll be scratching your head for more questions and he’ll get bored.

Chasing, playing hide & seek. Kids love to be chased, and they love to hide. They get better at hiding as they get older, but it’s fun at first to pretend not to know where they are.

“Warmer and Colder” Show him an object, and then have him close his eyes or leave the room while you hide it. Then call him back into the room and tell him to find it by giving clues as to where it is. Say “warmer” when he gets closer, and “colder” as he gets farther away.

A bored kid can be a real terror, and coupled with an aggravated parent, you have a recipe for disaster. But add a dose of imagination and an hour or so of undivided attention and you have a happy child, a grateful parent and memories to last a lifetime.

What kinds of fun activities do you like to do with your preschooler?

Tom Bowns is a Contributing Writer for Discovering Dad. His personal site is Being Michael’s Daddy. You can also follow Tom on Twitter @michaelsdaddy.

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