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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This article written by Contributing Writer Tom Bowns.

A lot of parents rob from their children.

I don’t mean they take money or possessions, I mean they take opportunities for growth. And they do it with the best of intentions.

Every time a mom or dad takes on some chore that could just as well be done by one of his or her kids, the child is robbed of an opportunity to grow.

A parent might think, “Well, it’s easier to just do this myself rather than show Billy how to do it,” or “I’d rather it get done right than let Maisy try,” or “I need this done right away,” or “I don’t want to have to fight with Joey; I’ll just do it myself.”

Yes, it’s probably easier, quicker and less emotionally draining to just do it yourself.  But what’s your child learning?

They’re not learning how to do that chore, that’s for sure. But they are learning that they get a free ride through life, and it’s not up to them to see that household operations get done.  Didn’t you have to do chores as a kid?  I know I did!  This is one way I learned to do things for myself, rather than relying on mom or dad to do things for me.

The fact is, kids need this opportunity. It’s necessary for them.  Not only does it help them gain the life skills they need to survive, but also they feel useful, like theirs is an important position in the family.

Many kids may not naturally want to be helpful or responsible; they’d much rather have everything done for them.  So there might be some uphill battles to fight. Getting little kids to stay on task is also very difficult. And getting teenagers to put down the cell phone and listen without rolling their eyes is a monumental feat.

By starting early and sticking with it, you can help overcome this natural inclination toward laziness, and you’ll enjoy the fruit of productive and helpful kids. Responsible behavior has to be encouraged, and more importantly, the opportunity has to be offered. If they aren’t given the means to grow as kids, they will not be able to grow into responsible adults.

My wife and I recently learned this golden rule and have put it into practice. Our five-year-old has regular chores of helping take out garbage, cleaning the dryer’s lint trap and bringing toilet paper into the bathrooms. Our teenage daughters can do dishes, prepare dinner, clean up, vacuum and be mom’s helper when necessary. We found that the more we increased the kids responsibilities, the better they responded.  And the better they felt about themselves.

So the next time you think you’ll just do the dishes or take out the garbage yourself, remember not to rob your kid’s from an opportunity to grow.

Please feel free to share any tips you may have about helping your kids learn and grow into responsible young people.

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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Your weight workouts are intense and you’re getting better and better with each passing session.

Your interval training sessions leave you dripping with sweat and out of breath.

Your diet is tight and you’re eating all the fruit, vegetables, protein & healthy fats that’s allowed.

Your a health conscious dad setting a good example for your family.

But, when you look in the mirror, you still have that annoying little extra ring around your belly that, no matter what you do, you still can’t lose.

Well, even though exercise and diet are 2 major factors in determining whether or not you get those six-pack abs, there are 3 “not-so-common” factors that could be preventing you from having a shredded physique. Take a look and see if you’ve got these “in check”…

1) Sleep – Speaking from experience, one of the most neglected areas of your life if you’re a busy parent is how much GOOD, QUALITY SLEEP you get on a nightly basis. With a nightly routine of getting dinner on the table, cleaning-up, after school programs or sports, homework, baths and bedtime stories and then “me” time, it’s no wonder that we’re a sleep-deprived society.

Sleep is nature’s way of allowing you to recover and revive your constantly changing & growing cells. Sleep acts as a catalyst to kill off bacteria, cleanse & regenerate your immune system and balance your hormones. Experts even suggest that sleep has an effect more powerful than any over-the-counter pill or potion that you would use to fight off sickness.

When it comes to weight loss, lack of sleep has been shown to decrease levels of Leptin, a hormone that suppresses appetite and increases levels of Grehlin, a hormone that tells your brain that you’re hungry. That said, it’s no wonder that if you’re up past your bedtime, you’re probably eating as well and thus, doing nothing to help your fat loss goals. Lack of sleep will also lead you towards feeling an excessive amount of…

2) Stress – Stress is a funny thing because it is one word that encompasses a myriad of factors in everyday life. Lack of sleep, strained relationships, financial troubles, a job that makes you miserable, a crappy diet, even doing the wrong type of exercise is all stress to your body. Your body, as smart a machine as it is, can only see stress as exactly that – STRESS. It has no ability to differentiate between you not getting along with your wife OR a 60-minute “slog” session on the treadmill. The end product is your body producing an excessive amount of a hormone called cortisol.

Cortisol is Fat Loss Public Enemy #1. Higher than normal levels of Cortisol in your blood is directly related to the storage of BELLY FAT.

So if you’re diet is “dialed-in” and your workouts are efficient and intense and you think you’ve been doing everything right for the past 12-weeks, but you’ve still got that little extra flab around your belly, then it’s time to take a look at your lifestyle and how you can effectively eliminate, alleviate or manage stress. Mind-body exercises like yoga, tai chi & qi gong are excellent forms of stress relief. Simplification through elimination is a great way to get rid of unwanted stressors – simply put, you assess what’s causing you stress in your life and well, eliminate it…quickly, tactfully and without causing you further stress. However, the simplest way that I’ve found to manage stress is through forms of deep breathing and/or meditation.

3) Support – The saying “No man is an island” comes to mind when it comes to having a sound support system in your fat loss efforts. If you’re a parent running a busy household, trying to get in shape and lose fat is pretty hard if you’re husband or wife wants to eat pizza and cheeseburgers every night. It’s important to make sure that you have your immediate support system (ie. The people you live with or spend the most time with) on board with your goals. That doesn’t necessarily have to mean that they have the same goals (although it helps), but that they support you and will hold you accountable to yourself when it comes to making decisions towards those goals.

That’s why communities like FitAndBusyDad.ning.com or TTMembers.com are so effective. You have the support of hundreds of like-minded individuals who share the same goals and, more often than not, have similar life experiences.

Remember, when you’re transforming your body, your entire LIFESTYLE must be altered to create good habits and ensure success. After you create the exercise habit and your diet is solid, tackle the 3 factors mentioned above and you’ll be “beach ready” in no time!

Chris Lopez is a Contributing Writer for Discovering Dad.  His personal site is Fit and Busy Dad Blog. You can also follow him on Twitter @fitandbusydad.

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My mom used to tell me all the time…

My dad used to affectionately slap me on the back of the head each time I wasn’t aware…

It’s seen as a lack of self-confidence…

And yet most of us still do it…

We stand in line at the ATM, or while talking to the other dads at our kid’s soccer game or when we’re sitting at our desk in the office. No matter where we are, our posture is terrible!

Posture is one of those things that, if not paid any attention to, can really start to affect our health later on in life. Poor posture can be attributed mainly to what we do everyday and living what I like to call an “anterior dominant” life.

Anterior Dominance just means that we do most of our daily activities in front of us (driving, writing, eating, conversing, working/typing). This results in the muscles in front of our body becoming tight and overworked causing our shoulders and neck to creep forward and up and our chests to “cave in.”

It also doesn’t help that when we go to the gym the first thing we concentrate on are our “mirror” muscles. We lay down on the bench press to work our chest, pump our biceps until they scream for mercy and then crunch our way forward to feel a burn in our abs. Doing all of that doesn’t get us in better shape or make us look better. It just makes our lives harder because we’re over taxing our already tight anterior muscles taking us further away from Brad Pitt and bringing us closer to Quasimodo (the Hunchback of Notre Dame).

So what to do then?

First, we eliminate the barbell bench press altogether. Bench pressing was great when we were in high school and college when we played football and wanted to impress girls. But now, unless you’re a busy dad who’s an offensive lineman by profession, it just isn’t necessary. In fact, the majority of the population doesn’t even know how to bench properly for it to be a safe exercise. Instead, limit your “pushing” exercises to just push-ups and variations of push-ups. And believe me, if you do push-ups correctly, you’ll stop feeling like they’re just for high school PE class and guys in the military. Most of the programs that I write for busy dads don’t include any type of pressing with external weight because we’re already tight in our chest and shoulders.

Next comes the conscious part of daily life. It’s important for us to be aware that we have bad posture and do all we can to consciously correct it. Walking with our shoulders back, standing “tall,” sitting with our backs straight – these are all things that we can do everyday to correct our posture. It may feel weird at first and you may feel like you’re trying to overexpose your chest like you’re Superman, but it only feels weird because you’ve probably been hunched over for so long.

Finally, we need to concentrate our exercise efforts on the areas that are the most neglected. First, we need to work our abs and spinal erectors (the muscles in your back that help keep your spine upright) the way they’re meant to be worked – not by moving them but by trying our darnest to keep them still while we move limbs around them. Most of you have seen this video before about a basic ab workout…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJSbSHutTLE

Then, we need to concentrate on those smaller muscles in our upper back that oppose all the tight ones in front of us. I like to use this circuit 3-4 times per week to help keep my posture right…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCMNMHBY1Dk

I think the take home message is that paying attention to your posture should be as much a part of everyday as eating breakfast (you DO eat breakfast, right?).

By “self-correcting” our posture, we’re allowing ourselves to breathe better. We give off the appearance of being muscular and confident. And we give the illusion of adding an inch or 2 to our height. And these, as we know, are all the great attributes that we need to be intimidating when we answer the door knowing that our daughter’s first date is waiting on the other side.

Chris Lopez is a Contributing Writer for Discovering Dad.  His personal site is Fit and Busy Dad Blog. You can also follow him on Twitter @fitandbusydad.

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How Many Can You Do? Chin-Ups Are the BEST Upper Body Exercise For Men

Those darn monkey bars were never my friend when I was a kid. I had friends who could swing off them, hang upside down on them, I even know one kid that could do a 1-arm handstand on them. Me? Not a chance. I could barely get through 2 rungs before my grip would give out and I would come crashing down to the sand.

It was embarrassing. So as a plump 10-year-old, I made a pact to myself to get better at it. To be able to swing from bar 1 to bar 10 without the embarrassment of falling on my worn out Levis that my mom had to sew knee patches on.

That summer, I worked on it. Every day before going to baseball practice I’d make sure I swung by the playground and did my round on the monkey bars. I grew that summer as well, and I went from plump to “athletically husky.” I was determined. By the time September rolled around, I went from 1 to 10 without slipping.

The cycle started again in high school when I started doing CHIN-UPS. As a then skinny freshman basketball/volleyball player, I didn’t really have access to a great gym. So one of my mentors said that chin-ups would allow me to wear my basketball jersey (without the t-shirt underneath) and not get laughed at. Determined again, I set my goals and by the time I was a senior, I was doing sets of 20. I just applied the same “monkey bar” principles to get me there.

Chin-ups are, by far, the best bodyweight-only exercise that you can do. They involve the use of almost every upper body muscle, and they are great for your abs as well.

To perform a chin-up, take a supinated (palms up) grip on a bar. From there, suspend yourself by hanging with your elbows completely locked out (this is called a “dead hang”). Brace your abs like someone was about to punch you in the gut and start pulling. You’ll want to pull yourself all the way up so that your shoulders are down and away from your ears and the bar is almost touching your chest. Lower yourself in a controlled motion and repeat.

OK, so what if you can’t do a chin-up yet? Well, there are a few things that need to happen in order for you to get there.

First, drop some weight. Let’s face it. If you’re too heavy, there’s not a lot of chance that you’re going to be able to get up there. So you need to drop some extra body fat. This is accomplished by 1) altering your diet by eating less processed food and junk and more lean protein, healthy fats and fruits & veggies and 2) using a program that combines resistance training and interval training to incinerate those extra pounds.

Second, you need to practice the movement. Just like you needed quite a few reps to learn how to throw a football properly, the same holds true for any physical motor skill – chin-ups included. PERFECT practice makes PERFECT. So buy a chin-up bar or hang one from your garage and get to it.

I know, I know. How am I supposed to practice doing a chin-up if I can’t even pull myself up? Well, there are 2 great tricks that I’ve taught my clients to use to get there. Check out the video below to learn more…

So there you go. Dropping some weight and practicing consistently using the tricks that I outlined above will definitely get you to that goal of doing your first chin-up. It’s the best way to develop that functional relative strength that we all need to be the hero in our kids’ lives. Keep at it Dads and you’ll get there in no time.

Chris Lopez, BSc HK, CSCS is a fitness expert, writer and personal trainer. He is an occasional contributor to the Globe and Mail, Maximum Fitness and Men’s Fitness Magazines and has been helping get Busy Dads in shape for 10 years since the birth of his first child. He and his wife live in Toronto, Canada with their 4 daughters. Visit Chris’ blog at FitAndBusyDad.blogspot.com or sign-up for your free report & workout at www.FitAndBusyDad.com.

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