Tagged kids

Encouraging kids to be passionate about food

food

Studies have shown that children who cook food for themselves are more likely to make healthy choices. What could be more fun than getting elbow deep in a bowl of dough, or designing a masterpiece out of veggies? Here’s how I got my older daughter to fall in love with cooking.

Don’t underestimate them
When my older daughter came home with a kids’ cookbook from her school library and told me she wanted to cook dinner for our family of seven by herself, I was surprised. She’d made cookies with me before, and always wanted to know what I was doing in the kitchen, but I wasn’t sure that she was ready to do it on her own. Her first plan was to make a ham fried rice from a kids’ Chinese cookbook. She did every step on her own, under my careful supervision. The following week, she brought home another book in the series, this one French. She proceeded to cook us all a Valentine’s Day meal of savoury crepes and homemade chocolate mousse for dessert. Week after week, she came home with new cookbooks. Under the watchful eye of adults, she successfully made homemade pasta from scratch, a sauce and cheese bread to go with it and a chocolate torte.

(null)Know their boundaries
When I had my second daughter, my then five-year-old wanted to help out and offered to cut veggies for our dinner. My judgement was clouded by my two week old baby and she ended up cutting herself, which resulted in a trip to the emergency room. Since then, we’ve worked on knife skills and kitchen safety.

Let them choose
When you bring your kids shopping with you, they become more interested in cooking food. Cooking is many other subjects in one: science, math, reading, and art. One way for kids to make a real connection to their food is to visit farmer’s markets. They can meet farmers, ask questions, and then get to take it home. It gives them a sense of pride to make the connection about their food. I run an event a few times a year called Food Swap New West, which encourages locals to come and swap food they’ve made, grown or foraged. My older daughter is a staple at these events and enjoys helping prepare the food, set up the tables and talking to participants about their offerings.

Programs
If you’re not sure of your abilities in the kitchen and want to leave it to the professionals, there are great programs that you can register your kids in through the Parks and Rec Active Living Guide, which cover ages three to teens: Mini Chefs, Chefs Are Us, and a Youth Cooking Program.

When you introduce a skill like cooking early in their lives, you’re preparing your kids with some pretty basic skills for life, and you save yourself a night of cooking once in a while, and what parent couldn’t use a night off?

New West Softball-Learn to Play!

Learn to play softball now. Get some exercise, make friends and have fun.  The Learn to Play program is offered for children 4 to 6 in New Westminster and now has a new program in Queensborough. The program is offered Tuesday and Thursday in New Westminster and Monday and Wednesday in Queensborough. Games start in late April subject to weather.  Go on line to http://www.newwestsoftball.ca/ for more information.

Hey Kids! Have a great idea to bring people together? We can help!

  Community Connections January 2013

Hey kids! Want to build a better community for you, your friends, and your family? We can help!

If you have a great idea for a project that will bring people together, we’ll help pay for it up to $500!

What are we looking for?

Projects that:

  • Give children a voice and participation in community
  • Build children’s sense of belonging
  • Grow relationships and connections amongst children, or between children and adults
  • Increase children’s sense of safety

Criteria

  • An individual child, or groups of children in grades 5, 6, and 7 (Adults are welcome to help.)
  • Participants are residents of New Westminster, or attending school in New Westminster
  • Projects must take place in New Westminster before May 30th, 2013
  • Projects expenses may be up to $500.00

More information and Application Form: MCDC Community Connections (2)

Send your application to info@kidsnewwest.ca by March 15th, 2013!

Sponsored by the New Westminster Middle Childhood Development Committee, and the United Way of the Lower Mainland.