Home Economics

I always pretty much knew when I would start teaching my little guys how to cook. My parents had a plan, and I adopted it.

When my mother got married, she was 17. She never had to do any housework, growing up, much less cooking. You know those movies where the girl gets married, with the idea of blissful home-making that comes crashing down around her in the first couple of days, and you finally see her sitting on the floor sobbing because she hasn't a clue what she's doing, and the last straw is dinner is on fire? Yeah, that was my mom.

My dad, on the other hand, had been taught by his mother when he was young. He knew everything there was to know about shopping, cooking, keeping house, et cetera. He wasn't so great at "ordinary" dinners (like timing the beans to be done at the same time as the ham), but with fancy one-dish dinners, like spaghetti, he excelled. So, dad taught mom how to cook.

So, when they had their many children, they knew for certain that they weren't going to let the girls go through what my mom did. They were going to learn to cook, and cook everything well. And just in case the boys found inexperienced wives, themselves, the boys had to learn as well. Each child, when they turned 9, was taught how to cook. I have fond memories of making pancakes all by myself, cooking my first fancy dinner, burning myself on the stove for the first time... and we have photos of my younger siblings during their first forays in the kitchen.

Today, all 8 children are excellent cooks (if I do say so myself). The girls' husbands or "significant others" were all pleasantly surprised that their new wife or girlfriend could handle herself well in the kitchen, and could cook anything she wanted. Even better, the boys' wives all found, to their immense delight, that their husbands not only could fend for themselves if need be, but often was the better chef, and indeed enjoyed cooking meals for the family. The older two boys had to teach their wives how to cook, as they were just as inexperienced as our mother.

So, I always planned to teach my boys to cook when they turned 9. They've been helping me in the kitchen all their lives, and have made numerous batches of cookies and brownies. I handled the oven part of it.

I did not take into account how eager my sons were to learn, however. So, even though NJ is only 8, he is learning to cook. Hand in hand with the cooking lessons are lessons in how to select fresh foods, plan ahead for meals, and not get fooled by advertising or sales. IC is just as eager, but he is only 6, so he can't do as much. He hovers over us while we cook, soaking up information, and begging to be allowed to do various little things. I let him do whatever he can, and he's happy with that.

Yesterday, NJ cooked his first dinner, albeit not entirely on his own. Help comes first, then supervision. We're in the "help" stage. He made grilled pork chops, rice, green beans, iced tea, and the little crescent rolls that come in a can. (Some times you have to take the easy route so as not to get over-whelmed.) He was so proud of himself; how he lit the grill by himself and cooked the pork chops, while also managing to help with everything else.

Today we'll be going to the grocery store, so he can learn how to shop, and he can choose what foods he'd like to try cooking next. He's excited to learn, and to help. Already he's looking forward to the day that I ask him to "go cook dinner" and I don't have to help.

I hadn't even thought about that aspect of it, and I hadn't realized how much fun it would be to teach them to cook. I just thought I was going to be equipping them for the future. I guess that's one more way that teaching your children is a blessing. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.