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Children love to help. When you’re busy it’s easy to forget they can be a bundle of help in small ways. Having them in the kitchen is a given. Giving them something to do is a way to keep them occupied and out from under your feet. It also makes them feel needed. Here are a few ideas on how to make your child a part of the Thanksgiving Day cooking experience.

Have them help you gather the ingredients needed to prepare the holiday dishes.
Give them the recipe and send them to the pantry to find all the items you need. Show them a place where they can gather these items together for later use.

Let them help mix items together.
Kids are handy with a spoon. The like to do the mixing and watch all the different ingredients come together especially if they are colorful ingredients.

Have them take dirty dishes to the sink.
This keeps them occupied and moving around. They may stop and take a look at the turkey you just pulled out of the oven, but eventually they make it to the sink or back to you again.

Let them throw trash away.
As you open boxes, use eggs or tear open plastic, give it to the kids to take to the trash can. Younger children will have a ball throwing all that away and running back for to do it again.

If your children are older and have some kitchen experience let them do some of the actual cooking.
They can put things together, place food in a baking dish and even do some of the cooking. Stirring constantly keeps you from being able to do other things, so let your teenager stand there and stir the pot while they listen to their iPod.

Even setting the table can be fun for a child.
Give them all the plates, silverware, glasses and napkins and set them to the task. They may not put it perfectly straight or the fork on the right side but if you are a perfectionist and would like them to do it right the first time set a place at the head of the table for them to copy from. They’ll get it right and be proud of themselves for doing so.

Any help in the kitchen when you’re trying to put together that big feast should be welcomed. Being able to spend that time with your children can be fun, but also a time to bond and talk to each other about what you’re thankful for. Don’t forget to thank them for all their help and hard work.

Submitted by Free Quick Recipes

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