The Life Skills We Forget to Teach
We put so much focus on grades, sports, activities... all the stuff that shows up on a report card or a trophy shelf. But some of the most important things our kids need to know don't get graded at all. Things like how to manage money, how to fix something instead of tossing it, how to just take care of themselves. Nobody teaches that stuff in school. You have to teach it at home, and honestly it takes work.
That's why teaching my kids to cook and bake was always a big deal to me, especially my daughter.
I wanted her to actually know how to cook, not just survive off cereal and takeout when she moves out one day. And cooking teaches way more than recipes, it teaches patience, it teaches you to pay attention to details, and there's nothing like the confidence on her face when she pulled something out of the oven that she made completely on her own. My boys picked it up too along the way, they know their way around a kitchen now, but the kitchen has always kind of been her thing and I love that about her.
For me, it went deeper than just "teach them to cook" too. I'm Cuban, and our food is basically where our whole culture lives. I didn't want my kids growing up without knowing the dishes I grew up on, the smell of sofrito in the pan, plantains frying, all of it. Those recipes came from my family way before me, and I wasn't going to let that stop with me. Teaching my daughter arroz con pollo or how to make a real Cuban flan wasn't just a cooking lesson, it was passing down where we come from.
One of my favorite things now is my daughter and I sit down every Sunday morning and plan out the whole week. We write down what we're eating and what we need for it, meal by meal. Then during the week she's the one actually cooking it. What started as just teaching her turned into her being a real help around the house, she'll take what we wrote down on Sunday and just make it happen.
Kids aren't going to remember every single meal they helped make. But they'll remember they know how to make one. And some of what she's making is going to be older than she is.
Bryanna
Bradley
Joshua