Good Routines Help Make Dinner Happen!

We've been thinking about something: A year of family cooking and family dinners will be a lot easier and much more inclined to happen if some good routines are in place. (We're talking in terms of cooking and after-dinner clean-up.) It's all a matter of making some decisions beforehand. For instance:

1) Have you thought about delegating parts of the cooking? Or the table-setting? We always had a stool in our kitchens so the little folks could help with the stirring, mixing, etc. We had our dishes in an underneath cupboard so our children could easily access them to set the table and empty the dishwasher. (Kinderlocks protected our dishes from the busy hands of the toddlers in the house.) And on any given day, the table-setter knew exactly who he or she was and reported for duty while the meal was being prepared.

2) Have you thought about the process you want to use for clean-up after dinner? We had our children carry their own place settings to the counter, rinse their dishes, and place them in the dishwasher (AFTER we'd taught the crew how we wanted the dishwasher loaded). Even the younger kids, thanks to the stool, could rinse their dishes and then place them in the dishwasher. Yes, it's true, sometimes something got broken. But since our glass tableware came from the thrift store, cost wasn't an issue, so we as the moms didn't feel the need to hover over the process. And If something got broken (which was actually rare), everyone knew only a "big person" should clean it up--little fingers stayed safe.


3) Do you have an efficient "leftovers" center established that makes clearing the table a smooth process? And is your fridge organized in such a way that putting the leftovers away is easy, and accessing them for another meal totally possible (before they go green and fuzzy)? Whether you use plastic or glass, be sure you have enough of these keepers and store them with their lids ON. This habit saves lots of time when cleaning up--there are few things more irritating than scrounging through a drawer or cupboard trying to find a lid that fits a certain container. Who has time for that? And children don't have the patience for it.

The bottom line to all of the above is this: Smart mamas work their way out of a job! In other words, if you do less FOR them (your children), you can do more WITH them (playing, reading, talking, exploring on outings, etc.). Our motto was, "Since we all live here, we can all work here." And when we all work together, it's fun, and an efficient way to make things happen!

Taking the time to think through the results you want and how you want things executed is the first step. Training and modeling the behavior you want is the next step. If consistently practiced, this investment of your time and energy will pay BIG dividends. Research says we do our children a huge favor when we teach them how to work--self esteem and confidence increases exponentially in direct proportion to how capable and skilled children are. Home's the best place for them to learn skills and dinner time is the perfect setting for teaching them important skills that will bless them throughout their lives.


Finally, do YOU have advice on how to organize and mobilize your family dinner hour? What are some things you do with your children that help make your evening meal happen? Please leave your comments so we can all benefit from your expertise and wisdom. Meanwhile, here's to family dinner made easy as we get clear on the habits we want to establish, and organized in how to establish them!



 

Good Routines Help Make Dinner Happen!