Teach a Man to Fish...

Adam, our ten year old, has been expressing great interest lately in learning to cook. It started with having access to pouring and preparing his favorite cold cereals. Today, he embarked on the journey to cooking the perfect fried egg.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for encouraging my kids to try new things, but I'm less enthusiastic about things that make a mess for me to clean up once they're done learning. That was the deal today with the eggs - how do you teach a kid to crack eggs, flip them at the perfect moment, and cook them to a state of readiness without either burning down the kitchen or leaving a gooey mess?

Fire didn't happen, but the gooey mess did...and I just smiled, congratulated Adam on his beautiful eggs, and cleaned it up. Inside my head, I was less than positive, but I tried really hard not to let it show.

Encouraging our kids to grow and become independent is our jobs, right? Then why does it have to be so tough sometimes?! I know cooking an egg and the resultant mess is no big deal, but these days it feels like my kiddos are racing to exert their independence more than ever. While I'm grateful for their efforts, a small part of me (or maybe not so small) would like to keep them in that stage where the mother/son bond is strong, love-filled and (she admits, filled with guilt) core to survival.

What I don't want to encourage is a bond based solely on dependence...so I guess I'll keep letting Adam try new recipes, despite goo.