What's Cookin'
When playing "for real" he can't get enough of tennis, baseball, golf... pretty much any activity where you're hitting something round with something else is tops in his book. He'll do any of the above until he drops - and I mean that almost literally. The kid will be a sweaty mess, all red in the face, and he fights taking even a short break to drink a little water. He's crazy!
But if he decides to pretend there's pretty much only one thing he wants to do: cook. He'll drop down and start stirring dirt with a stick or piece of grass, or stir a cup with any available "spoon" and state firmly I'm cooking! If you ask him what he's cooking his repertoire is pretty limited so far. It is always either eggs (scrambled) or soup. And he makes pretty interesting soup. The one day we made mostly-vegetable soup (carrots, broccoli, milk, cheese, chicken) which sounded pretty darned tasty, however this morning it was hotdog-and-egg soup, which didn't appeal to me as much. He'll make the food and then there is an expectation that everyone (esp mommy) will eat it.
For the record I do let him help me cook for real. Whenever I make scrambled eggs he helps me break and scramble the eggs, and when I'm making pizza dough he's my assistant. He holds the measuring cup and/or spoon as we add ingredients to the bread machine (yes, I cheat). We even talk through all the ingredients... you want a good laugh? Try listening to a 2-year-old saying "oh-weg-ah-no" or "gah-wik" as he very seriously spoons them into the mix!
So while I'm not entirely surprised that he does this, I am amused that it seems to be his only "imagination" game so far. If he someday becomes a great chef we can all look back and say he's been doing it since he was 2 years old! Frankly I just want him to learn well enough that he can cook a healthy dinner for himself when he grows up - anything beyond that is gravy.
But if he decides to pretend there's pretty much only one thing he wants to do: cook. He'll drop down and start stirring dirt with a stick or piece of grass, or stir a cup with any available "spoon" and state firmly I'm cooking! If you ask him what he's cooking his repertoire is pretty limited so far. It is always either eggs (scrambled) or soup. And he makes pretty interesting soup. The one day we made mostly-vegetable soup (carrots, broccoli, milk, cheese, chicken) which sounded pretty darned tasty, however this morning it was hotdog-and-egg soup, which didn't appeal to me as much. He'll make the food and then there is an expectation that everyone (esp mommy) will eat it.
For the record I do let him help me cook for real. Whenever I make scrambled eggs he helps me break and scramble the eggs, and when I'm making pizza dough he's my assistant. He holds the measuring cup and/or spoon as we add ingredients to the bread machine (yes, I cheat). We even talk through all the ingredients... you want a good laugh? Try listening to a 2-year-old saying "oh-weg-ah-no" or "gah-wik" as he very seriously spoons them into the mix!
So while I'm not entirely surprised that he does this, I am amused that it seems to be his only "imagination" game so far. If he someday becomes a great chef we can all look back and say he's been doing it since he was 2 years old! Frankly I just want him to learn well enough that he can cook a healthy dinner for himself when he grows up - anything beyond that is gravy.
Comments