Comments on: How I Get my Kids to Make Dinner Every Week (+10 dinners your middle schooler can make)

By: Keitha

Keitha — Sat, 12 Oct 2019 23:07:24 +0000

Since my son was 9-years-old, he has been responsible for making one meal a week during the summer and dinner a couple of times a month during the school year. I love how adventurous his recipe choices are. He is now 13. Last month, he made Beef Wellington with a green peppercorn sauce, herbed potatoes, and a rainbow Swiss chard salad with pomegranate seeds and homemade dressing. He was in the kitchen for hours. It was all delicious. He loves to cook food from different cultures using the “Eat Your Way Around the World” cookbook. Learning to cook will serve him well throughout his life. I’ll have to show him these recipes.

By: JoAnne

JoAnne — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 15:29:27 +0000

My kids are young adults now. They were always required to participate n the “family economy” of work required to keep the household going. In middle school, both started doing their own laundry and making their own school lunch. Although I typically made suppers, they had dishes they loved to make. One child took over the role of crepe-maker. The other was our go-to Baker. She still gives baked goods as gifts to her friends on special occasions. And both are competent cooks and have their own comfortable homes where they know how to take care of most everyday things.

By: Willena

Willena — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 21:41:25 +0000

Love getting the kids to help in the kitchen! This summer our 12 year old son is cooking on Wednesdays, learning to make Hawaiian chili (his choice). We’re one week in, he needed a lot of guidance, but it went well. No kidney beans, though–“I don’t like them, and if I’m cooking, I don’t have to add them!”

By: Kathy

Kathy — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 00:17:59 +0000

I love this idea! My kiddos are a little young, but I will definitely file this away. My two oldest boys (7 and 4) love to help out in their Kitchen. Hoping they will be a great cook like their dad!

By: Pam

Pam — Tue, 19 Jun 2018 17:31:16 +0000

My son’s first meal was cereal with milk for breakfast, then graduated to noodle soup fot lunch, and then fish tacos for dinner. He is now practicing for a bbq competition. I get a break from cooking the protein and he is excited to be helping. I love the idea of a set day, suggesting that to him today and hoping for entire meals once a week going forward. Thanks for posting!

By: Looking for kid cooking ideas

Looking for kid cooking ideas — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 19:42:26 +0000

I don’t think a lot of these look very easy (or middle schooler friendly). I’m glad it works for your family. What about pizza, grilled cheese and tomato soup, chili, chicken caesar salad, waffles and fruit, quesadillas in the oven or macaroni and cheese?

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 04:38:54 +0000

Hi Lisa,

I am a single parent and have to keep searching for new simple, fast to cook recipes for my lil girl.. am sure she will love this article that you have posted… by the way I stumbled upon one more resource article which I would love to share with you and your reads :
https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/diet/delicious-recipes-use-up-brown-bananas/

By: Michele

Michele — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 13:51:12 +0000

In reply to beth.

I started my kids on allowance in elementary school. At that time, they were bringing home Scholastic book order forms every month, and saying they really wanted this book, and this book, and that book… It was a struggle every month. So – I started giving them $15/month, and THEY had to pay for any books they wanted. It was the same amount I’d been paying anyway, but without the monthly struggle (and they soon realized that getting those books out of the library would leave them with more spending money). I didn’t use allowance as a pay-for-work thing, I used it to gradually offload more and more of their spending from my wallet to theirs. By high-school, they got more, and were buying most of their own clothes (I bought winter jackets, boots…). It was an opportunity for them to learn money-management.

By: Alice Wootton

Alice Wootton — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 20:51:05 +0000

In reply to beth.

I thought this article about the exact thing you’re asking about was a very good one. http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2015/02/kids_allowances_you_re_doing_it_completely_wrong.html

By: Diana

Diana — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 18:44:37 +0000

So many times I work hard and get finished with the new recipe I’m working on only to realize I am no where near a “complete” meal. I need your guidance! Haha I love that you are helping your girls be ready for the real world. They are going to have some lucky college roommates.