How do we get our children to appreciate what we do?
This is a hard one, my family and I recently took a trip to a farm stay overnight in Trentham, VIC. On the farm I learnt something awesome. My girl’s understood where eggs come from and how long it takes to produce and its many uses.
A tricky subject is discussing animals and food. I will always let my girls make their own choices re food when they’re older. However, this little farm experience has given them a new found respect for food.
I would highly recommend taking kids to either a farm or a farm stay where they can milk cows or pick up chicken eggs or even feeding goats. Let them see where the food comes from.
Cooking a meal
Whilst on the farm stay my girls were given the chance to cook some chicken snitzels and vegetables, they made a complete mess, but boy it was so worth it. They ate every last bit of their creation because they created it. They went through all the effort to make it so they ate it, so from now on when I cook at home I ask them to remember when they cooked the meal on the farm, and they think of the effort it takes.
The verdict!
I would recommend children make a mess in the kitchen, at least once! let them break an egg and cook it, take them to a friends house that has a veggie patch and get them to pick a carrot or tomato. Explain to them the effort it takes to make a dish. Hopefully they’d appreciate and respect their school lunch more after their valuable lesson, or even better, ask them to make just one school lunch box.
