Teach a Child to Call not Cook

As a mother, I feel that part of my job is to teach the kids basic skills around the house. Being part of this big family means that we all need to pitch in to keep the joint running smoothly. Besides, I really can't do everything.

Knowing that I need my kids to fend for themselves on occasion, I want them to familiarize themselves with the kitchen.  Tonight, my oldest daughter had her best friend over. They asked if they could snack on bread spread with Nutella. The time was 5:30, and I knew this would interrupt any desire for a real dinner.

So, I threw them the Trader Joe's pizza dough balls and told them to read the instructions and make us all some pizza. Golly, I love capable kids. My kids are so almost capable!

These girls wanted to throw the dough in the air like a real chefs. But after hearing the splat of our dinner hit the ground, I had to intervene. Good thing too, because they were intent on creating calzones.  Ugh. That's just pizza with a mess to clean off your clothes.

So I floured the counter and showed them how to roll out the dough. The older girls shocked me by choosing all the sliced veggies for their pizza. Also, they searched the whole kitchen for the pickled jalapenos we always keep on hand. Healthy? Spicy? I was impressed.

My 7 year old surprised me by leaving off the cheese from her pepperoni pizza. I totally would never have guessed anyone wanted a pizza with just sauce and pepperoni.

The 3 year old kept grabbing the knife and cutting when I wasn't looking. He wanted to do everything himself. Spread the sauce; sprinkle the cheese; eat the pepperoni. With him at the counter, controlling him was as successful as wrangling a wet eel.

In the end, our pizzas were disgusting.  After one bite of a undercooked, bland piece, I truly understood the value of delivery pizza.  So I've changed my mind. Instead of teaching them to make their own pizzas, I'm going to enter the delivery places into their cell phones.