In most traditional homes the kitchen may be the heart and focal point of the home, but it’s often seen as the mum’s domain. It’s almost as if everybody sort of needs mum’s permission to so much as breathe in the kitchen, let alone rummage through the drawers, cupboards and fridge in search of snacks, utensils or anything else which they might be looking for.

I would suggest that things need to change a bit in modern times, especially when you consider that opening up the kitchen a bit more as a mum could be the perfect way to get the kids away from the screens they spend so much time in front of so that they can occupy themselves with something a little healthier or just something else which offers them a different type of stimulation. You’ll be surprised just how willing they’ll be to engage in other activities away from their smartphones, tablets, computers and television screens, if only you’d take the time to demonstrate to them that there is an entire world awaiting them beyond their pixelated worlds. The kitchen is but just one of those worlds and it has a whole lot to offer.

Teach them how to bake

While baked goodies aren’t necessarily the easiest for kids to master making in the kitchen, baking is a lot of fun – fun which transcends age and gender, so you will have a lot of fun yourself teaching the kids how to bake. Even if you’re not a master baker yourself, you can all explore new recipes together, many of which are as easily accessible today as googling a step-by-step video. I swear it’s that easy these days! I mastered banana pancakes aided by a YouTube video I simply paused when iterating through the various steps, this of course after getting a little better acquainted with it by watching it a couple of times and making sure I had all the ingredients required on hand.

Some specialised baking equipment also makes baking that much easier, adding oodles more fun to all the fun that’s already doing the rounds, and in my specific case the kids love showing off the rather professional looking waffles they make with the waffle maker we got at http://www.expondo.co.uk/waffle-maker to any guests that come over.

Teach them how to make their own delicious snacks

Snacks naturally take a much shorter time to make, with some favourites coming in the form of the likes of smoothies and shakes, but yeah, it’s another way to keep them away from their screens, albeit for a very short time. It all counts, but if you perhaps want to prolong the time they spend away from their screens and exchanging that with some fun in the kitchen, you can explore making snacks such as home made yoghurt with them and the likes.

Teach them how to cook outright

Otherwise it’ll probably surprise you just how quickly children can learn the basics of cooking, which of course offers a whole new world of opportunities in terms of getting them away from their screens and spending their time more constructively in the kitchen.