How I Manage Once a Month Cooking with Little Ones.

Recently I had a reader ask me how I find 8-9 hours in a day to cook with small children. It takes a little planning and know-how, but then anyone can do it without having to hire a sitter.

My day starts at about 6 a.m. when I'm planning on doing 30 dinners. I have a list prepared ahead of time showing all the dinners I'm going to do and the order I will do them in. The recipe books are out, the kitchen is cleaned, the crock-pots are ready to slow-cook and there isn't any clutter on the counters. I rent from the video shop or borrow from friends, four hours worth of kid shows or movies the day before.

When the first child comes downstairs, usually by 7 a.m. I cheerfully tell them, "Would you like cereal or oatmeal for breakfast?" The prospect of getting breakfast right away from a pleasant mommy is wonderful to them. I sit them at the table with their bowl and say, "If you are very good I have a special movie for you after breakfast." This almost always guarantees a fight-free mess-free breakfast. I set up each child as they come down. And as far as my toddler goes, I set him up in the highchair and he's usually fine to stay there after finishing his breakfast (for about an hour or two) if he has a few kitchen tools or cups and spoons to play with. Sometimes I move his highchair to the doorway of the kitchen so I can talk to him and so he doesn't feel containerized and abandoned. I chat his ear off with knowledge he'll find useful later in life, "Did you know that three teaspoons equals a tablespoon? Do you know how to scoop and measure flour properly? Aluminum never goes in the dishwasher. Remember that. Can you nest all the measuring cups together?"

On OAMC cooking day we don't have preschool. This is good and bad. The children love preschool and beg for it. This disrupts their routine. But they are also thrilled to be allowed to eat microwave popcorn with their favorite blanket and stuffed animals and watch a show in the living room.