No fear of getting dirty!

One of the perks at Little Cookhouse, is the immense satisfaction we get when we see how a child became a lot more confident after attending just one session with us.

When Lionel joined us for his first class 2 weeks ago, he was quiet, reserved and very afraid to get his hands dirty. The class he attended was to create Sushi-lookalike sweet cakes, and i can imagine his ‘horror’ as he gets his hands dirty during the mixing of the cake batter. Even though he was curious to learn, from time to time, he will ask for permission to wash his hands.

Such fears of not wanting to get their hands dirty are actually common with young children, given the clean environment they grew up with, whereby we adults will ask them to wash their hands at the slightest bit of dirt.

Fast forward to one week later when he attended the 2nd class on creating Bento Sushi, the quiet and reserved Lionel became chatty and very comfortable being amongst us, and throughout the class, we can see him enjoying the entire process of cutting, moulding, and assembling his own bento, despite his hands getting dirty! He is now able to understand that ‘it’s alright to get your hands dirty, as it can always be washed when we are done with our tasks’. Throughout the session, Lionel has smiles beaming and he will even engage in small talks with us.

Baking and cooking are great ways to expose children to getting dirty and making a mess, and also an opportunity to introduce the importance of washing hands before handling food sources. Our 3 year old went through the exact same process of fearing getting his hands dirty, to now being able to play with paint, dirt, cake mixture etc. So parents, expose your child and let them handle food… it’s a great way for them to learn, and don’t be surprise that next time, they will be the one volunteering to cut your fruits and be a great help at the kitchen!