Who knew Sept. 13 is National Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day?!
I laughed when I found this out because we are in the middle of Mom’s Uber season, where fall sports and activities feel incessant. When I saw it was considered a national day, I put it on my calendar for my kids to take over! I thought, “Oh good, I do not have to plan for what we eat that whole day. My kids have it!”
I do not know who comes up with these national days, but I love the idea of this day because it gives children a sense of independence and creativity that can be taught no matter what stage your children are in, so I just celebrate that there’s an intentional acknowledgment for it. Older kids can plan, get groceries, cook, clean, the works, and younger children can also have leadership in making the plans and being the leader in the kitchen and prep for it all.
So, parents lay down your utensils on Sept. 13, hand them over to your littles, and let them handle the meals that day!
Here are some thoughts about the day:
- Put the day on your calendar so you won’t forget!
- Also, schedule some days before the 13th to let the kids plan out breakfast, lunches (school prep), after-school snacks, dinners, and dessert if you offer that. When you do your grocery shopping day, let the kids take their list of needed ingredients for their kitchen takeover day with their cart and do some shopping! If you have younger kids, then give them the leadership to guide you around the store to get what you need. If you have older kids, then let them navigate the store and check out with the groceries.
- Kids could do a theme day with a favorite location, like beach day/summer vibes food or fall foods, to make it fun for planning and they could even decorate if being crafty is their thing.
- Part of kitchen takeover day includes the clean-up crew, so if you have multiple children, have them make up a chore chart to share the responsibilities.
- You can make it fun with them by having some time before that day to create a Spotify “in the kitchen” playlist for them to do some dancing in the kitchen time while they cook.
- Invite some neighbors/friends over to sample a kid bake-off after dinner for a friendly competition, or with their dessert, they could do a neighbor kindness challenge and wrap up a plate to share with someone for a “thinking of you” gesture.
- Let the dinner time together be intentional family conversation time where you share some places of gratitude from your day.
Happy kitchen fun time!
