Get your kids involved with dinner!

Even though parents spend less time cooking family dinners than they used to, the kitchen is still a gathering place for kids as the dinner hour draws near. Whether they're working on homework or just hanging out, kids are drawn to the kitchen by the tempting aromas, the promise of a nibble before dinner, or, just maybe, some friendly adult company.

The natural draw of the kitchen makes meal preparation a great parent/child activity. Cooking is fertile ground for all sorts of learning, be it the hands-on skills of chopping and mixing, the brainwork of reading a recipe and measuring, adding, subtracting and multiplying, or the social skills of cooperation. It provides an opportunity for some impromptu study of botany, farming, geography, history--the whole wide world is right at your kitchen table. And helping prepare the family dinner also gives children a role in the family's well-being and nurturing.

With the demands of after-school scheduling for both children and working parents (and the allure of the television set), we don't expect your kids to help with every meal. Or that you won't meet resistance when you suggest an occasional kitchen partnership. But we've put together menus that will make a dinner--say, 1 per week--a bit of an adventure, with all the family members assigned a role.

Here's how it works:

• Select a dinner from the list on the right. We created simple themed menus that are fun for kids. All the main and side dishes are quick and easy to prepare.
  
• In each main dish recipe we've noted, in parentheses, the activities that we think are appropriate for children. We also suggest where kids might help with side dish recipes.
  
• For each theme we recommend accompanying table settings, dinner music, an after-dinner movie or book, and topics for discussion around the dinner table. Go whole-hog with the theme or just stick to the menus and either music or a themed centerpiece--whatever you have time for. Most of the books, videos, and music we recommend are easy to find at book and video stores, or at your local public library.
  
• We developed many meals that are inspired by regional or international cuisine, so we recommend that you purchase a wall map to post in the kitchen--if it's washable, all the better. See our safety and sanitation tips to the right of the menu you choose.