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Too Many Chefs...

Help Mom at Thanksgiving by Entertaining the Kids

By I.J. Schecter

To a baby or toddler, a kitchen is just as compelling a play area as the family room, backyard or local park. Many moms, rather than resisting this fact, embrace it by involving their youngsters in the pleasures of the kitchen, enlisting them as sous chefs, baking assistants or menu collaborators. In fact, there are fewer images cuter than a 3-year-old's face covered in flour and brown sugar as he sits at the table and helps mix the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies.

Of course, as much fun as it is having your little one bouncing around the kitchen, banging on pots and pans or making loosely informed culinary suggestions, sometimes Mom's cooking sanctuary needs to become a buttoned-down model of focus and efficiency – never more so than on the holidays. At these times, your adoration for them aside, the best place for your kids to be is out of the hair of the person firing away on all cylinders to prepare an unforgettable feast for your friends and family.

As Thanksgiving approaches and moms across the country mobilize their kitchens for full-scale gastronomical feats, it's up to dads to keep their infants and toddlers safely out of the way of the turkey-and-stuffing express. Here are a few tips for doing so.

The easiest way to eliminate the temptation of the kitchen is to follow the adage, "Out of sight, out of mind." Get strategic. Ask Mom when she's planning to start in the kitchen, and, 30 minutes before that time, announce a fun daddy trip to your son, daughter or entire brood – whether it's a walk to get ice cream at the store down the street, a trip to a home improvement center to replenish the battery inventory or a subway ride to the children's festival downtown.

Want to see more?

• Subscribe to Family Energy magazine!
• Teaching Your Toddler to Help
• Holiday De-stress: Deck the Halls Without Blowing a Gasket
• Talk about it!

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