Parenting Archives - Little Sous

Can Cooking With Kids Develop Their Emotional Intelligence? The Science Says Yes.

By Kelly Montoya

There is no shortage of research today documenting the health benefits of teaching kids about cooking—from understanding the origins of ingredients to learning S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics). These things combined give our kids a leg up in making better food choices throughout life, but what often goes unrecognized is the role …

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Keeping it Cool: How to Practice Patience While Cooking with Kids

By Little Sous

Flour on the floor … A 30-minute meal that’s taken well over an hour … An assistant who’s singing Katy Perry at the top of her lungs … Fingers in the sugar jar—again. Cooking with children can sometimes be a slower, messier, and higher decibel affair, with results that won’t always turn out picture (or …

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Celebrate Valentine’s Day: Stay Home With the Ones Who Love You Most

By Sarah Aswell

Surely, you’re not thinking of going out on Valentine’s Day. Babysitters and decent reservations are equally scarce. And the truth is, your kids probably want to hang with their parents, for now their dearest loves. We’re staying in, then, and creating our own festive approach to a love-laden holiday that originally began with sacrificing a …

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The Real Reason French Kids Eat Everything

By Kristin Donnelly

When I lived for a year with a family of seven in France, we ate something sweet every night after dinner. Sometimes, the dessert was as simple as sliced fruit, but other times, we ate pot de crème or pastries from the local patisserie. After having my own daughter, I stressed about sweets. Perhaps I …

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Colorful, dipped pretzels with a holiday motif.

These Kid-Made DIY Food Gifts Will Win the Holidays

By Nichol Nelson

Homemade gifts from kids pretty much can’t be beaten. Oh, and they taste amazing? Even better. You can keep things incredibly simple—who doesn’t love the intoxicating smell of an orange studded with whole cloves? Or you can get more elaborate and go for the kind of homemade cakes and cookies that endear kids to one …

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Tiebing Zhang, cofounder and CTO of Circle Media, stands with Oregon's Mount Hood in the background.

Clutch Tools to Curb Screentime? Dumplings, Popcorn, and Conversation

By Zach Dundas

Tiebing Zhang is the co-founder and chief technology officer of Circle, the Portland-based company created to help families manage kids’ use of screens and technology. (The Circle Home Plus product and app allow parents to monitor screentime and content consumption on a full range of devices.) He’s also a father of two, with a distinct …

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How To Make the Most Out of Volunteering with Your Child

By Anna Sachse

It’s that time of year when we start adding even more checklists to our usual pile of to-dos. As you start jotting down Thanksgiving grocery lists, holiday party calendars and gifting matrices, don’t forget to leave some room for community service. There are many ways you and your family can give back; check out our …

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These 10 Fun Kitchen Projects Will Keep Kids Learning All Summer

By Zach Dundas

When I was a kid, my gawd, did I love summer. All … that … time. I logged many hammock hours reading, and I definitely emphasize that part when I tell my kids about those lazy days of 1980s yore. Secretly, I also played a lot of video games and binged Addams Family re-runs. Like all right-thinking children, …

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Kids Need Chores. Get ‘Em Started in the Kitchen.

By Zach Dundas

Chores, we are told, are good. Key, in fact, to raising decent, capable human beings. Studies and commentary point to regular chore routines as essential to kids’ positive development, happiness, even success as adults. Bracing stuff—especially if you’ve ever tried to convince a balky 10-year-old to rid a window of smudges. Obviously, we all want …

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Young boy looking dubiously at his fork with lettuce on it

Why Pressuring Picky Eaters Just Doesn’t Work

By Zach Dundas

There was one night when food was thrown, and not by a child. We have survived the showdowns over seasoning, endured the face-offs when something green touches something not green. We have served the chicken fingers we now regret. Like so many parents, my wife and I sometimes sweat the recalcitrance of our nightly dining …

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