Alister Sharp (left) and Ise Sharp mixing chocolate for the cake they are helping to bake. - Contributed

Life is hectic for most people, especially those with demanding jobs and children. The former might prevent parents from spending enough time with the latter, and when a family does finally get together, things can be rushed and business-like. Before you know it, your offspring have grown up, moved out of the home, and left you wondering who they are and what you ever did with them. Sure, you might have provided the income towards a good education, but did you give them your personal time?

There are all sorts of activities that moms and dads can do with their children, but many do not have the luxury of affording the dollars, or the hours! There is one pretty fun thing that is a necessity for survival: cooking food! You need to spend the money on the ingredients for your meals anyway, so you might as well get the enjoyment out of it as well!

It is probably unrealistic to expect a parent to prepare dinner every night with his or her sons and daughters, who might be exhausted or have homework. If it's late, it may be quicker for the parent just to prepare it all on his or her own. However, weekends are an option, as are birthdays.

It doesn't only have to be the parents who involve themselves in this way. Other relatives like aunties and uncles, grannies and grandpas, and cousins, should also make the effort with the little ones in their family.

In fact, the best birthday cake anyone could ever ask for is one that has been home-made by a close family member.

They like the responsibility

For the last 10 years, I have been baking for my nieces and, more recently, nephew. Unless they are too small to reach a table top, I have insisted that they participate in the mixing of ingredients and do the final decorating. They like the responsibility, seeing the end product and being praised for it. It gives them an immense sense of achievement and pride. Obviously, I have not allowed them to handle the hot pans, deal with the oven or anything else which would put them in danger of hurting themselves, but they often have carte blanche on how the decorations will look.

For instance, last month was my nephew's first birthday. His sister, their two girl cousins and I made a scrumptious chocolate cake from a recipe of mine. When it came to the butter icing, I asked them what colour they wanted to make it. Two shades of blue, they decided. I have a birthday-cake book, which I gave them to browse through. "Pick any cake you like," I told them. They chose the giraffe, which included it's head and neck alone.

Let them decide

So, we cut out the correct shape from the two layers of cake we'd baked, placed this piece on top of that, with chocolate ganache in between, and set to work with the icing. Between the three of them, they decided that the lighter blue would be used for the face and neck, the darker blue for the ears and spots, and the multi-coloured sprinkles would be added on top of the spots. Finally, little candy hearts were placed for the eyes and the nostrils. Sure, I handled the forming of the shapes, but my nieces had the pleasure of ensuring that this giraffe was the second most handsome thing in the room. My nephew was the first, of course!

Emmadaltonbrown@gmail.com

Ise, Reece and Alister Sharp with their blue giraffe chocolate cake.

Tips

1. Make time for your children and encourage them to help with the cooking.

2. Give children some autonomy in the preparation and cooking if they are helping you out in the kitchen.

3. Do not let your children handle things that can harm them - knives, hot ovens, etc.

4. Nutrition is important, but let your children cook some treats with you as well.