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I am a married man and last year, I became a father too. Before that day, I never ever thought of spending time in the kitchen as an activity; in fact, I never considered that kitchen can play such a critical role in parental life. For me, it was nothing more than a place to cook food and as I have a wonderful chef in my wife, I never really bothered to spend time in the kitchen.

However, things changed as my daughter stepped in this world. She is almost 11 months old now and I want to share 5 important aspects of spending time in the kitchen, aka kitchen-ing, that helped me a lot, healthy and fun-filled parenting.

1۔ With The Minimum Skill Level, You Can Help Your Wife:

Even if you don’t know how to cook; it doesn’t mean you can’t be helpful to your wife. Living in a nuclear family has its challenges especially related to handling newborn kids. With my daughter crying for a feed every now and then, it’s just next to possible for my wife to maintain cleanliness in the kitchen. I tried to find a way to help and play my part in parenting and guess what, I started doing dishes. Initially, it was not easy at all but I realized that this is something you can do with the minimum skill level to play an active helping hand to your family.

2۔ Make Your Wife Happy With Just An Omelet!

Everybody needs breakfast; after all, it’s the most important meal of the day. One weekend, I woke up early and my little one was asleep with her mother. I made an omelet and once they woke up and my wife realized that I have already prepared breakfast for both of us. She was a lot happier than she would be if she gets iPhone X. In this age of Youtube videos, doing an omelet doesn’t need a genius. You just need a little bit of willpower and you are through. This weekend, try to make breakfast before your home mates get up and believe me, you will enjoy more when they are going to pass comments full of surprise.

3۔ Never Dare To Mess With the Spice Containers:

If your wife is a housewife, the kitchen is a place where she’s gonna spend a lot of time. Don’t argue about how the kitchen should look like even if you are helping her in there. Remember not to replace the pot of lal mirch with kali mirch. A desi housewife knows her kitchen like the back of her hand. Type, shape and even color of different containers actually translate into a certain code that only she can understand. So, don’t mess with it.

4۔ Harkat Me Barkat Hai Sahab!

A newborn is a 24/7 duty. Don’t expect that your food will be ready as it was used to be. There will be times where you will be really hungry but your wife won’t be able to serve anything. Play smart. Try to have backup plans for food that are ready-to-eat and you can prepare them on your own. Boil a good quantity of chickpeas or get ready-made Shami Kabab from any of the homemade services and that’s gonna help you a lot.

5۔ Turn Your Kitchen Into A Place Of Quality Family Time:

Last and the most important one; with the newborn, you can’t have your own schedule of going out. It’s the kid who actually decides when you can go out. So turn your kitchen into a place of quality family time. Put a high chair there and prepare food together. It’s gonna also help your little one experience that kitchen-ing is not feminine. You will have lots of laughter around and your baby will also have a quality family time.

All mentioned points are based on my personal experience. It’s not a lecture neither a suggestion. It’s just the way I handled the parent-hood when I was blessed with it and yes, it worked for me. I hope, it will work for you as well.