[bobloblaw02]

> And time spent stirring a pot or slicing vegetables is hardly quality family time.

Invite your kids into the kitchen. Teach them how to cook. Cooking can be some of the best quality family time if you make it a priority.

[shaftoe]

Totally agreed, but the fish sticks come out because dinner has to happen every single day, no matter what else has come up.

As an example, I take my kids camping a few times a year. I show them all kinds of things, like how to stake a tent, how to make a fire safely, etc.

If we had to do these things every single day just to cook and go to sleep, I suspect it would quickly devolve into running through the chores as quickly as possible while they stand to the side and poke at ant mounds with sticks.

We do make healthy quality meals and involve the kids with what we're doing, but this is certainly not an every night thing. Often, it's much easier to simply find a way to solve the problem and move on.

[moron4hire]

If you had to do these things every day, you'd get better at them and the kids would get good enough at them that they could do some things without your direct supervision all the time and you'd get used to them that they wouldn't be a significant distraction from your day.