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I am not interested in getting involved in the political debates and arguments that have followed the recent decision by the United States Supreme Court. However, I do think it’s important for people like us - parents and caregivers with a heart for children and seeing the Hunger for Connection in others - to talk openly and honestly about what the future holds in the wake of this monumental ruling.

In this week’s episode, you’ll hear how you can continue to use the kitchen to round out this mindset shift for you and your child to inspire them to bigger, better things for their future (and not just in the kitchen).

The kitchen is a great place to empower your child with choices - many of which have little to no bearing on the final product. Today, I’ll help you to identify how to use this perspective to guide your cooking process.

In today’s podcast, I want to encourage you in encouraging your child in the kitchen even when things are not going the way you’d hoped. It’s going to happen, so you might as well be prepared as to how to stay connected when there appears to be a disconnect.

Once you’ve invited your child into the kitchen (or allowed them to join you per their request), the next step is to direct them — to assign them a task or set of tasks, making clear the expectations you have for them. While this may not seem all that hard, we can easily fall into habits and patterns of speech and behavior that make the process of delegation one that keeps us separated rather than building connection. How do you give direction that leads to connection? I have a handful of easy tactics you can use to do just that, and I hope you’ll reach out to me or share with your friends on social media (don’t forget to tag me!) which of the strategies I share in this episode worked best for your family.

In a world filled with unanswered questions (such as, “Why is easy listening music so hard to listen to?”), one question deserves an answer: Where did Chef Kibby go? Let’s get reconnected and continue our journey of becoming better versions of ourselves as we reimagine our perspective on the kitchen.

I had a hard time putting together this week’s episode; there was a lot weighing on my mind - including the crisis in Ukraine. In this week’s episode of the Cooking is Connecting Podcast, I am not getting political or taking sides or making any commentary on world events; however, I wanted to reflect on how news like this can impact our parenting and how we can practice mindfulness and attunement to the needs of our children amidst such turbulence.

If your posture paints a thousand words, what is your posture in the kitchen telling your child? We are wrapping up our focus on Compassion - the first of the five pillars in the Cooking is Connecting Mindset - and beginning to address the area of Direction and how we can direct a young person through the shared act of cooking and eating together in a way that promotes connection.

In this fun & interactive episode of the Cooking is Connecting Podcast, you will hear a recording from a live room on Clubhouse where I not only talk about the connecting mindset in looking at recipes but demonstrate it by pulling several cookbooks off the shelf, flipping through pages to find any old dish I could make with a child and listing the potential tasks you could assign or perform together. After listening to me do it, I challenge you to do the same and let me know what you find.

In this episode of the Cooking is Connecting Podcast, you and I will walk through the relational effects of asking something of your child rather than commanding, demanding, or even suggesting they behave a certain way. We’ll break down the possibilities to help relieve our fears and see how giving a child the opportunity to refuse can actually help to build connection.

In today’s episode of the Cooking is Connecting Podcast, I am giving you permission to remove distractions - good and bad - from your mind and your environment so that you can be fully-present with your child and able to offer to them your undivided attention and compassion while spending time cooking and eating together..

In order to truly grow your child’s trust and felt safety, compassion needs to be seen and expressed in relationship — and nothing hits home like the deeply-embodied sense of the body’s most basic needs being met by someone taking the time to prepare food for them. In other words, your child should see you cook.