That led to a conversation about learning how to drive. I am pretty sure that Kai can learn the mechanics of operating a car and learning how to drive, but there's a lot more to getting behind the wheel than just the knowing how to steer and stop. I explained to him that the toughest challenges in driving were anticipating what other people might do, and to be able to remain calm under a myriad of unfortunate circumstances.
Kai misinterpreted what I was talking about.
"I'll just pull over until they shut up."
It took me a second or two to realize that he was talking about the hypothetical kids he would have in the future.
Ha, interesting to know that he expects to get married and have a family of his own some day.
But I explained to him that the challenges of driving go well beyond annoying passengers. Until he can show that he can keep calm under stress, I don't think I want him behind the wheel.
And so driving lessons look to be a ways off for Kai, but there are other things we are doing to prepare him to be independent.
On this day, it was time for another cooking lesson. Today he would learn to make another of his favorite dishes, tacos.
He turned on the stove and heated up the skillet. Then it was time to brown the ground beef. My wife taught him how to crumble the meat while it is browning.
When the beef was browned, my wife showed Kai how to drain the fat. This meat was pretty lean so didn't have too much oil come out.
After that, it was time to put in the package of taco seasoning.
He then poured in water and stirred and cooked until the mixture thickened.
My wife showed Kai how she likes to dice onions.
And then it was his turn to finish cutting them.
He set everything on the table.
And finally got to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
Tacos are fairly simple to make so good as an introductory meal for someone learning to cook. Not sure I'm ready to have Kai cooking on his own while we're not there, but we're working toward that.
And the nice thing is that Kai seemed to enjoy it, too.
Tacos, one of my favorite meals. It is so important for Kai to learn how to cook meals for himself. It is good you are teaching him early.
ReplyDeleteAh, driving. Yes, it is so important to have emotional control before getting behind the wheel of a car. But, it is also important to have as much learning time in the car as possible. Perhaps on empty roads for a while. Teaching my son how to drive was my most dreaded task. Only because I feared how an inexperienced driver might have to handle certain situations before he was ready.
I want to keep up the cooking lessons. It is not enough just to show him once; by making something over and over, it will become second nature to him and he won't forget.
DeleteI know you spent a lot of time in the car with your son when he was learning to drive and fully agree that is the right approach. Just trying to assess if Kai is ready for that yet. Also, there are not too many places to find empty roads around here... can start in empty school parking lots on a weekend, and then progress to side streets, but there's always a fair amount of traffic on the main roads even on Sunday mornings.