A Trick to Get Kids Excited About Trying New Cuisines?

Our kids wake up as early as they go to sleep. At 6 PM, they’re in bed. By 6 AM, they’re awake and ready to snuggle in each other’s rooms until one of them wants “space.” Then my husband makes breakfast, and one of them will shower and the other will take a bath. They have shaving cream to draw on the shower wall or balls we toss into the tub. It works wonders for getting them in, but it’s harder to get them out. [Laughs]

How a culinary passport made trying new restaurants easier

On weekends, we try one new restaurant with a different cuisine. They actually have these passports for “flying” to a new country. I made them out of paper and will draw the flag of the cuisine—Italy, Japan, India—on the pages. Normally, they order rice and chicken, but it gets them excited to try new things.

We love weekend art as a transition between breakfast and playdates or birthday parties. There’s always a rotation of messy projects: science ones with baking soda and vinegar explosions, or artsy ones like tie-dying napkins. I find salad spinner art consistently keeps them entertained. That’s when you put a plate in the spinner and drop in paint, then spin it into all sorts of directions. It’s wonderful how we connect through creativity and enjoy getting messy and silly together.

Practicing presence, not expecting perfection, as a parent

Some of our best and favorite experiences will always be when we’re traveling, even when everything goes wrong. We were recently at the airport after being told our flight was canceled. We looked to our left, and our kids were rolling down this ramp like they would a grassy hill. It was so disgusting, but they seemed happy. It was a good moment for us as parents because it showed us we had the power to set the tone of being comfortable with everything not going right.

Their playfulness totally changed how we approached the day. We got a hotel day pass and stayed at the pool until our new flight. Instead of being this hellish place, the airport became a playground. It showed us Paris or London or wherever isn’t the actual destination; it’s being together. It was a delightful reminder that presence, not perfection, truly counts.

Neha Ruch is the founder of Mother Untitled, a resource for women navigating the gray area between paid work and motherhood, and author of the forthcoming The Power Pause. Daniel Ruch is a venture partner. They live with their son, Bodie (8.5), and daughter, Lyla (6), in Manhattan. Their interview appeared in It’s More Fun with You: 36 Families on the Everyday Magic of Raising Kids, a limited-edition book by Charmspring.