Why do you think we call our kitchens the hearts of our homes? Why do we feel the need to spend time there with the entire family? We even entertain guests there. The kitchen wears many hats for most homes. At times, the family will sit around the center aisle and exchange stories about their day. Other times, parents will whip something great in the oven. Then, once your kids are old enough to know their way around this room, they’ll pop some ready-to-bake cookies to surprise their parents during birthdays.
Whether you have a small or big kitchen, it’s the one room you all share as a family. You have different rooms and sometimes, different washrooms, too. You barely spend time in the living room because you all have TVs in your bedrooms anyway. Why would you compete with your sibling for the remote control?
The kitchen is different. This is where a family turns their house into a home. This is also the reason why most homeowners are obsessed with having a great kitchen design. They even invest in the best cabinet maker they can find to ensure that the kitchen looks in top shape always. Families buy modern equipment for the kitchen—the best oven and other kitchen appliances that their money can afford.
Bonding and Learning
There was a time when mothers spend all their days in the kitchen to cook food for the family and clean. They prepare meals during birthdays and other celebrations. But slowly, families realized that they don’t see their parents much too often because they are busy with work and household chores. So, children decided to watch as their mothers make them cookies and their fathers grill steaks.
On weekends, they started learning about the kitchen and how they can also whip up their own batch of dog-shaped cookies. Families are now encouraging the young to partake in family activities in the kitchen—cooking, cleaning, and making a lifetime worth of memories.
Healthy Living
In the United States, one in three kids and teens are overweight or obese. Childhood obesity is the number one health concern for many parents in the US, next to drug abuse and smoking. To counter this, health experts are suggesting that families spend more time together sharing meals. And not just meals, but healthy meals that will develop a good eating habit for these kids. When kids see everyone eating the same as theirs (vegetables and fruits), they will be more convinced that they should consume these kinds of food, too.
Common Room
The kitchen was not always the room where the family congregates. For larger homes, families sit around a large table. But smaller houses and busier lifestyles turned the dining room and kitchen into one. Today, families use the kitchen for everything—crafts, snacks, meals, games, homework, and many other things. It has become much more of a common room than the living room, originally intended to gather the family together.
In fact, families are beginning to adapt their kitchen design to suit their needs. They want a kitchen that is more supportive of these modern family activities. For some, they even integrated their kitchen countertops with electrical and USB sockets for laptops. This way, children can deal with their school activities while their parents whip up some meals.
This shift in kitchen dynamics will change how kitchen space is utilized, especially for families with young kids. As parents start to work from home and kids enjoy virtual learning, the kitchen space needs to be welcoming and conducive. It has such a distinct and special purpose, particularly during these trying times.
