At Lirum Larum Leg, we genuinely put our heart into supporting the adults in children’s lives, so you can easily and clearly create inspiring settings where play becomes a source of hygge, fun, presence, and focused togetherness.
That’s why it’s a real joy that, in cooperation with the experts Fie Hørby and Mie Kaae from Blackbird Institute, we’ll be sharing weekly tips and inspiration to enrich life with children. Below, you'll find Mie’s advice on how you can easily carve out calm moments in a busy day.
Food: One of Our Strongest Symbols of Love
Take it calm. Savor your time in the kitchen. Enjoy the food, enjoy the children, enjoy each other. There’s no better way to nurture your family!
The kitchen is perhaps the most important room in today’s home—it’s the true heart of where we gather as a family and nourish both body and soul. It’s the space where we come together, meet each family member, and tend to our most basic need: to eat and be cared for.
If approached with care and love, preparing food is one of the best ways to de-stress—for both adults and children. Food means love. We sense this intuitively, since from our very first moments, being nursed or bottle-fed was our introduction to feeling cared for. That’s why children experience food as both love and comfort.
The kitchen is also a wonderful space for developing empathy and the bonds of community. Cooking—and for children, pretending to cook—is a universal experience and a vital life skill. It’s daily training in taking real responsibility for each other and showing care for those around us.
Practical Tips and Inspiration for Creating Calm Moments in Everyday Life
TIP #4: Step into the kitchen and enjoy the moment!
Whether you’re baking, chopping, slicing, frying, planting cress, tidying a drawer, or kneading dough, the activity itself isn’t what matters most. What’s important is letting yourself relax and take joy in it. That alone is one of the best gifts you can give your children.
A grown-up in the kitchen, fully engaged and enjoying cooking or washing up, creates a warm atmosphere that draws children like magnets. Invite them to join—not as a chore to get through, but as a cosy, shared experience. Better to ease up on perfection than exclude the kids.
If you’re baking bread, let them have some flour on their hands so they can touch and shape the dough. If you’re making meatballs, hand them a festive apron and a spoon so they can stir. Let them take part and give them small tasks, so it never becomes overwhelming. The key is to keep it easy and hyggelig. That good energy will carry over to the rest of your day.
→ Rule of thumb: If you start to feel stressed, the task has grown too big.
On days when there just isn’t time or energy for the children to join in the cooking, give them their own "Legekøkken in the kitchen", or some legemad, so they can still feel included. Children love to imitate their parents, and there’s so much important learning here, both socially and intellectually. The urge to cooperate comes naturally—children express it by copying both the inner and outer world of the grown-ups around them.
By inviting children into the kitchen and truly savoring the experience, you’re teaching them two essential things:
- That the food we share as a family is a direct symbol of the love and care we hold for each other.
- That it’s possible to slow down, delight in life’s moments, and be part of a meaningful community.
- By Mie Kaae, February 24, 2018
Blackbird Institute is a family therapy center offering courses in relational competencies, family counseling, and family therapy. The institute was founded by Fie Hørby and Mie Kaae.
Fie Hørby is a psycho- and family therapist and mother to Rumle (16 years), Liv (11 years), and Isak (0 years). She has also authored the bestseller “Drop Opdragelsen!” and the book “Om teenagere – for forældre”.
Mie Kaae holds a degree in psychology and communication, authored the book "Hvad vil du virkelig?" and is certified in dance and body therapy. Mie is also the mother of three—Marvin (12 years), Linus (10 years), and Havanna (2 years).
Read more about Blackbird Institute here
