We see them all the time. Expiration dates or “best by” dates adorning the labels of all of our food products, from canned goods to lettuce. There are times that we decide to strictly adhere to the dates, such as mayonnaise. There are other times that we may choose to take our chances, like with a jar of pickles that claims to have gone off yesterday. When and why do we make these judgment calls? How do we know when food is safe to eat? If you think hard you may realize that you likely never had a formal lesson on these things. Merely, it was just a set of life skills that you picked up somewhere along the line.
When to Pitch it?
In our house, we clean out the refrigerator every week. Even in a large family, there is food waste after something was shoved to the back of the refrigerator for too long. It was during a refrigerator clean, that I realized our children needed to understand expiration dates and food safety. This is a life skill that you may not have considered. But just a few bites of that leftover dinner that waited too long, and you will realize that this is a needed life skill.
Can They Read and Find an Expiration Date?
We are able to create food discussions simply by reading the dates on our food packaging. From this, we are able to discuss food safety. From the safely handling of meats and vegetables to cross-contamination of foods and proper hand-washing technique. I find that these “rabbit trails” that our life skills lessons take us on are the most valuable as I know that my children will have the skills they need. They will also be able to stay safe when it comes to food.
Reading expiration dates is just one of the vast life skills that are taught in the fun series of lessons from the Skill Trek program. The rabbit trails are things you can use to suit your own children’s interests and your family’s culture. This is quite possibly the best part about this program. It jogs your mind to so many other avenues as your child learns these quick and easy life lessons that will serve the whole family.