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My son doesn't know who Emeril Lagasse or Wolfgang Puck are, but he is a budding chef nonetheless. It began about a year ago, when 2-year-old Charlie climbed up onto a chair to "help" me cook. Because he was more prone to spill than stir, I gave him his own cooking supplies -- measuring cups and bowls filled with Cheerios and dry oatmeal. He entertained himself by scooping, pouring and mixing until I could get my own recipe into the oven.

That became one of his favorite activities, and since then his culinary capabilities have improved.

Now, he won't settle for his own stash of ingredients. He wants to break the egg shells -- with one hand -- when I make brownies. He likes to pour the pancake batter onto the griddle. He wants to toss the salad and brown the ground beef on taco night.

Letting a child into the kitchen is a messy proposition. But I grit my teeth and bite my tongue when the batter splatters on the wall and the eggs land on the floor because I know the payoff is worth the extra cleanup time.

Experts say that cooking is a great way to spend quality time as a family and that it unleashes kids' creativity. They also claim that kids are more likely to eat food that they have a hand in preparing.

I can see evidence of those theories. Lately, Charlie has been making up his own "recipes." He adds Goldfish crackers to his hot chocolate. He mixes applesauce and yogurt at lunch every day. He pours orange juice into his oatmeal. And he makes his cup of milk an integral part of his meal by dunking his food into the milk and then pouring the milk onto his plate. By the end of dinner, his cup of milk is always a swirl of color and texture, and his plate is swamped and soggy. It's enough to make me push my own plate away, but he eats every bite and says, "Mmmm, delicious!"

It's easy to get frustrated -- and disgusted -- by his crazy concoctions and the ensuing mess he makes. But if I can hold onto my sanity while he learns some new skills, it will serve our entire family well.

As Charlie and Jackson grow up, I am hoping to channel their inner Emeril by involving them in the planning and preparing of meals, as well as the shopping for ingredients. These can be hands-on lessons in nutrition, making healthy choices and sticking to a budget. Perhaps we'll learn together how to plant a garden and grow our own fruits, vegetables and herbs.

As they learn to read, add and multiply, following a recipe can hone their reading and math skills. In the meantime, it's all science -- experimentation and the discovery of cause and effect.

Ultimately, I hope I can unleash Charlie and Jackson to conquer the kitchen on their own -- a chef and a sous-chef. When I was growing up, my sisters and I loved to plan a menu and prepare an entire meal for our parents and grandparents. Maybe my sons will return the favor.

At the very least, maybe their future wives will be grateful that they have some culinary competence.

Bridget B. Winston is a stay-at-home mom and freelance writer who lives in Christiansburg.