Dear Sharona,
Something I try to do with Chico (3) at that time of day is to let him help prepare dinner. (He's the only one of the three of them who likes to help in the kitchen, so hey, I'm not going to pass up this chance at training a sous-chef!!) I try to plan things ahead of time so that I'm making a meal that has some elements he can handle on his own. Of course it won't work every night, and of course it will take at least twice as long as if you just did it yourself, but we have fun, he's happy, he's learning something new, and actually he's really very careful. I obviously don't let him near the stove or sharp knives, potato peelers, etc., but anything involving measuring, stirring, rolling things out, finding things in the fridge or the cupboard, getting me the right cookbook, etc., is one of "his" jobs. He also generally helps me with emptying the dishwasher and setting the table...that late-afternoon "arsenic hour" has improved a lot since I gave him some ownership of the things that happen at that time of the day.
Hope that helps a little--
minnie
