Is there a perfect time for your kids to learn to cook? It’s not so much about a pre-determined age as it is about their interest in cooking and their willingness to help mom or dad in the kitchen. When your child wants to cook - let them! Here are few tips to help set them up for success in the kitchen.
1. Create the right atmosphere. By that I mean you need to relax and have fun. Okay, maybe they’ve spilled flour in the floor and you’ve slipped in it, or perhaps they got carried away with one of the spices and you’ve got to figure out how to fix it. But with the right frame of mind, you can see these as funny events and not calamities.
2. Answer any FAQs ahead of time. They’re bound to have questions so let them ask. Show them where all the utensils, pots and pans, mixing bowls, and ingredients are kept. Tell them there will be a quiz later and maybe it will help them remember where everything is the next time they cook.
3. Explain proper kitchen safety. Demonstrate how to hold a knife and how to cut. Explain what happens if it’s not done correctly. Show them where the pot handles should be pointed when the pots are on the stove. Teach them about raw meat and the proper handling of it. If you could slip in something about them doing the dishes, that would be good too.
4. Pick the perfect recipe. Kids want recipes with pictures and they want the ingredients to sound good. Usually that means making something sweet. If that’s what it takes to get their foot in the door of the kitchen, then so be it. Let them choose the recipe, but steer them towards the easier ones. It’s not as much about the number of ingredients as it is about the steps involved. Is there a lot of chopping required? Do they need to brown or sauté something first? Keep your child’s skill level and attention span in mind.
5. Make a big deal about the finished product. Your child is proud of his/her cooking accomplishment, even if you did a good portion of it, and it should be served with flair. You can also take a picture of your child and the prepared food.
A kid cooking in your kitchen is a good thing when you set the stage for success. Along with the right attitude, you can give them a tour of the kitchen, explain kitchen safety, and help them pick a good recipe. Don’t forget to compliment your child and enjoy his or her newly cooked masterpiece. You’ve got yourself a budding chef!
Peggy Baron cooks with her kids in Colorado, and runs http://cookinkids.com, a website devoted to helping parents and kids have fun together in the kitchen. Peggy is the editor of the popular Cookin’ Kids Newsletter, a bi-monthly newsletter with fun facts, recipes, jokes, games, cooking safety, and cooking terms wrapped around different themes.
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