Wonderful memories are made in our kitchens, memories we take with us for the rest of our lives. Would you like for your kitchen to be a place your children speak of with sentimentality long after they have grown up and have families of their own? Would you like to teach your children self-sufficiency, so that they will never have to rely on fast foods or restaurants for their every meal?  Want to inspire your picky eater not to be quite so picky?

There are so many good reasons to bring our children into the kitchen and teach them how to cook. They will learn a very useful skill, will become more open minded about foods, and will bask in the together-time spent with you.

The most important place to start when you decide to teach your children to cook is safety.  Before you teach them to cook make sure that you know and practice general safety rules for the kitchen yourself.  When it comes time to let the kids participate, be especially careful of the following:

Determine if your child is compliant enough to appreciate safety in the kitchen.  You will be supervising them closely, but they need to have a fundamental respect for rules.

Do not allow children to handle knives or other sharp objects until they are old enough to have the required motor skills to do so safely and are aware enough to understand the potential dangers.

Do not allow children too near the stove or oven when in operation, or near the heated pots and pans that come from them.

You may decide to use step-stools to bring your children up to counter level, but many tasks can be done more safely sitting at the dining table or perhaps even at a small table that is child-sized.  If you choose to use the step-stool be sure that it sits squarely on the kitchen floor and is solid enough that there is no danger of the child tipping it over.

For very young cooks to be

If you want to foster an interest in cooking, engage your children in very small tasks just as soon as they are old enough.  Present any cooking task as something fun to do and they will be eager to participate.  If you are mixing ingredients for a cake, let your toddler pick up the cup of flour you have measured and dump it into the bowl.  Allow her to wait until you measure the next one, and then let her dump that one in as well.  Have her take the egg you have cracked into a small bowl and slip it into the cake bowl at just the right moment when you ‘decide’ it’s the perfect time!  She will have great fun doing this and will come to understand that there are procedures to follow when cooking.  A toddler can be taught to peel bananas for banana nut bread and can have great fun sneaking a taste!  She can help snap fresh green beans while Mum recites a favorite story.  Playfulness is the key with very young ones, and always crow over their efforts.

As they get older

In lower grade school, when their motor skills have been developing, children can be trusted with more complicated tasks in the kitchen.  Let them do some of the measuring and weighing.  They can begin using a vegetable peeler to scrape carrots or pare potatoes, but begin allowing this as a shared task.  You don’t want them to be overwhelmed with the labour to the point they lose interest.  At lunchtime, they can be part of the sandwich making production line, adding mayonnaise to the bread, stacking meats and cheese and lettuce on top.  They can learn to use can openers for veggies and soups if you teach them how to handle the lids that have been cut.  Kneading bread dough you have assembled will be great fun for them at this age.

If you determine they are ready, you can let them begin using a knife to cut up carrots and potatoes and other vegetables.  Instruct them in safety and teach them how to use the knife properly.   Let then know that if they misbehave with it they will lose the privilege of using it.  They will improve their skills the more they are allowed to use knives, but remind them often that they must be very careful.  Supervise them closely until you see that they are being responsible, and even then, keep an eye out on their progress.

Giving more responsibilty

Working in the kitchen alongside Mum or Dad should be fun for kids by now, but when they reach the upper grade school levels they should begin to accept real responsibilities in the kitchen.  Older children can begin to learn how to heat foods up in a saucepan, and how to sauté onions and garlic in a skillet.  They can begin to learn how to assemble box mixes such as macaroni and cheese. Begin this transition phase slowly so that they continue to have fun.  It may be a responsibility, but you want them to enjoy the process, so keep the ‘musts’ to a minimum.  Keep the required task short and simple and you might find your child hanging around looking for other tasks!

Teens in the kitchen 

As your children grow older and become teenagers they will have learned all the basic cooking skills.  Working in the kitchen will have become second nature to them.  Now is the time to turn them loose!  If they have memorised a few of their favorite recipes, let them cook supper by themselves once a week.  Appoint your child king or queen of the kitchen for the evening!  Have them begin with simple meals that they have become very familiar with.  Spaghetti with salad and garlic bread is something most families love!  A simple tuna casserole can be put together with drained, canned tuna, cream of mushroom soup, and cooked flat noodles.  If they serve a spinach salad or green peas to this and perhaps brown and serve rolls, they have created another wonderful meal.

Older children can learn how to do more complicated tasks, such as using food processors or cooking with crock pots.  Teach them how to whip up a batch of hummus in the processor, and how to fill a crock pot in the morning.  When they come in from school they will smell the heavenly aromas of their labours.

Sharing

One of the greatest rewards of teaching your children to cook comes with the time you get to spend together.  If you keep it friendly and teach them with patience they will learn to love cooking.  These are moments that will mean something to your children forever.  Often there is a trust forged, and youngsters will open up and talk about their day or their worries in a way that would not happen if they were always off in another room doing their own thing.  It gives them one-on-one time with a parent and allows for laughter and confidences.  Begin now to make these memories with your children by inviting them into your kitchen and teaching them how to cook.

By Rachel Goodchild