Cooking With Your Children
Learning to prepare food is a life skill that everyone needs to learn. The problem is finding a willing teacher! Cooking is fun, when you are not in a hurry. It is very satisfying to prepare something that tastes good and others can also eat. Your child will feel the same. By following a few simple suggestions, teaching your child to cook can be fun for both of you!
First, make sure you are not rushing to put a meal on the table. Teaching a new skill to anyone will take time and practice. Before starting any food prep, everyone should wash their hands. Children learn by example-wash your hands too! When they are younger, you can have them do small things, like tearing lettuce or washing fruits and vegetables in a colander. Older children can stir things in bowls or whip eggs with a hand whip. Grating cheese and learning to use a can opener are all good things to learn, also. Older children can read recipes to you, and this teaches them that things need to be done in order. This is especially important in bread making. I know I have made a few brick loaves by not following directions!
Learning to measure with dry and glass measuring cups is a simple task, and one that young children can help with. I do not recommend having young children handle sharp knives, use electric appliances or the stove without adult supervision. Understand that there WILL be a mess. Do not expect perfection. Practice cracking eg
gs when you are not in a hurry. Many bowls of eggs have flown in our kitchen onto the floor. Remember, you’re teaching children, not culinary arts students. The pay off in the end is great-your child will learn to cook. I remember telling my Mom that I didn’t need to learn to cook-“when would I ever need that skill!?” Moms are always right!
There are many web sites to get other ideas for cooking with kids, and kid friendly recipes. These are two that have great information: