By Taylor Sutton, MS, RD
United Supermarkets’ Lifestyle Desk
It’s back to school time and whether your kids are home with you all day or not, you may be interested in how to get your kids in the kitchen. Let’s look at some ideas about how to get your kids involved in the cooking. What to expect varies based on age and skill level but no matter what there is something for all kids to do.
Younger children can be a more difficult age group to get involved due to their young age. That being said, there are ways. First off, you can let them observe you doing the cooking. Give them a safe space in the kitchen to watch you and maybe handle safe equipment such as plastic bowls or spoons.
You can also let them smell and touch ingredients. Even if they aren’t ready to directly help, let them touch and see things as you are putting them into recipes. This will also give you an opportunity to explain why you are doing what you are doing.
When they are ready to help, let them with small, simple actions like: pouring ingredients, rinsing fruit and vegetables, tearing greens into pieces, stirring batter in a bowl, sprinkling already portioned seasoning and more. Most of these things can be centered around preparation.
For the older kids, they can really start to get their hands dirty. After going over safety and proper knife skills, you can have them peel and slice fruits and vegetables or grate cheese. Have them work and cook with you at the stovetop or grill. Maybe let them work on preparing their own dish.
And, of course, everyone can get involved at clean up time.
Besides all of that, the best way to get kids involved in the kitchen is by making it about them. Try and find kid’s cookbooks to use. Most of them will have pictures of the foods, show measurements, and each step. You can also allocate a small space for their very own cooking tools – try and have some items that fit their hands better and are easier for them to use.
You could event try planting a garden. Kids enjoy eating things they plant, water, and pick.
Finally, as mentioned previously, always have a safety conversation with your child. Talk about what surfaces and objects are hot in the kitchen and what objects are sharp. Take this as an opportunity to chat about food safety while they help you pack up leftover ingredients and food. Show them all of the things you have learned.
The kitchen can be a great time and place for bonding and working together.
Milk and Cereal Bars
What You Need
- 1 Tbsp. of your favorite cereal
- 2 Tbsp. plain Greek yogurt
- 1/8 tsp. honey
How It’s Made
1. Mix together Greek yogurt and honey
2. Pour 2 Tbsp. mixture into silicone muffin liners or mold
3. Top with 1.5 Tbsp. cereal and lightly press in
4. Freeze for 3 hours or overnight
Serves 1
