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By cooking with your child, you can provide them with a way to express their creativity while helping them become more confident in their cooking ability. Having the confidence to prepare food for themselves will mean your children won’t have to rely on convenience or fast foods when they get older.
Not sure where to begin? Follow this step-by-step guide to get started.
Involving your kids in the kitchen is as easy as throwing down the welcome mat. The next time you are making a family meal, ask your children to come help you out. To get an idea of how they could help you prepare the meal, ask kids what kind of cooking activities they’d like to try. Don’t fret over mistakes and spills and focus on making the experience fun for your child. Check out our tips and tools page to learn about cooking activities you can try together.
When kids first start cooking, it is important to help build their confidence in the kitchen. Let your children try cooking activities that interest them and encourage them to try new and more challenging tasks. When children can clearly say what they made and how, they will feel pride in their achievements and confidence in their cooking ability.
Making tacos? Let your child make the guacamole. Having a barbecue? Let them make the potato salad. Keep your children interested by continuing to challenge them and giving them more cooking responsibilities as their confidence increases.
It is important for kids to believe you trust them to take an important role in making family meals. As you see your children growing more comfortable in the kitchen, you can start giving them more complex tasks to help them learn new skills and stay motivated to continue cooking. A good way to show your children that you trust them to cook is by occasionally letting them make the entire meal by themselves.
Once your children become comfortable with a variety of cooking techniques, it is important to help them keep it up. The more frequently kids practise their skills, the more likely they will be to continue cooking when they are off on their own. You don’t have to cook with your kids every night—figure out what works for your family, whether it’s every other night or just on weekends. Either way, if you make cooking together a family tradition, your children are more likely to continue cooking once they are on their own.
