Kids are like sponges. They soak up language, behavior, and before you know it, if they’re watching you cook in the kitchen, they’re angling for their own apron and wooden spoon.
Instead of coddling our kids and shooing them out of the kitchen, try including them in a simple egg on toast breakfast, and take it from there. Supervision and patience is key when teaching kids in the kitchen!
My 7-year-old daughter can crack eggs into a bowl and whisk them. She occasionally still gets a shell in the egg, but don’t we all at one time or another? This morning she cracked an egg into a skillet, but the yolk broke. Quickly, her dad gave her a whisk and told her to just whisk the egg in the pan to make scrambled eggs.
Type A Life Lessons
This is a great way to teach a Type A, perfectionist young child that you can make lemonade out of lemons. In this case, she learned that when you break an egg in the pan, you can scramble it, and it still tastes good!
It’s funny how much more she appreciates her food, now that she’s starting to cook a little.
Younger Siblings Demand In On the Fun
Now that my 4-year-old son is seeing his sister cook in the kitchen, he also wants in on the action. He’s starting out practicing pouring water into a bowl. Next up, he’ll be part of the fun on whisking eggs in a bowl. He won’t be making scrambled eggs this year, but he’s already enjoyed using his fingers to make homemade focaccia, and delighted in spreading sauce and sprinkling cheese on pizza dough.
Make Your Life Easier, and Teach an Important Art
Teaching your kids how to cook food from scratch will make your life easier as the years roll along. When your kids are teens, hopefully they will have the ability to make dinner for the family occasionally. Let’s make sure delicious, made from scratch food doesn’t become a lost art.
I’m sure Jamie Oliver is teaching his own young kids how to cook. That’s how we can help the next generation…by teaching them how to cook foods from scratch, and eat nutritiously.
Are you starting your own Food Revolution?
Photo by Kelly Estes
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Love it! thanks for the reminder Kelly! My question is… how do we teach our kids if we are control freaks!!! seems like sometimes I get toO uptight w/making a mess but we all enjoy it A LOT more if I just do NOT try to control mess but enjoy moment. I made cookies a while back and my 6 yrs was almost a pro at using the cookie cutters and putting them into the my baking stone… my Son had it's challenges but did it w/help, my youngest one (2yrs old) she decided she would have fun if she would just use it w/playdough… it was fun! great memories. I find it a challenge when the 3 one to help at the same time, but last week my 4 yr old help me stir the homemade pancakes… I am still not to let him close to the stove but he sure had fun helping w/breakfast… you reminded me of one very important lesson… didn't I made a mess at one time???? hhhhmmm I guess we'll make something yummy and have fun TODAY!!!!
LizWiz,
Really good question….for those of us who have trouble relinquishing control (a.k.a. control freaks) it's an exercise in patience and supervising the kids carefully. Obviously the younger kids can be a challenge; I like to give them a wooden spoon and have them help stir something, or use a cookie or biscuit cutter to help me.
Having all three of your kids help you in the kitchen at one time is both fun and trying! Maybe just think about what each of your kids can do before you even call them to the kitchen to help you make something.
If you're making pizza, the youngest can help sprinkle mozzarella cheese on it. The oldest could help roll out the pizza dough, while your 4-year-old could have fun spreading the pizza sauce on the dough along with the older one. Then they can all help to sprinkle parmesan cheese on the dough before it goes in the oven.
For baked goods, I have my 4-year-old help me scoop out flour and sugar. I then explain what measuring spoon or cup I'm using, and point out the numbers on it. So, I'm sneaking in a little math along with the cooking lesson.
Have fun with it! Remember, time goes by so fast, so enjoy teaching your kids in the kitchen! What great memories you're making!
You are so right! We cook as a family a lot and they really pick up up quite quickly. I even let my 5 and 7 year old use a “real” knife under close supervision! It's amazing how much more cautious they are than I am!
Sommer,
I’m so happy to hear that other good cooks (such as yourself) are passing their skills on to their children!
That’s awesome to hear about your 5 and 7-y.o. learning how to use a knife under close supervision. I am sure that’s about the age when kids learned how to use a knife in ‘the olden days.’ My 7-y.o. daughter uses a small knife under close supervision too; she likes cutting the tops off of strawberries.
I agree kids are super quick, my daughter has been cooking with me since she was 6 and she is ten and cooks dinner twice a week for us, she is awesome and contributes to my blog regularly..
sweetlife
What a great story about your daughter learning to make scrambled eggs! And what wonderful lessons and memories you’re giving your children!
Thanks, Deb! It's amazing what kids learn besides the actual cooking when they're in the kitchen with their parents, isn't it?