While some people know from the start, they’re going to raise their children the Montessori way, and other parents wait until their kiddos are a little bit older to get them involved in the day-to-day runnings of the household. One crucial skill set you can bestow on your little ones is the skill of cooking. While you can’t exactly get a one-year-old to help you in the kitchen, getting them involved in toddlerhood is possible, and many families do it. While it can seem daunting – and even create more work for you initially – it pays off in spades to have a mini chef living in the same household as you. Here are some ways to get your children involved in the cooking under your roof.
Start With The Small Stuff
It seems like common sense, but let’s ease in with a little common sense. You want to start small when it comes to getting your kids involved in cooking. This doesn’t mean immediately putting them on salad prep – it actually begins at the dinner table. Engage your children about what you are eating at the table with one another. Discuss the ingredients you used, the health benefits of the foods, explain the recipe in an age-appropriate way. Getting children involved and excited about different food and their nutritional value plants the seed for them to want to get involved in cooking at home and get creative with their cooking!
Bring Out The Props
If you want your little chef to feel like a chef – bring on the props and costumes! It may sound silly, but your child will feel so big and professional if they have their little apron and utensil set – you could even buy them a tiny chef’s hat if you felt like it. How adorable would they be in a little hat, opening oatmeal packets to help with breakfast in the morning? The point is to set the stage that they are a part of the kitchen movement and get them excited. You’d be amazed at how far these tiny acts go when it comes to getting children excited about learning – it’s why you see props like this in preschool and kindergarten classes.
Prepping To Perfection
When it comes to actual food handling, you don’t want to set your child loose on raw meats immediately. While it seems easy enough, flouring a chicken breast or marinading the vegetables for your plant-based grill night – especially when it comes to raw meat, they may not understand the principles of no fingers in mouth – this can lead to illness.
Instead, start your child with small preparations like mixing ingredients for a dressing, stirring beans that need to be soaked, or cutting the softer fruits and vegetables used with the meal. While it may take them longer to accomplish these tasks than it would for you, bear with them as they learn these essential skills. And, remember, as mentioned earlier, talk to your children about what each food is, why it’s good for us and how the different ingredients complement one another.
Gradually Graduate
If your child is around four and heading out of toddlerhood, you can graduate to more extensive skills as you see what they are capable of. If you’ve stuck with it for a couple of years, at this point, they may be surprising you with their culinary knowledge and passion. Additionally, maybe your child decided that cooking wasn’t their thing, and there are many important lessons in allowing your children to say they’d rather have a different responsibility in the house instead. The point is that you introduced them to something they may or may not enjoy.
If your child did like to cook, they could very well be cooking dinner for the entire family in just a few years – we’ve all seen Masterchef Junior! Some of those kids are downright maestros in front of the stove.
The Takeaway
The main takeaway is that just like it’s important to teach your children to dress themselves, brush their teeth and hair, etc. It is equally important to teach them vital life skills and introduce them to potential new hobbies. Maybe your child ends up preferring to set the table and assist in cleaning up after dinner – that’s okay too. The point is to get them involved in running the household as early as possible, so it doesn’t seem as much of a chore to them as it is a part of being in a family. Bon appetit!