Teaching Kids to Cook

Last updated on: July 9, 2018 at 10:26 am by Sarah Hamaker

Teaching Kids to Cook 2018-07-05T19:30:06+00:00 Sarah Hamaker

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Helping children of all ages become comfortable in the kitchen isn’t difficult—all it takes is patience and a little planning.

congerdesign/Pixabay

Tonight, my 11-year-old son is making his specialty: Mexican Rice Bowl, from Cooking Rocks! Rachel Ray 30-minute Meals for Kids cookbook. He’s made this meal enough times that I have to offer minimal assistance. Earlier this week, his 10-year-old brother made Chinese soup, while his 13-year-old sister served hamburgers and French fries, and his 15-year-old sister made vegetarian chili with quesadillas.

On a typical week, each of my children has their own night to cook dinner. They already regularly make their own breakfast, and take turns during the school year to make lunches for all themselves and their siblings.

Do I have children who simply love to cook? Not exactly. But what I do have is a long-term goal that each of my four children will know how to cook a variety of things, including how to put a dinner on the table for the entire family. With six of us, that’s not an easy task, even for a veteran cook like myself. But the value in knowing their way around a kitchen and the appreciation for churning out a meal that’s edible is incalculable.

No matter what the ages of your children, you, too, can teach them how to cook. But before I dive into tips on exactly how to do that, here’s what you should teach your children related to cooking.

Your children should learn how to handle a knife safely and chop a variety of fruit, veggies and meats. Supervise of course, but allow them to practice chopping and slicing on their own.

Kids should learn what constitutes a healthy meal, including how many sides to serve and how to pick them. In other words, show them why having French fries with pizza isn’t healthy, and how to pair a main course with vegetable sides.

Kids should also learn how to plan a week’s worth of dinners, and why noodles shouldn’t be served at every meal and starches like rice and potatoes should only make an appearance once a week. Balanced meals also means a balanced weekly menu too.

Kids should learn to cook a variety of things, including vegetables and dishes they don’t particularly like.

Kids should also be allowed to make mistakes. I’ve never forgotten the time as a 14-year-old I mixed up a teaspoon with a tablespoon and added way too much salt to a cake. I had to throw the entire two-layer frosted cake in the trashcan because it was inedible, but I always doublechecked the measurement before adding anything to future recipes!

blog

cooking with kids

Sarah Hamaker

Previous Post

July 6, 2018

When a Child Says Alarming Things

Next Post

July 13, 2018 How to Handle Tantrums

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Article blog Gallery Guest blog Interview Question and answer video

Select a Month November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz