Cooking with children is not only a fantastic way to bond with your little ones (and even not-so-little ones), but it’s also the perfect opportunity to teach them some valuable life skills that they can use to their advantage when they move out of home. They’ll know how to cook, and they’ll understand how to choose healthy food (as long as you bring that into your cooking at home, of course).
The issue is that cooking with children can be quite stressful and chaotic, so it’s something that some parents might avoid as much as possible. Unfortunately, this means that the children won’t learn as much as they need to, and there will be less chance for bonding. So how can you make cooking with children easier? Here are some tips to help you.
Choose The Right Recipe
To ensure that the cooking session with your children is as easy as possible, it all starts with choosing the right recipe. It’s crucial to pick something that is suitable for the age of the children you’re cooking with, and you also need to factor in their particular skill level. Plus, it should be something they’ll want to eat, as it’s important for them to taste the food. This will give them a better palette and also makes them more invested in the cooking in the first place.
Make sure you choose something that is simple to cook, and then, when the children are more confident, you can try more challenging things. Plus, the food should be familiar, or at least some of the ingredients should be, as this will spark their interest, and they are more likely to want to be involved. It should also be a visually appealing dish, as children are often drawn to colourful and attractive food. A Coca Cola cake recipe would be an ideal option, for example.
Prep Ahead Of Time
Although learning how to prep the kitchen to be ready to cook is all part of the process and it’s something that children should learn how to do, it is often best to start with the cooking process itself, and then teach them how to get the space ready when they are a little older - you don’t want a very young child to hunt around for knives and other gadgets that could potentially cause injury, for example.
When you know what you’ll be cooking, get all the ingredients and equipment out and make sure everything is within easy reach - again, this will prevent accidents and spills. In this way, your child can focus on putting the ingredients together without getting distracted because they have to go and hunt for what they need.
Make The Kitchen Child-Friendly
There are some things you can do to make your kitchen more child-friendly, and that can help your little ones feel more confident and more at home. You could consider making the countertops lower, at least in one area, for example. If this is not practical, then a sturdy step or stool is a good alternative; this will mean the child doesn’t have to reach up to the counter, making it easier to cook and safer too.
You can also invest in child-size equipment, like bowls and utensils. They’ll be easier to handle, so they’ll feel more involved in the process as you won’t have to help them so much.
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