How to teach a child to cook

Many mothers are sure that the baby in the kitchen is a real disaster. While mom prepares "first, second and compote", he manages to sprinkle flour, break a plate and mix salt and sugar. Worse, your toddler may burn himself, cut himself, or pour boiling water over himself. Therefore, the child is often expelled from the kitchen while cooking under the pretext "Mom is cooking, you must not interfere with Mom."

It seems to parents: here the child will grow up a little, then it will be possible to involve him in the cooking process. In fact, raising a cooking assistant can and should be done from an early age. There are some simple but effective rules that you can follow to teach your child how to cook without worrying about their safety.

How to start cooking with your child

Prepare your chef's attributes and turn cooking into a game / istockphoto.com

As soon as the kid started sculpting Easter cakes and cakes in the sandpit, you can be sure that he is ready to learn the culinary tricks. Children 3-5 years old learn this world through play. Take your child into the kitchen and ask them to play chef. Buy or sew a “chef's uniform” for him in advance - a children's apron and a scarf (or bandana) to remove his hair. This will teach the child to be neat from the very beginning.

It will be great if you stock up on a set of reusable plastic dishes - they will not break during the game. Do not use children's utensils in the kitchen; it is better to take an "adult" set for hiking in nature. He will not only help you out in the future at all the "kebabs". The goal of your game is to show your child how to make something from different foods that you can actually eat later. Miniature dolls do not work well for this.

Prepare the kitchen for cooking with your child in advance

Hide anything that could harm your child / istockphoto.com

In order for the first kitchen experiments to go as smoothly as possible, you need to remove objects that are potentially dangerous to the child. These are not only breakable dishes. Hide knives, detergents, and condiments. If you plan to cook or fry something, install special protection on the stove (metal or a plastic barrier that attaches to the front of the slab, blocking the child's access to the open fire). Prepare a bench, stand, or stable chair for your child to sit comfortably on while cooking.

Define a list of tasks that the child can handle

Give your child feasible tasks / istockphoto.com

To make the child feel confident in the kitchen, give him something that he will definitely cope with. For example, you can cook with your baby sandwiches. Show me how to spread butter or jam on toast by trying it with a plastic knife. Trust him to pick lettuce leaves, knead and roll out the dough, squeeze out circles or molds in it. The older the child gets, the more things he will be able to do. Brew tea, break eggs for an omelet and mix them with a whisk, sculpt cutlets and pies. At the age of six, a child can already be taught how to work with a metal knife: buy him a small knife and help him cut soft boiled ovoob /

Make a list of conditions that must not be violated in the kitchen

Kitchen needs to be tidied up after cooking / istockphoto.com

You may have your own "kitchen rules", but there are basic principles that every child should know:

if you are going to cook something, warn adults about it

if you want to take a knife, light a stove or turn on a household appliance, ask permission

follow the recipe and do not add unnecessary products to the dish

if you started to cook, do not be distracted: keep track of the time and bring the job to the end

after cooking, clean up your workplace: wash the dishes and put the appliances in their places

Control the process, but do not take the initiative

Control the process without interfering with it / istockphoto.com

In the kitchen, children do not always succeed in everything at once. Do not grab a plate or knife from the child's hands with the words "come on." Be patient: things that are simple for you sometimes need to be shown to your baby several times. Let it take more time at first, but then the mastered skill will be fixed very quickly. When the child has already learned (for example, cut vegetables), and wants to do it himself, take over as an observer. The initiative needs to be supported. Even if later you have to redo what the little chef took on. By the way, you need to redo it so that the child does not see it, otherwise there is a risk of discouraging the desire to help you.

Make Cooking a Tradition

Family cooking is a great tradition / istockphoto.com

Often on weekdays, mothers cook in a hurry and hastily. In such conditions, there is no time to teach a child to cook. However, do not give up on joint cooking for good. Start a family tradition of cooking together on weekends. Plan in advance with your child the meals you will cook. Consult with him, look for recipes together. The day before, you can make a list of the products you need and go to the store together - let your assistant assemble the basket for culinary experiments himself. Then cooking will become a welcome and expected event for the child. And in the future, he himself will offer you his help in the kitchen.

You will also be interested in reading:

5 dishes you must cook with your child

4 ways to keep your child busy in the kitchen while mom cooks: games for toddlers

Little Chef: 5 Cooking Skills to Teach Kids