by K. Russell

Created on: March 14, 2009   Last Updated: April 04, 2010

Working together in the kitchen with your child is one of the best learning experiences possible. In a kitchen environment, you can teach your child reading, writing, math, chemistry, art, nutrition, budgeting and a thousand other useful life skills.

Like another other lesson, you need to start small and build from the basics. Show your child what a cookbook is and how to use it. Provide your child with the names of all the utensils, pans, tools and ingredients. You can put labels on things and make a game out of it. It is imperative that you teach your child about kitchen safety from the very beginning.

Explain to your child about heat, fire, burns and sharp things. Show your child the correct way to hold a knife and how to turn a pot or pan handle inward, so that it is not sticking out into the walkway. Encourage your child to watch and make sure YOU are cooking and preparing food safely. Children LOVE catching their parents making a mistake. They get to be the hero and you get to demonstrate the appropriate way to respond to correction: not defensive but appreciative.

You can start by cooking some of your child's favorite foods with them. This will pique their interest and help them stay motivated through some of cooking's less than fun tasks, like doing the dishes. Most children love making cookies and these are a great way to begin. Measuring, count ing, stirring are all activities surprisingly young children can learn, especially when they know that cookies will be forthcoming!

Once your child has mastered some of the basics of cookie-making, you can graduate them to tasks involved with making the family dinner. Read recipes and ingredients together. Show them how to follow the directions a skill we all need to learn. Wherever possible, let them do the work while you sit back and discretely supervise. Your child will be thrilled to have "made dinner" for the family, even if you did some of the tasks.

If your child is facing a skill like cutting vegetables with a knife, you can always offer your "assistance" while they do something "more important". As you cook together, you will discover that this is a great opportunity to have discussions about everything under the sun. You can use the talking time to discuss nutrition, food groups and a healthy diet.

Your child will also enjoy learning how to make a meal "look" good. Treat it like an art project because that's what good cooking really is. Show them how to combine colors, textures and temperatures. According to Betty Crocker, every meal should offer, "Something hot with something cold, no matter what the weather. Something soft with something crisp, they always go together."

You can teach your child how to set a table, fold napkins attractively and how to use the correct silverware. These life skills will be useful to your child their entire life and you will both will be left with fond memories of the time you spent together in the kitchen.

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