by Stephanie Lush

Created on: February 06, 2010

The kitchen is a great place to spend time with your children, especially when you are cooking together.  Cooking is a basic life skill that, unfortunately, many of today’s children are lacking.  The convenience of fast food combined with our hectic schedules has resulted in much of the younger generation trading the kitchen counter for the drive-thru window – a practice that is leading to obesity and obesity-related problems in our young people.  Now, more than ever, we need to get back to our roots and back into the kitchen to ensure a healthy future for our children.  Cooking teaches them patience, the art of following instructions and the value of taking pride in their work, while allowing them to make healthy decisions that will stick with them for years to come. 

While the thought of letting your kids in the kitchen may bring on visions of mass destruction and hospital visits, teaching your children to cook can be an enjoyable experience for everyone involved - as long as you keep these 5 simple tips in mind!

Let your child help choose the recipe

When it comes to eating, we all like choices, and so do our kids.  So when you decide to let your kids in the kitchen, make sure you let them have a say in the menu.  Start with your child’s favourite and slowly introduce new and interesting variations.  This may mean starting out with chicken nuggets and fries, then trying chicken nuggets and rice and finally homemade chicken nuggets and rice, pasta, or sweet potato spears.  And for the baker in the house, it may mean beginning with chocolate cupcakes, moving along to chocolate chip banana muffins and then, finally, onto double chocolate zucchini cakes.  The trick is to start out with something they’re comfortable with to get them used to being in the kitchen while maintaining their interest in what’s going on. 

Offer your child a selection of three or four different recipes and let them pick one.   There are a number of children’s recipe books and websites available from which to find inspiration.  It helps if there are pictures available of the finished product. Choose the ones you like the best and let your child pick his or her favourite. 

Wash, wash, wash

Before you begin, make sure your child is wearing clean clothes and has their hair tied back, if needed.  Have your child wash his or her hands with soap and warm water and dry them

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