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As the oldest of three boys, my mom started me cooking before I started the first grade. Simple quick oatmeal and pancakes were my first culinary attempts but I have enjoyed cooking most of my life. I have done my best to encourage my boys to cook (no, there are no girls in our family except for the ones we married) and for the most part, all of them have shown a fair amount of interest in the process. At one point, Jonathan, my fifteen year old, wanted to be a professional chef. He has learned quite a bit about the art and even though his career choice has changed (and continues to do so) he still cooks almost every day and is pretty good at it. His mom and I try to encourage him as much as possible by letting him plan his own menu and pick out the necessary ingredients. My youngest, Jeremy, loves to make muffins, cookies and other such goodies. Even though he has cerebral palsy, he does a great job of mixing and filling the muffin tins. For Thanksgiving this year, he prepared the deviled eggs and the ambrosia salad almost completely by himself. We have tried to let the boys do whatever they felt up to and be as creative as they wanted. So far it's worked pretty well.

Ok, how does all of this help you my dear reader? Let's start at the beginning. If your children are still young, get them in the kitchen right away. It's usually an easy thing to do, especially if you are making cookies or other goodies. Measuring, mixing and pouring batter are good tasks for little hands (with a little help). Baking requires quite a bit of measuring ( cup of this, teaspoon of that, etc.) which gives you a perfect opportunity to introduce the kids to fractions and basic math. Yeah, it's a bit sneaky, but they will have fun and learn a thing or two in the process. Older children probably won't be quite as excited about the prospect of making cookies, so you will likely have to try another idea to get them involved. One of the easiest is to ask for their help as you are cooking dinner. The more they pitch in, the more they will learn and the more interest they are likely to have in cooking. Another idea is to allow them to throw a small party (with supervision, of course) and help them prepare the food. The big payoff here? When their friends rave about the food, your kids get to take the credit which further reinforces their interest in cooking. As their skills improve, let them create a menu and prepare the food for one of the family meals on their own. The amount of recipes and cooking tips available on the internet is almost endless. It is quite possible to prepare a new dish every night for a year and never have to repeat a single one. As far as your involvement is concerned, the level of assistance from you should be based on request from your teen. If they feel they can handle it, let them. Don't be afraid to jump in and lend a hand if they get stuck. You want to keep their experiences as positive as possible.

So here's a quick recipe.
1. Take one kid and combine with cool, fun ingredients to make something yummy.
2. Give them both guidance and freedom to make choices.
3. Don't be afraid to combine some learning experiences in with the eggs and sugar.
4. Sprinkle liberally with compliments and encouragement.
5. Simmer in plenty of patience and enjoy the success of your budding chef.
6. Enjoy the knowledge that your teen will never starve (nor will you). Mission accomplished. You get a gold star on your parent report. Isn't that chocolate cake delicious?

Learn more about this author, Edward Owen.
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