5 Simple Ways to Get Kids Interested in Cooking

Cooking is a valuable life skill your children will need when they grow older, as it can save them both time and money. Fortunately, creating nutritious meals is an enjoyable activity you and your children can engage in together, and below we’ll provide some suggestions to help you get started. 

Let Them Choose Favorite Dishes to Create

If you have cookbooks or even a Pinterest account, have your children look through them and pick out the foods that are intriguing to them. This way, they will be more likely to be invested in the outcome. You can make it into an event by taking your child shopping and letting them help choose the fruits, vegetables, meats, or grains you will be using.

You can also encourage them to select projects based on themes, such as breakfast, lunch, or dinner, dessert, salad, vegetarian, foreign, BBQ, by region, gluten-free, historical, or centered around seafood, different meats, or vegetables. 

Grow a Garden

Children of almost any age can participate in cultivating herbs. Show them pictures or video or take them to see a grown plant, so they understand what they will be doing. Basil, mint, oregano, thyme, and parsley can flourish indoors, and your child can fill pots with soil, pressing seeds down into the dirt and watering them on a regular basis. 

Invite children to pluck the leaves off, breaking them into pieces, and dropping them, if age appropriate, into the food as it is blended in a bowl or even as it is cooking on the stovetop.  

Learn About Health 

If your child enjoys going to the library, you can find books on biology and show them how the human body works. If your child is older, he or she may be able to conduct research on his or her computer to find a list of vitamins and minerals needed for proper functioning. He or she can then ascertain what the different nutrients do and how much is required on a daily basis. 

You can focus on Vitamin C, for example, asking your child to search for a list of foods that contain this compound. By making a dish that incorporates those ingredients, you can help them connect the dots between the cuisine we whip up and the corresponding health benefits. 

Let Them Be Tactile

As a parent, it’s normal to already be thinking of the cleanup process before the mess is even made. Young children are still exploring the world around them with all its scents, sights, and textures, and many of them want to feel, play with, and handle the items they are working with. Always wash hands before starting, but give them space to touch the flour, crack an egg, or inhale the fresh aroma of cut chives. 

You can employ a reward system when your children assist in putting things away, washing off cutting boards or measuring cups or wiping down counter tops. They may not do it perfectly each time, but it teaches children that being tidy is also a part of the culinary process.  

Invite Them to Experience the Thrill of Using Kitchen Gadgetry 

As children grow, they gain confidence through a sense of mastery, and this can be granted to them gradually. It is best to explain how an appliance works first, and this can be done in simple terms and based on the access you are willing to grant. Items like toasters can provide an element of surprise, as children can be shown how to place the bread inside the mechanism, pressing the button, and waiting with expectancy for the pop! 

Waffle makers are pleasant for children to work with, as they can be included in mixing the eggs, milk, and flour, stirring until the right viscosity is reached before oiling and putting it into the machine. Quesadilla makers and popcorn machines give ample opportunities for kids to be involved, and most kids will welcome the opportunity to press blender buttons. 

From a child’s toddling years, there are myriad ways to provide instruction, getting them familiar with being in the kitchen. You’ll find that there’s no one-size-fits-all formula but that a particular combination of approaches will work best for your family. Whichever means you use, repetition will be key in making food preparation a part of your and your children’s lifestyle.