Kitchen Fun for Little Ones
How many times have you lovingly stirred a pot of homemade marinara while your kids race around the house, getting into mischief? Too many to count, we’re pretty sure. Depending on your little angels’ ages, there are many ways you can involve them in food prep and post-meal cleanup so your job is a bit easier. Lorraine Turner, a retired grade school teacher in Southern California, has some tips for frazzled moms everywhere. “It might seem like extra work to have your children in the kitchen with you when you are trying to get a meal on the table, but think about all the help you will have in years to come if you start teaching them now,” she advises.
When your kids are up to 18 months old, secure them in a high chair or playpen right in the kitchen so you can keep an eye on them while you cook. Give them a plastic bowl or a colander to play with, but nothing they could poke an eye out with. Turner poses, “Who needs expensive toys when you have plastic bowls and wooden spoons?”
For toddlers two to three years old, bring them into the kitchen as an interactive learning experience. Kids are old enough-and curious enough-to touch, taste, feel and see the food you’re prepping and cooking. Put them to work and have them rinse fruits and veggies or form meat patties for hamburgers. “Now is a good time to teach food safety such as how to handle raw meat,” Turner says.
For children aged four to five years old, tactile experiences grow more important, so put them on dough-rolling duty or citrus juicing. They can use a spoon to spread peanut butter and jelly on bread. Turner adds, “If a child has the dexterity, soft foods can be cut with plastic knives, or even butter knives.” Post-meal, instruct them how to stack dishes and silverware in the dishwasher in the neatest way they can.
For kids in the six to 10-year old range, engage them in recipe interpretation. They can recite the ingredients and help you measure everything and assemble the dish. “Nothing beats doubling or halving a recipe as a practical demonstration of why we need an understanding of fractions,” says Turner. An easy activity is to make fresh pasta with cheese. Your kids can experience truly getting their hands dirty, cook the pasta with your supervision (although you’ll need to decide when your children are ready to deal with boiling water) and grate the cheese that tops it at mealtime.
As for when you should allow your kids to use knives and electric kitchen tools, and the stove or oven, that’s something only you can judge. It’s very important not to rush the process, and make sure that your child knows he is never allowed to operate these appliances or use these tools without your supervision. Until then, Turner asserts that “While anything is cooking on the stove, remember to use the back burners or turn the handles of pots and pans inward so curious little [ones] can’t reach up and tip hot contents onto themselves.” She adds that “With direction, even toddlers can learn the dangers of ‘hot’ and ‘sharp.’ Children learn by example. If the adult practices proper safety, such as unplugging electrical appliances before cleaning, children will learn to as well.”
Shelley Moench-Kelly, MBA, is a New England-based writer and editor whose freelance clients include Google, L’Oreal Paris and TheWeek.com.
