Kids in the Kitchen: How to Turn Your Kitchen into a Learning and Bonding Experience

This nutrition and cooking program encourages kids to eat healthy meals and snacks by providing them with hands on learning experiences that teach them how to prepare food. The curriculum is appropriate for children aged six to fifteen. Topics such as basic cooking skills, good nutrition, healthy food choices, food safety and physical activity are included.

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Kids in the Kitchen

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Cooking allows kids to feel good about themselves. Children have a sense of pride when they prepare foods to eat and share with others. Kids who help with the planning and preparation of meals also are more likely to try a greater variety of new foods.

Teach older kids to read a recipe all the way through, clean the counters and their hands, set up the work area with all utensils that will be needed, and gather all ingredients before starting to cook. They should prepare all ingredients that must be chopped, peeled, toasted, etc. so that the cooking process goes smoothly and quickly. Being organized in the kitchen will help garner success and will ultimately help them feel good about themselves.

Always consider the age of the child and assign jobs they can safely do. Every child is different and possesses a unique set of skills, so consider the developmental level and abilities when assigning kitchen duties. Then, choose foods and recipes that match their abilities. Here are some age-appropriate kitchen jobs for children.

Teach kids how to handle food to keep it clean and safe from spoilage and foodborne illness. For example, show them how to clean up as they are cooking, using clean dish towels and paper towels. Teach them how to store food properly for food safety.

Conscientious parents are always on the lookout for ways to better teach, communicate, and connect with their children. Parents of younger children are seeking ways to promote academic as well as social learning. Parents of teenagers strive to keep healthy channels of communication open while instilling values intrinsic to their family traditions. The family kitchen is the epicenter of these noble ambitions! Cooking with your kids, both young and old, has wonderful benefits.

Children are more likely to eat what they make. The mealtime battles regarding the willingness to try new and healthy foods may well become a thing of the past. Research published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics indicates that children engaged in tactile experiences, such as handling foods, have less food neophobia (food fear) and greater acceptance of eating a variety of foods. When kids help in the kitchen, cooking creates a sense of ownership that shifts their perception and relationship with food. Studies also have found that children participating in culinary classes eat more fruits and vegetables upon completing the course. So, children who cook become children who taste and often times eat!

Children develop a mature palate. Exposure to scratch cooking at home helps kids develop a taste for fresh, healthy ingredients. The earlier a child is exposed and becomes accustomed to wholesome ingredients, the less likely they will acquire a taste for calorie-laden and nutritionally-void processed foods. They will begin to skip less healthy processed snack food as they learn to prepare their own food.

Spending time in the kitchen gives children confidence. Children who cook at home feel a sense of accomplishment. There is nothing that evokes a warm response like the expression of a child proudly serving their food to friends and family!

A kitchen is literally learning lab. Cooking can be looked upon as science experiences that children can eat. When cooking, children observe changes in food ingredients. They learn about actions and consequences. They learn about temperature, floating, melting, freezing and (sometimes) burning. They learn and practice math skills through fractions, measuring, doubling recipes and contemplating quantities. Following recipes encourages self-direction and independence. It also promotes problem solving and creativity. In terms of physical development, cooking and food preparation also contributes toward small muscle control and eye-hand coordination.

Science, counting, fractions, weighing, sequencing, measuring, language, fine motor skills, reading, problem solving, and social engagement are all being practiced during those magical moments in the kitchen.

Eat dinner together regularly. Kids are more likely to sit down to a meal that they have helped prepare. This can go a long way towards family time during an era of excessive outside demands on tween and teenage schedules. Involving your kids in the kitchen is a big stepping-stone towards getting them to appreciate family meals. Family meals can be a struggle and many families work hard to even have one daily meal together. Again, start by maximizing weekend opportunities for family time to eat together.

Getting kids involved in the kitchen teaches them life skills that they will utilize for years to come. Learn about cooking with kids, kitchen safety with kids and get recipes for empowering kids in the kitchen. While this post is sponsored by Healthy Family Project, my desire to inspire to get kids cooking is my own.

Many of us have memories of cooking with mom (or dad) when we were young. And when you recall those memories, you smile. Cooking is a fun and essential skill to share with your children that will create memories that will last a lifetime. While cooking is a great deal of fun, teaching your kids to cook serves more purpose than laughter and lots of smiles.

What better way to teach your child solid math skills than a hands-on lesson? By cooking with your kids, you can sneak in a great math lesson. Basic measurements, conversions, and fractions all come into play when cooking with your children in the kitchen.

The topic of nutrition brings me to the next purpose of getting your child in the kitchen. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I just got my Nutrition Certification. Not only am I incredibly proud of myself for taking on this challenge to better myself, but I did it for my family. I wanted to learn more about food, the ingredients in the meals I cook and about the nutrition in the recipes I share here on Food Wine Sunshine. Know what else I learned? I learned that empowering children in the now will help them not only be willing to cook, but it will teach them to pick healthy ingredients when cooking. They will learn about the food they are preparing. Everyone wants to make sure their child is eating well and one way to do that is to get them involved in cooking.

There is no doubt that spending time in the kitchen with your kids can strengthen the bonds of child and parent. While cooking, children have a wealth of learning experiences available. Mathematics, strengthening and diversifying the palate, and nutrition are just three of the many ways cooking with your children can help them to learn much-needed life skills. So, what are you waiting for, let them get cooking!

Be sure to check out PowerYourLunchbox.com for more than 70 lunchbox ideas, tips on empowering kids in the kitchen, and healthy tips from real parents and on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for even more!

earning to cook is an essential life skill everyone should strive to develop at some point in their life. Involving kids in the kitchen is a great way to kickstart that learning from a young age and comes with numerous benefits. Cooking with kids provides opportunities to teach them about food and nutrition. Consequently, getting your kids cooking may be a great way to raise less picky and more adventurous eaters. The purpose of this fact sheet is to explore the benefits of cooking with children and provide some helpful tips to get started.

ShoppingDid you know that kids influence up to 80 percent of family food spending? Even though parents do have control over what ultimately ends up in the grocery cart, allowing kids to have a say in what foods they eat may help them become healthy eaters as they grow.

Age-Appropriate ActivitiesAround the age of 3 years old, children are ready to assist in the kitchen. It is important to keep children 2 and under a safe distance from food preparation with safety gates, high chairs or playpens to help avoid injuries, burns and other preventable accidents.

7- and 8-year-oldsNeed help locating an ingredient in the kitchen? Your child may now assist with this. If making cookies for the holidays, rolling and shaping dough or using a whisk to beat ingredients is another task to assign.

9- through 12-year-oldsMore advanced kitchen tools can be used, including a vegetable peeler, sharp knife and oven (with adult supervision). Shredding cheese and vegetables can also be a fun trick to try at this age.

It is important to know that kids are more likely to try new foods if they help prepare it. Assisting in the kitchen may help build their self-esteem, as well as giving them a sense of pride when they see others enjoying what they have helped create. Most importantly, it is an opportunity to spend quality time with family that is often rare in our fast-paced culture.

Start them young! Younger children can still be a part of this day. For the children who are on the younger end, they might need more assistance in the kitchen on this day, however, they do not need to be left out. They are never too young to help measure out ingredients or even just taste test!

Every family can make this day what they want it to be. Make a tradition, try new things and just have fun. This is a day to show kids of all ages how fun cooking and baking can really be. Cooking and baking is a skill that is important for everyone to have. There are also so many other things that they can learn with their time on this day This is a good day to practice cooking and just have fun with the family. 2ff7e9595c