Teaching your children to cook encourages an essential life skill. It’s never too early to consider imparting culinary wisdom so why not consider the following steps and make cooking with your children an easy and enjoyable activity?
1. For starters
Avoid a kitchen catastrophe by making sure you’re in the right frame of mind before embarking on a baking bonanza. Children and cooking inevitably create mess and if tempers are frayed before you begin there’s every chance your meal preparation will end in meltdown.
Don aprons and cover surfaces with wipe-clean cloths. Cooking with toddlers can be far less fraught if you have all your ingredients and utensils close to hand. Pick a simple recipe for starters to enable your children to get stuck in.
2. Appoint your apprentice
Toy kitchens are the best educational tool for kids, enabling them to enact the art of cooking without any of the incumbent safety concerns. Encourage your children to learn the art of cooking by watching you at work and helping with simple tasks. Setting up a mini work station or installing a toy kitchen in a convenient corner will allow your child to feel part of the process.
From cooking utensils to grocery sets, the Great Little Trading Co. has a range of toy kitchens to encourage imaginative play and provide an early experience of the kitchen environment.
3. Toddler-friendly tasks
Your little ones will want to get stuck in and provide hands-on help in the kitchen. While some tasks are simply too tricky, allow them to help wherever possible. From rubbing butter and flour together for crumble to icing fairy cakes, even little ones can learn a set of basic skills.
4. Loosen the apron strings
As your child’s dexterity develops, they’ll be able to tackle trickier tasks. Simply licking the spoon will be replaced by stirring and slicing in no time. Loosen the apron strings with older children and allow them to get more involved. Number recognition and literacy will widen their culinary world and encourage independence.
Learning to cook uncovers a world of education and encourages a wealth of skills. From the maths involved in measuring to the chemistry of cooking, encourage your children to discover the extra-curricular benefits of baking.
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