Cooking with Your Children

Meals should be a time of bonding and sharing. Instead, they are often filled with anxiety for many reasons. Parents report experiencing food insecurity due to not having enough to eat or not being able to afford the quality of food they desire.

Making meals with your child(ren) creates an opportunity for bonding. It can teach them responsibility and valuable skills, and help them find a sense of accomplishment in everyday things.

Give your child choices. Something as simple as, “Would you like peas or broccoli?” empowers your child. When a child is be able to exercise control over some part of their life, they feel more secure and valued. It is also good for them to feel like they are contributing to important decision making.

Allow your child to participate. Younger children can do simple things like add veggies to the pan or fetch items from the fridge. As they get older, their tasks can increase to things that require more skill and attention, such as stirring and chopping. Eventually, your child should be able to make full meals on their own.

Praise your child. When they do something well, let them know so they can keep doing things right.

Gently redirect when they make an error. Children learn quickly and stay involved in activities if they are corrected in a positive manner.

Safety is vital. When cooking with children, it is vital to set the kitchen rules right from the start and repeat them often. Good hygiene and work area safety are just as important at home as it is in a job environment.

These basic rules will help keep you and your loved ones safe in the kitchen:

• Wash your hands with soap before you start food preparation;
• Wash your hands with soap after handling food, sneezing or touching your face;
• Tie back long hair;
• Roll up long sleeves;
• No dangling jewellery or clothing;
• Wear shoes that completely cover your feet to protect against hot spills;
• Keep your apron strings tucked in and away from the burner;
• Make sure nothing is hanging over the edge of the counter;
• If you cannot reach, ask for help;
• Hands off the stove;
• Pot/Pan handles need to be turned toward the inside of the stove;
• Only adults handle the knives (for younger children);
• Knives point away from people (for older children);
• Peel away from your body; and
• If a fire breaks out, step back so mom or dad can cover it and turn off the heat.

Communication is essential to running a smooth kitchen and it reviewing the rules often will help reinforce them in your child(ren)’s good habits.

NOTE: You may want to print up a list of the rules to post on the fridge for reference while cooking together.

For those parents who have a difficult time finding ways to connect with their children, meal time can become a bountiful opportunity. More importantly, meal preparation can be a time of fun and learning.

• Easy Cheesy Nachos
• Peanut Butter Cookies (Gluten Free)
• Crêpes (Gluten Free)
• Hawaiian Dreams
• Easy Cheesecake
• Banana Bread
• Hearty Cottage Pie

Note: HubPages and the Monday Campaigns created the The Kids Cook Monday series, which focuses on alleviating these concerns and bringing families closer together by providing helpful information, as well as quick, easy, inexpensive, quality meals that parents can make with their children.