Nanny to Mommy

Are you talented in the kitchen and keen to pass on your skills to the next generation? Or, perhaps you’d rather a helping hand making dinner once in a while. Either way, teaching your kids to cook can be very rewarding. It’s a great way to bond and it’s a skill they’ll definitely need later in life. You can start getting children interested in cooking from a young age by making it fun and letting them get their hands dirty. As they get older you can even involve them in shopping and meal planning. This will help to teach them about healthy eating as well. Here are seven fun ways to get your kids into cooking.

Start by encouraging them to help you in the kitchen. Give them the fun, messier jobs to do and let them get their hands dirty. Even at preschool age you can let them mash or stir soft things with plastic utensils. As they get a bit bigger, they can mix together ingredients, or decorate dishes with their hands. This will help make cooking fun and they’ll learn from the tactile experience. It’s also a good way to get kids interested in different foods and ingredients.

On a warmer day, why not take it outside? You could teach your kids how to cook on the grill and host a fun family BBQ. This is a fairly simple yet enjoyable way to cook a variety of dishes. If you need to brush up your BBQ skills, or look for new recipes or equipment, check out the BBQ Grill Academy. It could even be worth investing in a new grill that’s safer and easier to use with kids. Always keep them supervised at all times, however, and the same goes for in the kitchen.

Growing your own fruit, vegetables, and herbs is an effective way to get your kids into healthy eating. If you want to keep your kids healthy, let them help you in the garden. Even during the cooler months there are certain crops you can grow, depending on the climate where you live. You could even start off with a small indoor herb garden. Add these fresh herbs to your recipes and teach your kids about different flavor combinations.

You could invest in a few of the best cooking tools for kids to help personalize this experience. This would work with gardening as well. Tools and equipment that are specially designed for small children will be safer and more ergonomic for them to use. They also come in lots of fun colors and patterns. You could even get them a chef’s hat or apron with their name on it.

Once your kids have started getting the hang of things and learned more about different ingredients you could let them get involved in meal planning. You could encourage them to get started using meal planning apps. These often have features where you can type in the ingredients you have, among other preferences, and a list of recipe suggestions will come up. If your kids are more confident in the kitchen they could even design their own recipes.

Take your kids shopping and let them pick out the ingredients they love to cook. This will also help to teach them about the importance of a balanced diet. You could put a grocery list together beforehand and encourage them to help you. Often younger kids enjoy shopping in the supermarket, whereas older kids may not, it really depends. You could even order a delivery online, or check out your local farmers market. Find the best option for your family.

If you want to pass down family recipes the best way to do so is to lead by example. Give them a demonstration of the most complicated parts and let them practice with you. Kids learn by watching adult role models, so give them inspiration by showcasing your cooking skills. Be patient with them, however, and encourage them to keep practicing themselves especially with more challenging recipes. Don’t forget to reward them for a job well done at every milestone. Maintain a positive environment around cooking from when they’re a young age and hopefully this will teach them to associate it with fun. Cooking together is a lovely way to bond, so make the most of this.