3 (Stress-Free) Ways to Involve Your Kids in the Kitchen
Looking for things to do with the kids while you’re stuck at home? Let’s face it. Cooking with children can be incredibly stressful. With everyone's stress levels higher than usual, let’s not add fuel to the fire by attempting to cook with children who have little experience in the kitchen.
That being said, there’s no better time to start fostering their love of real food than while your family is temporarily cooped up with 24/7 access to your kitchen. Whether your kids are newly homebound due to COVID-19 or you’ve been homeschooling all along, here are three (STRESS-FREE) ways to get your kids involved in the kitchen:
Gathering the Ingredients
Have your kids set out all of your ingredients for your meal. If you’re making pancakes for breakfast, have them gather flour, eggs, butter, milk, and syrup (cooking from scratch will make this more meaningful). Making a roast for dinner? They can grab onions and garlic from the pantry, carrots, celery, and meat from the fridge, and spices from your spice rack. Gathering the ingredients can be a subtle way to learn what each meal consists of. Once the ingredients are out, your kids are free to leave you in the kitchen to cook in a stress-free environment.
Watch a cooking show
While this might not take place in the kitchen (although tiny TVs on the counter used to be a thing), watching a cooking show together can help inspire new chefs. We love watching shows like MasterChef Junior, which can provide children with relatable examples of culinary skill. I’d also highly recommend Street Food on Netflix, which highlights various cultural foods around the world and tells the story of the street food vendors in an inspiring and uplifting way.
Plate their dishes
Once all the cooking is done, invite your little ones to “plate” their dish. They can be as creative as they wish while still feeling involved in part of the process. For older children, get competitive with a plating competition. Have your kids choose their plate or bowl and practice different plating techniques.
You don’t always have to have your children chopping vegetables or mixing batter to involve them in the kitchen (although these are great tasks for older kids). Getting the entire family involved can be simple and still leave room for you to peacefully tackle the bulk of the cooking yourself.
Stay Nourished!