Cooking with Kids

[kristijoy]

I ran across a fun blog post today about cooking with kids (here for reference...http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/20...ing-camp-home/.)

Made me wonder what you've all done with your kids. My son is 8 and I've done lots of baking with him (so he's great at leveling measuring spoons and cups). I've also worked a little with him on flipping pancakes. But other than that I haven't spent much time with him on actually lighting the stove (we have a gas one) and say...scrambling or hard boiling an egg.

What do your kids do? How young did you start them with the stove top? Or using knives?

[Misty Cato]

I started mine really young. Age three ...



At that age we were always literally side-by-side at the stovetop. Now at age 6 she can use the stovetop, electric mixer, blender and other basic appliances supervised, but without direct assistance. I'm just now starting to teach her to use knives and it scares me every time. Her little fingers still look so tiny ...

Just about everything I make she does right alongside me with the exceptions of most knife stuff and deep frying. She can do a few basic meals on her own (still supervised of course); grilled cheese, spaghetti, etc.

I figure in a couple of years, I'm passing on the cooking duties on to her.

[JennNtheBoys]

I've always been hesitant having the kids in the kitchen with me, especially when it comes to the stove (and I would be more so if we had a gas one!!), this past year though my 8 year old joined the Foods project in 4H. He LOVES to cook! In the project he learned one at a time about different tools and proper ways to use them (blender, mixer, measures, and yes even the dreaded knife). My suggestion with knives it to stat simple with items that aren't to hard to cut so they don't need to worry about pressure at first but just how to keep their fingers out of the way (we did this by cutting up fruit for a smoothie). As far as the stove goes, we again started small with just stirring the pot and learned how to keep his distance. For baking I got him a few "makers" (a pretzel maker, cupcake maker, cake pop maker), I'm 32 and still can't bake anything in the oven without burning myself, so this is my way of giving him a little freedom to cook for himself but by minimizing the risk of him burning himself. He did an amazing job with his project this year and he can't wait to continue on with it for the new 4H year.

[MamaBee]

J has been helping me for a long time.. probably since 4 or 5... measuring ingredients, reading recipes, etc. We only did baking or dishes that were related to a craft or school activity like Christmas Around the World..

This summer he made his first meal - hamburger stroganoff. He cut all the onions and peppers and used the stove. He wants to do more - he calls himself the "Magician in the Kitchen" haha

[YepBrook]

I would LOVE to have my kids independently cooking meals by the time they are 10. That's my goal. My son, 8, is comfortable being in charge of breakfast. He can fix almost anything he wants, with the exception of things that are cooked on the stove. I have to help him with fried eggs or bacon. He still makes me nervous on the stove top!

I think the best way for them to learn is to learn a new kitchen skill from you every week, practicing it with supervision and then given the opportunity to do it all by themselves. I'm not saying I'm good at this. I am a bit of a control freak in the kitchen... if I could just let things go a bit more, I'm sure he would do great because he is highly motivated to cook.

[Libby Pritchett]

Misty, I LOVE that! It's so cute to see her helping like that. I had to laugh because this pic reminds me of Chloe (age 2) saying, "I need my ladder!" anytime I'm going to cook. So far, she's only helped by stirring (not on the stovetop) or dumping ingredients into a bowl for me. I'd definitely like to start allowing her to help more over the next year or so though.

My oldest daughter (16) is HORRIBLE in the kitchen (she lives with her dad these days, so I have limited opportunity to teach her anything). I wasn't much of a cook when she was little, so I never really tried to show her. Well, over the summer this year, she was here and was going to make a box of mac & cheese. Nothing fancy or difficult... just straight up Kraft in the blue box... it was AWFUL. Seriously... I had to dump the whole pan cause it was inedible. Rather than boiling the noodles, she'd turned the stove off after she dumped them in. So, they were beyond "al dente." LOL

I felt so bad because obviously I'd failed her in that department. So, it has become my mission to teach her to cook when she is here. Pretty much every meal I make, she'll be right there beside me at every opportunity. No one ever taught me to cook when I was younger, so I went for years as a picky eater who would only eat very very basic things that I could prepare myself. It wasn't until I married Jeff that I stepped out of my comfort zone and started trying more complicated dishes. I don't want her to be that way. Cooking is one of my favorite things now, so I hope I can at least teach how to survive even if she doesn't develop a passion for it like I did.

[rach3975]

Letting my kids near the stove top or a hot oven scares me. They all help me bake or do other cooking tasks away from heat. Not on a regular basis, but when we feel like doing a cooking project together. My oldest is 10 (almost 11), and I'm just starting to feel like it's time to start him using the stove and microwave. (Probably would have done microwave before now except that ours is high and I didn't want him spilling hot things on himself when he tried to get them out.) I didn't cook on a stove or use an oven until we had Home Ec in school when I was about 12. After that my mother started letting me use both at home.

[fifilur]

My son is 6 and he cuts vegetables with a sharp knife and loves to make sauce on the stove. He calls himself the "master chef" LOL. I'm always right beside him, but I think it's important to let him help and to show him the safe way of using sharp or hot items.

[Misty Cato]

There are lots of children's storybooks that have recipes at the end. That was what sparked Mya's interest in cooking. She found this book called Cora Cooks Pancit one day and wanted to try it. Now she looks for stories with recipes.

[kristijoy]

Love your daughter Misty!! My son's favorite is to help me make bread. He loves yeast! He also uses the microwave at school to heat up his lunch.

But I really want to start him on the stove top so he can make his own scrambled eggs, boiled noodles or quesadilla. I would definitely be standing right there in the kitchen with him.

My son is not a foodie, so I don't think he's going to make cooking a big past-time, but I really don't want to raise a son who is inept in the kitchen!!!!

[sweetban]

My daughter who was 7, wanted to learn how to cook, I taught her. First recipe she learned was chicken carbonara. I taught her how and when she was 9 she cooked it all by herself. It was delicious!