Cooking with kids

by Elsha

My older kids are four and almost three, and they LOVE to pretend to cook. I imagine that they would also love to help me actually cook, but I don't let them. I used to attribute it to age, four isn't nearly old enough to help with the cooking, right? But my four-year-old nephew helps his mom cook, as does his three-year-old brother. When my dad is cooking he'll let my kids help him. Apparently it's just me keeping them from helping more in the kitchen. 

This has made me curious.Do you let your kids help you cook? What age do you start? What kind of responsibilities do they get? I don't know if I'm ready to deal with their "help," but I don't want my kids to end up in college not knowing how to do anything but boil spaghetti noodles. Tell me how it works at your house!

Comments

[Jess M.]

So, yes, I let my kids help cook, though it's with great hesitation and a lot a lot of patience. My 2YO up until now was content to "help" by being given a bowl and a spoon or ice cream scoop and some shredded cheese or something while standing on a chair at the counter. So she was close by but not actually involved in any of the actual cooking. My 8 and 6 YOs can help meausre things or just dump and mix if something has to be measured accurately. I have taught them both to make scrambled eggs which is a really short and easy task that they can do start to finish. It's very satisfying for them, they learn how to turn on the stove, crack and egg, flip/stir things in a pan and turn things off.

[Elizabeth]

My 3 year old wants to help every day, at every meal. After several (ongoing) discussions about watching everyone's fingers, etc. he does "help" most nights.

We cut, using a real knife, together and he scoops dry ingredients a lot. I try to push a lot of math, like counting the scoops or talking about simple fractions (2 half cups is one cup, etc.) He turns machines on and off for me (and covers his ears while they run- it's super cute) and his all time favorite is turning the handle on our popcorn pot.

We're working on cracking eggs and I think I'm going to let him start cutting easier things with a small knife soon. My big fear is the stove, as it's gas, and I'm still a little afraid of it some days!

[April]

My kids both want to help, especially my older. I let sometimes. It's annoying because I work at a certain pace to get things done by a certain time for dinner etc, and it slows things way down to get "help". I'm trying to let them though. I should, right?

[HereWeGoAJen]

I let Elizabeth help in the kitchen. She cracks eggs just about every time we have anything made with eggs. I measure, she dumps. She has her own tiny pair of kitchen shears that she uses to cut anything that can be cut with kitchen shears. Sometimes I give her a knife and let her help me cut things like potatoes. (Also sometimes I cut the grapes in half, stick them back together, and let her "cut" them. And the like.) She can stir if she does it under supervision. She's actually surprisingly careful in the kitchen, considering her personality.

[Hillary]

Both of the boys "help" me with dinner. They enjoy it and they can do some things -- but it does take great patience, which is not something I have in spades.

I actually said to R the other night, "Stop. I need you to wait. I am getting frustrated and overwhelmed and then --"

"You yell," he finished.

Now that he understands that, cooking with him is easier. : )

[Sarah]

My almost 4 year old loves to help me in the kitchen. He gets to count and dump ingredients that I have measured, he can help (slowly) stir ingredients together, and he can surprisingly crack eggs very well. Who knew? But I will admit to sometimes pre-measuring and mixing as much as I can, as fast as I can, before he actually gets to the kitchen to help. :)

[emiliym]

I don't have kids, but I do remember my mom letting me help with cracking eggs and mixing cookie dough (and helping her eat cookie dough) and my grandma let me put the sprinkles on the cookies. When I was 6, my mom got me a cook book and let me pick out a recipe and I cooked the entire dinner for my family one night (I felt like I was doing it myself, but I'm sure my mom was watching me to make sure I didn't burn down the house). It was a lot of fun, but I do remember I didn't like what I cooked. I'm pleased to say I've come a long way since that day of twice baked potatoes. (I put mushrooms in the potatoes as "sailors" and put little pieces of triangle cheeses on toothpicks as "sails" and pretended I made little boats. Cute? Yes. But I was not a good cook at 6yrs old)

[Colleen]

My kiddo will be 2.5 in February and loves to help me cook. In our case, she dumps things in the bowl or pot & can have short turns stirring, plus we count eggs and the like. I have noticed that she's more open to trying foods she's helped cook.

[Brandi]

My son has been helping in the kitchen since he was about 18 months old. He loves to cook and mostly helps with dry ingredients and stirring. He likes to chop with the Vidalia onion chopper, and his Ikea knives (plastic) get used alot. This isn't an everyday occurrence and he mostly has a love for baking, but it makes me happy to know he is building a love for cooking and I can't wait for the day that he is cooking for us.