Age appropriate ways kids can help in the kitchen

by Nicole Weston, Posted Aug 15th 2006 @ 2:01PM

When kids are very young, they often want to emulate what their parents are doing. For example, if Mom and Dad are preparing dinner, Junior will want to be involved. Unfortunately, while cultivating an interest in food - especially homemade food, as opposed to fast food - is a wonderful thing for a child, they can occasionally get in the way of the chef.

An easy solution is to assign your child age-appropriate tasks that they can do with little to no supervision once they have been shown how to do it in the first place. Real Simple offers a helpful list of such tasks, sorted by age, so your kids can join in the cooking process. Here are a few of their suggestions:

5 and over

Retrieve ingredients from the pantry or refrigerator.
Wash vegetables and fruits.
Stir together dry ingredients.
Smash crackers into crumbs.
Set the table.

7 and over

Measure ingredients.
Peel vegetables.
Frost a cake (sheet cakes are easiest).
Separate eggs.

10 and over

Use a standing or handheld mixer and a food processor.
Chop vegetables (might require some practice).
Most other kitchen tasks (with supervision).

For children under 5, who are not included in the original list, try giving them an oven timer so they can let you know when the food is ready to come out of the over, whether it's cake or roasted chicken. Explain to them what you are doing, so they learn about the stages of cooking ("This is called sauteing"), and let them help you pick the recipes, or practice reading them aloud to you as you work.

The interest in different tasks will vary by child, but these are a good place to start. One other thing to keep in mind is to emphasize that cleanup is part of the cooking process, putting things away when you're done and washing the dishes after the cooking is finished. Good habits can never start too early

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Filed Under: Cooking With Kids, Magazines
Tags: baking, breakfast, child, children, chop, cook, cooking, dad, dinner, help, helping, kids, kitchen, learn, learn to cook, learning, lunch, mom, parent, parents, peel

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

8-15-2006 @2:33PM kim said... I think this list doesn't give children under 5 enough credit. I am a nanny and I'm very familiar with the under-5 crowd. One of my kids, just shy of 3 years old, is quite proficient at retrieving items from the fridge (if they're within his reach, of course). Another child, 4 years old, was able to measure ingredients for banana bread using colour-coded measuring cups and spoons.

I think 5 years old is a little late to get your child interested in cooking if you want to combat pickiness and reliance on junk food. The moment they show interest, get creative and figure out something they can do.
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8-15-2006 @2:44PM suburban misfit said... At my childrens' preschool, the kids were measuring ingredients and retreiving things from cabinets at age three.

My kids have helped me in the kitchen since they were old enough to push a chair over to the counter. My son started helping me mix things and knead dough when he was just under two.

And, when my daughter was four she could separate eggs.
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8-15-2006 @2:49PM calamari said... If 3-year-olds are capable of banging spoons against pots and pans (as they surely are), I'd think they'd be capable of smashing crackers and stirring dry ingredients, too. That seems more understandable to the 3-year-old mind than the distinction between "saute" and "braise."
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8-15-2006 @4:14PM james b said... Since it is the only birth cohort I have experience with, here are some things I have done at 5 and under:

break eggs (at your own risk)
pour pre-measured ingriedients
make english muffin pizzas
open containers

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8-15-2006 @5:16PM Carol said... I was in the kitchen with my grandmother as soon as I was able to sit upright on my own. She'd prop me up on the counter and let me go to town with my own bowl and spoon, and whatever ingredients she was using that day -- to this day, I firmly believe that's what gave me my lifelong love of food, especially baking. Kids can be in the kitchen from the very beginning, and become proficient in certain tasks well before the age of 5, if given the right encouragement and amount of play with the ingredients. Yes, it makes an unholy mess -- but my grandmother used to say the best bakers always made the biggest messes.
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8-15-2006 @5:43PM dulci said... i agree that the lists above are selling kids short. i made macaroni and cheese (well supervised, of course) at 4, and chocolate chip cookies from scratch at 5! kids are a lot more capable than they are often given credit for.
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8-15-2006 @7:59PM MJ said... I agree with the nanny! Mine started at 3 years old making meatballs. My youngest made cornbread at that age and he put too much milk I thought it was ruined. Came out very moist like a spoonbread I have made it like that for years now. I do not have patience to teach and measure. But I did some. I would rather people watch as I cook.
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8-15-2006 @8:26PM kitchenmage said... I have photos of a two year old learning how to windowpane bread dough, baking 'pie cookies' and helping with salads and such. Isn't salad made for two year olds? Tearing the lettuce is the perfect job for them!
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8-15-2006 @10:34PM Mary Louise Rogers said... My daughter was eager to "help" me in the kitchen since she was about two years old. however, her interest waned as she got older. Since it was alot easier and quicker to prepare foods without her getting in the way I didn't insist she help me, but, just let her have "fun"-playing, watching t.v., talking on the phone, etc. etc.
However, I think I should have insisted she do more cooking with me,because she's become a rather lazy, and bored thirteen year old! Likes to have her yummy meals prepared FOR her by mom! (Princess com[plex!) Had I continued to have her help out often in meal prep.she might actually enjoy it, or, at least not roll her eyes and scowl like she is being persecuted when I do make her help1
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8-15-2006 @11:14PM baralong said... That's way too limited. My son (now 8.5) makes scrambled eggs all by him self, he's been making toast since he was 5 and cold cereal since he was 4.5. My daughter (also 8.5, twins) makes chocolate pudding all by her self. Both have been more than capable of using an electric mixer for the last year or so.

I have run cooking classes for kids. At 7 (or a bit younger) I have them chopping vegetables, measuring and weighing (math skills) making their own pizzas (dough and all).

Start them young. Teach them to be careful with sharp and hot things. Ignore the mess and let them go, but do it with them. The time my kids spend I the kitchen with me (Dad) is some of the best time we have together.

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