Cooking with Kids
Back to School and Back to the Kitchen

Cooking with kids has many benefits. Very young kids can learn wet/dry, big/small. Older kids, find a non-threatening way to hang out. Everyone wins cooking together!

It's true that including the kids in cooking meals requires time, patience, and some extra clean-up, especially when the children are younger. But, cooking with your kids can help get them interested in trying healthy foods they might normally turn up their noses at. Kids will be kids -- they'll snack on chips at a school party or enjoy ice cream after a soccer game. But what is most important is how they eat most of the time. For kids today, healthy eating essentially means eating more fruits and vegetables, having whole grains and beans when possible, and choosing leaner types of animal foods (even some fish every now and then.)

Overall goals of cooking with your kids:

• Reducing the number of meals eaten outside the home.
• Having structured times for family meals.
• Offering healthier, low-calorie foods.
• Involving children in meal planning, shopping, and food preparation

Some of the short-term benefits:

• It encourages kids to try healthy foods.
• Kids feel like they are accomplishing something and contributing to the family.
• Kids are more likely to sit down to a family meal when they helped prepare it.
• Parents get to spend quality time with their kids.
• Kids aren't spending time in front of the TV or computer while they're cooking.
• Kids generally aren't eating junk food when they're cooking a meal at home.

Some long-term benefits:

• Learning to cook is a skill your children can use for the rest of their lives.
• Kids who learn to eat well may be more likely to eat healthfully as adults.
• Positive cooking experiences can help build self-confidence.
• Kids who cook with their parents may even be less likely to abuse drugs.

Here are some age-appropriate cooking skills your children should be able to master.

Under 5 years old:

• Scrub, dip, tear, break, and snap (for example, snapping the ends off green beans)
• Shake, spread, and cut with a cookie or biscuit cutter
• Peel (some items), roll, juice, and mash
• Remove husks from corn
• Wash vegetables in a colander
• Measure and pour some ingredients
• Hand mix

8-10 years old:

Everything listed above, plus some more advanced duties, such as:

• Cracking and separating eggs
• Reading some recipes by themselves
• Inventing their own easy-to-fix recipes
• Using the electric mixer (with adult supervision)
• Stirring food over the stove (with adult supervision)
• Using and reading a candy thermometer (with adult supervision if needed)
• Operating a can opener or food processor with safety features
• Grating cheese
• Cutting vegetables, fruits, etc. (using a plastic knife or dinner knife)

Excerpt from: www.webmd.com