What Should You Consider When Cooking With Children?

In order for cooking with children to be safe and successful, it is important to follow certain safety and hygiene precautions. It is also important to consider which tasks are appropriate for children at which age. If you want to motivate children to cook and other kitchen activities, it also makes sense to choose dishes that are adapted to their tastes. It is also important as a parent to set clear rules and give instructions, but not to rush and hold back with criticism. Cooking and helping in the kitchen have the advantage that children are playfully motivated to deal more with food and healthy nutrition later on.

You should prepare the workplace accordingly for cooking with children. A dedicated table with a secure chair or stool that won’t tip over easily and a non-slip surface to work on is ideal. With a children’s apron you protect the clothing from smudges and splashes. If the children often help out in the kitchen, it is worth clearing a shelf at hand height where the children can store their cooking utensils.

Safety should be the top priority when cooking with children. Warn your children of the risk of injury from hot stovetops and sharp blades and always keep an eye on the relevant risk areas. If your child is allowed to use a knife for the first time, it is best to let them cut soft fruit or vegetables and put your hand on the child’s for the first try to guide them carefully. At a certain point, however, children should also be trusted to handle kitchen utensils safely, as this is the only way for them to develop the necessary skills and the corresponding self-confidence.

It is best to teach the children the most important hygiene rules for the kitchen right from the start. Hands should be washed thoroughly with soap before cooking, kitchen waste and ingredients that fall on the floor should be thrown away immediately and a fresh spoon should always be used to taste. Children should not yet handle raw meat and, due to the increased risk of salmonella, should not eat raw cake batter that has been processed with eggs.

Depending on their age, the children take on more or less demanding tasks. Even one and a half to two-year-olds can help with the cooking, for example by bringing ingredients, washing fruit or vegetables in a bowl, or kneading yeast dough. Two-and-a-half and three-year-olds can stir the pot with the help of their parents or cut soft fruit with a blunt butter knife. From the age of four, children can also cut firmer types of vegetables and add spices or cream to a dish under supervision. When the children are about six years old, you can let them peel potatoes under supervision with a vegetable peeler – not with a knife. You can also weigh sugar or flour or fill it in by liter. If a parent helps to hold it, children of this age are also allowed to stir the cake batter with the hand mixer for a short time.

A great and simple recipe, for example, is the One Pot Pasta with Salmon. In this dish, all the ingredients are cooked in one pot.