Cooking is an important skill that anyone should have and most of the children know how to do it from an early age. When you are preparing breakfast or dinner, you could notice that your child is always trying to meddle around by asking questions like what are you making and how you do it. Don’t look at their curiosity as an obstacle, use it to make them independent in the future.
Children love to help and to feel useful around, so teaching them some basic cooking skills is a necessary technique for their further development. If you don’t know how to start, here are some tips that can help you with it.
Kneading the Dough
When you are preparing bread or bagels for breakfast ask your kids for help. Give them an apron and a small bowl for a start. Let them stand or sit next to you so they could observe better every step that you take. Ask them to bring you anything that you will need for mixing the dough, like flour or eggs. That way they will remember where you keep your groceries in the kitchen.
Knead the dough at the same time and tell your toddler which ingredients go first and how to combine it. Let them make a mess by using their hands to make some shape of it. After they baked their first bread or bagel they will feel proud and excited about their achievement. Teaching them how to make bread or bagels is an important skill that they should be aware of.
Cooking Tools
When you start teaching your toddler how to cook, explain to him which tool has its purpose. To make him more challenging and exciting at the same time, you could turn the cooking class into a guessing game. Spread cooking tools on a dining table, explain to him what they are used for and what they are called. Then mix them up, take one and let your child guess which tool are you holding.
If you want to inspire them to spend more time in the kitchen, you could get them a cooking tool as a gift. There are a lot of gifts for foodies that your child could use to highlight his imagination and develop faster cooking skills. They still love to play and have fun, so describe them that cooking is all about it.
First Breakfast
Every morning you must get up early to prepare breakfast for kids and get yourself ready for work. If you teach your toddler to do it without your help, it will save you some time for coffee that you need so much before you get out of the house. Showing him how to prepare an easy tasteful breakfast will be very helpful for you during busy mornings. For a start, he could make a peanut butter toast with jelly on top, bowl with cereals or fried eggs. Tell him where each grocery stands in the kitchen or set them up that he could reach them. Before you know it, he will brag about it by explaining to you how he became independent with your help. The next morning you will be surprised when you see breakfast on the table that your child cooked just for you to make you a proud parent. It will be one of the best mornings that you ever have.
Teaching your children some basic cooking skills will help them how not to stay hungry. Learning to cook and prepare some basic meals is a fun and exciting thing to do. Don’t forget that they also have to learn to clean up the mess that they left behind. Except that you will teach them how to cook, show them they could also love doing it. Spending time together while making magic in the kitchen will make your child feel thrilled and loved. Support their will and imagination, let them explore and add some spices to meals based on their taste. Try to lure their creativity, and maybe someday in the future they will become chefs of their five-star restaurant.