Do you have a little one obsessed with being in the kitchen? Are they constantly clinging to your legs while you're cooking dinner? Do their eyes light up when they get a wooden spoon in their hands? Well a great way to harness all that excitement is to get them involved in the cooking! Kids love to be a part of the cooking experience, and anything they can do to help with their meals will only make them more excited to eat it! Here are a few tips for helping our babes learn to cook!
- Don't be afraid of mistakes! When you're going to get the kids involved, make sure it's something that doesn't have to be perfect. This helps keep you sane, and makes sure you're not micromanaging their experience. Have them help by putting handfuls of chocolate chips into the batter and stirring it up. Let them have fun with the rolling pin when you're making homemade pizzas. If you give them a task that doesn't have to be perfect to be great, it will save you both a lot of frustration.
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Help your kids up with a step stool that will support their weight, and won't shake or move when they're helping. This way you make sure they're safe while up to the counter, and you won't be freaking out about them taking a tumble during dinner prep. The Stokke Tripp Trapp is an awesome option for a foot stool. The Tripp Trapp can be used as a footstool and hold up to 300 lbs after you're done using it as a highchair so it's perfect for littles to get up to the counter!
- Messes will happen. Embrace them! But to cut down on sweeping sugar and flour off the kitchen tile, try doing something up to the table, and roll out some art paper, or even a disposable table cloth, so you can quickly fold it and toss away any messes. A super fun table meal can be foil dinners! Fill up bowls with different veggies and let the kids fill up the foil patches (have them write their names on there first!) with their favorites, and then drizzle some olive oil on top. Mom can top the veggies with a piece of fish or chicken, season it up and pop them in the oven or on the grill. They'll love opening up their (cooled) pouch for dinner, and you'll love that there's basically zero cleanup!
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Keep it clean and cute by making sure your kids have their own aprons! This will keep their clothes from becoming a complete mess, and they will love having mom tie on their apron and hop up to the counter! You can buy blank aprons at craft stores in a bunch of different colors, and you can make it a fun family activity to decorate the aprons with names and drawings!
- A great way to make things easier on yourself when your kids are helping in the kitchen is to make sure you're you're not rushing. Easier said than done, I know! But just make sure that if you're going to have your little ones take a part in helping out for a meal, you'll need to plan for enough time for you to talk them through how to roll up the tortillas for the enchiladas, or how to measure out the flour. The younger the babe, the more hands-on you'll need to be, so don't try to fit in lasagna making in 20 minutes, you know what I mean?