Cooking with Your Kids

Parents can instill in children a love of cooking by allowing them to spend time with them in the kitchen. For extremely young toddlers, this will not be an option, but once your child is of an age to comprehend what is going on, there are many great, fun and wonderful things that can happen in a kitchen with your tot.

• Never leave your child unsupervised or alone in a kitchen where he or she can access sharp knives or hot or heavy objects.
• Be very careful to keep any tins, cans or lids away from little fingers that can get cut very easily.
• If you are cooking or baking with your little one, try to give them something to do to be a part of the family meal preparation. Stirring cake mix or putting mustard on a burger will help them feel like they've contributed giving them a sense of pride in what they are doing.
• On those occasions where you let your child help you to prepare a meal, have it be a meal that they will enjoy eating, too.
• A safe cooking exercise for your child is washing vegetables in a large bin. Place them in a large bowl with water and allow your tot to scrub them.
• Try not to allow your child to sample too much food as you are preparing dinner. It could spoil their appetite.

By Chris Giardino