One of the most effective and the simplest way to get your children to eat right is to persuade them to cook healthy meals together. Honestly, two of the most quintessential life skills, which is central for kids to know about in cooking is food safety and. Nutrition. Cooking early also sharpens your child’s motor skills. As a parent, you should always take measures to encourage your child’s excitement and interest in healthy foods by teaching them to cook these foods safely. To help you with it, we have drafted an adequate age-appropriate guide to help you persuade your child to get involved in kitchen activities.
Basics of Food Safety
Now, before you enter the kitchen with your child, there are a few safety measures that you need to take note of. Young kids need adequate supervision, so be very careful. Some safety habits include:
Wash your hands
Anushka, who offers online do my assignment services, says that when her mother taught her cooking, the first life-lesson she gave was to handle the food only after washing hands. Since then, it is her habit to wash her hands with warm, soapy water before she starts cooking. I believe, this habit should be incorporated by you too and must be taught to your kids as well.
Tie your hair
Women usually have long hair. If you keep your hair loose and open, a strand or two might fall in the dish you are preparing. You do not want that, right? So, pull back all your hair, and tie them in a bun. It is always a good idea for men and women both to wear a chef hat or a toque.
Keep the kitchen clean
Before, during, and after cooking, you have to make sure that the counters and the kitchen tops are clean. You cannot leave your kitchen dirty, that’s possibly the worst habit you can teach your kids.
Do not keep tasting through the process
Parents should teach their kids that it is nicer if they wait for cooking to complete before tasting. Kiara, who works with a platform where you can pay for research paper writing services, says that it is not a very good sight to see kids lick their fingers or put fingers in their mouth, especially when they are handling the raw food, maybe like poultry, raw meat, or cookie dough.
No double dipping
If there’s a spoon used in tasting, you shouldn’t dip it again in the food. Do not do it, so your kids do not pick on it.
These guidelines are useful for children irrespective of the age they start cooking.
Now, let us look at some age-specific tasks that you can assign kids in the kitchen.
For kids aged 3-5 years
Young children have a voluntary habit of helping you in the kitchen. Linda, who offers the best data science certification online, says that young children always need a close adult monitoring, as their motor skills are in a developing stage, so never leave them alone in the kitchen.
Some appropriate tasks for them include:
- First, they should wash their hands before touching anything.
- Next, they can wash the vegetables and fruits in the sink before using them.
- You can also ask them to wipe the tabletops or the counters.
- Seek their help in mixing the ingredients.
- They can brush cooking oil with a pastry brush on the food.
- Cut down the cookies in any fun shape that they like.
For kids aged 6-7 years
By the age of 6, the motor skills in the children are already developed. Sonya, who offers online research paper writing service, says that when she was 6, her mother gave her more detailed work in the kitchen, like peeling and chopping. Of course, you can give them detailed work, but you cannot overlook the common safety reminders.
Some appropriate tasks for them include:
- Give them a peeler to peel raw fruits and vegetables. Make sure they are properly washed before peeling.
- You can have them break the eggs into a bowl. Immediately after eggs are broken, they should be told to wash hands.
- You can slice the avocados in half, and then have them scoop it out for you.
- Deseed the peppers or the tomatoes using a spoon.
- Loading the dishwasher with used utensils.
- Rinse or cut green onions or parsley with a kitchen scissors.
- Snapping the green beans.
For kids aged 8-9 years
Now, there are a bunch of skills that can be taught at this age group. However, you have to see your child’s maturity level before imparting these skills. Monisha, who offers online accounting assignment help services, says that when she was 9, her mum told her that it was important to wipe the surfaces of the utensils that were going back in the kitchen, especially the perishables. It is indeed a good habit that even adults don’t incorporate in their lives.
Some appropriate tasks for them include:
- Teach them to open the cans via a can opener.
- Putting back the leftovers in the containers or the refrigerators.
- Pounding the kitchen on a cutting board.
- Beating the eggs.
- Checking the meat temperature via a food thermometer.
- Juicing an orange or lemon.
For kids aged 10-12 year olds
Angie, who left an excellent ThanksForTheHelp Review for this assignment providing website, says that by the time she was 12, her mother let her independently work in the kitchen, but she would still come around every half hour to check that things were going right. Before you let your kids do the grown-up tasks, you have to examine whether they can handle the hot pans on their own, or transfer the food from hot pans to other utensils, unplug the electrical appliance, and use the knives safely. Only when they can do all this, you can allow them to work independently in the kitchen.
Some appropriate tasks for them include:
- Boiling the pasta.
- Microwaving food.
- Following a recipe from the book.
- Baking foods in the oven.
- Chopping or slicing vegetables with a knife.
So, get to the kitchen and start cooking with your kids. Cooking together is a great way to teach your child valuable skills and create lasting memories.