Kids grow up in the kitchen. Or at
least I think they should. From watching the cook from their vantage
point in the highchair to insisting on stirring and dumping flour in
the bowl and all over the floor, cooking should be something they
watch regularly – and I don't mean just on the food network.
I was raised with the tradition of
receiving a cookbook on your 8th birthday and that meant
the start of cooking dinner on a weekly basis. This tradition has
carried over into my home with my children receiving the same rite of
passage at age 8. I make them an apron (camouflage for my boy, and
cherries and flowers for my girl), buy them a kid's cookbook and work
them into the rotation. They get really excited to make that first
dinner and plan it out weeks ahead. Don't worry, the enthusiasm
wears off quickly as they realize that cooking takes away an hour or
more of play time with friends.
8 years old may seem plenty old to
start cooking, but by this age they've got pretty solid reading
skills, hopefully a bit more height to access the counter, and lots
of “cooking lab” time under their belt. By cooking-lab, I mean
watching Mom or Dad, making the occasional batch of cookies or fruit
salad, and lots of verbal instruction as they are watching parents
cook.
I almost get as excited for that rite
of passage as they do. Picking out the apron fabric and choosing the
cookbook (I prefer the Betty Crocker Kids Cook to the Better Homes and Garden Junior Cookbook). Yes, reality sets in and we end up learning to
work through not only a recipe, but frustration as well, but isn't
that just a tasty metaphor for life?
For Christmas, Annie got the cookbook Emma's holding. She loves it - she's always offering to fix me dinner or lunch, or treat. I't great!
ReplyDeleteI think I need to get that book.
ReplyDeleteBoth my kiddos love their cookbooks - and the color and cartoon-ish illustration makes it a favorite with them.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that picture of Emma. She's the cutest. Mia loves to help me cook but my kitchen is literally half the size of your front room. I get claustrophobic when I'm in there by myself. Two people can't even fit in there with the fridge open! Keigan has no interest at all... does it sound like I'm making excuses?
ReplyDeleteDo you have suggestions on what the first few meals they cook should be? Or do you just let the kids pick themselves?
I let the kids pick the meals with guidance. They usually have it planned out weeks in advance, and it usually changes about 3 times before the actual dinner cooking event.
ReplyDeleteAnd teaching kids to cook in a tight kitchen is a challenge, but that means you're also simultaneously teaching them organization and space utilization!