I’m a firm believer in raising my kids up with life skills. Now, I definitely want them to be kids and enjoy being kids, but right now while they are young, it’s the very time they enjoy doing “grown-up things” and learning in the kitchen. It’s also the time they like helping clean and so many other things… which means it’s the exact right time to get kids involved in the kitchen!
To me, these basic life skills, like how to wash their clothes, knowing their way around the kitchen and cleaning up after themselves are important tools for their lives, especially after aren’t under my roof anymore… but I think it’s pretty important while they’re still in my home too! 😉
If you’ve been around here for a while, you know that my kids are often, okay pretty much always, in the kitchen with me. They love it! They’ll hear me clanging around with pots and pans and come running out of another room, “What are we making?” While we’ve been in the process of learning how to teach our kids about money, I thought it was a good time to kind of share my breakdown for how I get my kids involved in the kitchen at their different ages.
How To Get Kids Involved In The Kitchen
The baby and toddler years. At this stage, they’re just always by my side in general, so bringing them into the kitchen is pretty normal for any mom… they may sit in a highchair, crawl or walk around my feet. What’s great about this age with my little ones is just talking through what I’m doing. I’ll usually let them smell and see the food we’re using, we talk about colors and shapes and in general, it’s all about them feeling comfortable.
The preschool years. For my littles as preschoolers, they would get SO excited to help in any way possible. This meant turning over the pouring and stirring for sure. Turning on machines like the blender or mixer? Forget it, that was their job. This age is where I usually introduce measurements, and while they don’t always fully understand the differences, we would still say each scoop as we measure together and count as we pour into bowls and mixers. Things like rolling or punching dough, using cookie cutters and safely cutting (ie. bananas with a butter knife) were also introduced at this age.
The elementary years. This is a fun time in the kitchen… this is a time when I can actually begin to hand off tasks and they take pride in completing it “all by themselves.” Small things like washing vegetables, chopping ingredients (get a child-safe knife and it will be a huge help in the kitchen!), peeling, measuring and pouring are tasks they’ll be proud to complete once you’ve shown them how to safely accomplish it.
In the later elementary years, for example, now that Aliyah is ten, we’re teaching how to meal plan, write out grocery lists and save on grocery shopping! Now, once kiddos learn to write, they want to be in charge of list writing and I’ve spent many an afternoon spelling out B-R-E-A-D and A-P-P-L-E-S one letter at a time and our family has all thrown out ideas for meals for the week as I write a plan, but what I mean about this next step is actually letting my 10-year-old plan and cook a meal from start to finish… and start being the recipe planning and grocery list-making. She’s been SO excited about this next step, and in light of shows like Master Chef Junior and the like, we’re seeing an increase in interest in the kitchen during those young years. Or, maybe I should say, and increase in parents allowing kids to be more involved in the kitchen because I think kids have always wanted to… at least mine have. It’s the later years when they don’t want to be as involved and that’s why it’s so important to get them feeling confident, comfortable and competent in the kitchen as early on as we can!
Together we’ll pull out the recipe books and choose a meal she things she can handle in the kitchen, not that we’ll leave her on her own, but she is the one in charge and doing the majority of the work and decision making. Once the meal is chosen, we’ll write out our grocery list!
Plus, kids love to help us find a deal… and they love the chance to play on my phone, so when I can let them browse specials and add to our grocery list based on that, well, it’s a win-win in my book!
When we involve our kids in these steps, it helps them to more appreciate what’s being shared on our table, where our food comes from, they tend to have more confidence in their abilities and I definitely see less food wasted. A trip down the grocery aisle means so much more because they’re more invested in the final outcome. This even applies to times they only help write the list or even when they throw out ideas for meals, there is more “ownership” and thus more interest!
Now, full disclaimer, letting kids help also means bigger messes and more time, so if you’re in a hurry or short on patience, it might not be the day to start… but one thing I do know, the more they are in there with you, the more comfortable (and faster) everyone gets!
How do you get your kids involved in the kitchen? Are there certain things, or tasks, they just love to do?!
Tineke - workingmommyabroad says
Love these tips for the different age groups! And you’re so right, these type of skills are super important!
Lauren says
So many great ideas here! I have to admit I don’t let me kids help as much as I should, since they always make such a big mess! ha!
Tabitha Blue says
Yes! A big mess and everything takes so much longer! Haha.
Keala says
My kids are with me in the kitchen constantly. Life skills and memories!
Belle says
Such great ideas! I plan to get my kids involved in the kitchen as much as possible too when they’re older. But I’ve been trying to start involving my 2-year old daughter in the kitchen as early as now.
Belle | One Awesome Momma
Sapana V says
I agree with you completely. Learning with fun is the best way to teach them some good habits.
Quin Kelly says
This concept is sooo great! I love mg kids in the kitchen with me too!
Gloryanna says
Great list! We are in the toddler years and have a learning tower for the kitchen. IT IS AWESOME and a huge life saver for the before-dinner-i’m-starving-meltdown hour! 😉
Tabitha Blue says
Ok that sounds amazing!! What is a learning tower??
Gloryanna says
Go to Amazon or Google and type in toddler learning tower! They have some awesome ones on Etsy too!!
Tabitha Blue says
Oh thanks so much! I’m off to check that out!
Amanda says
I bake with my kids, but honestly it’s becoming more infrequent now that I have 4. It’s just… a lot… to have a 6, 4, and 2 year old in the kitchen with me while the baby is strapped to my front. But I agree with you on the importance of teaching kids how to cook. I just need to find a way to do it without getting overwhelmed.
Tabitha Blue says
Yes!!! I totally hear you! With my four I do try and rotate them! So usually it’s just a couple working with me at a time, while others set the table or play on the floor 😉
Carolyn says
My 9 year old boys are now obsessed with cooking shows like Chopped Jr and Master Chef Jr. They now want to help in the kitchen which is so awesome. I am not a good cook so I want them to learn young.
Jacki says
My daughter loves helping out in the kitchen! Her favorite thing to do is stir and mix . We have a great tower by little partners so that she can reach the counters at all times.
kirstin morabito says
I cannot wait till my daughter is old enough to be in the kitchen with me!
Corey | The Nostalgia Diaries says
Awesome ideas! And I LOVE Sprouts, too!
Sheila says
Baking with my toddler is becoming one of my favorite things to do! He loves to mix everything and he especially likes to dump ingredients into the bowl 🙂 I hope to continue cooking with him throughout his life. I think it’s very important to teach children how to cook/bake!