Cooking is an essential life skill that your child will need when they’re older. They can use what they know to make a quick snack and prepare meals for themselves whilst you aren’t around. It also gives them a better insight into what they’re putting into their bodies which can foster healthy eating habits. It’s difficult to do this when eating out as you have no idea of what’s in the food you’re eating. They can have a lot of fun whilst learning too as they are able to get creative in the kitchen and enjoy the food they’ve made for themselves. Below are tips that were shared with us by an independent girl’s school in Hertfordshire on teaching children how to cook.

Choose Appropriate Recipes 

First you will want to think about the kind of recipes that are appropriate for your child to make. This will depend on their age and what you deem safe. For example, it’s not a wise idea to let young children use knives or the stove. If they do need to use them, make sure that you are always there to supervise and ensure that nothing goes wrong. You will also need to think about complexity and whether the steps are easy to follow. 

Food Hygiene

There’s also food hygiene that they’ll need to be taught. Before cooking and when handling raw meat, they must always wash their hands. It’s for their safety as well as those that they will be feeding. You may also find keeping separate cooking utensils handy. To explain why these steps are necessary, you can teach your child about germs. Explain that they are invisible insects that can make us fall ill which is why we wash our hands and keep foods separated.

Simplify Steps

As fun as it is, cooking can be tedious. There’s the preparation that you will need to do beforehand and the washing up once you’re done. To help your child get the hang of things, you can take care of a few things for them and stick to smaller batches which are easier to make. That way, if things don’t go as planned, you’re not left with tons of food that you can’t finish.

This is a collaborative post.