KIDS IN THE KITCHEN
1. Adult supervision in the kitchen always. No adult, no kitchen and definitely no knives!
2. PREP! Be very clear and firm with expectations, boundaries, and why, but more than anything, be consistent. That is the key to being safe in the kitchen.
One of our few big rules as you can see is that she doesn’t cut to the end as she is using quite a sharp paring knife. We also don’t let her slide her fingers down the knife.
3. You know your child best and what they can handle. With Ella Grace, she has been helping me meal prep since she was teeny tiny so from a plastic knife to butter knife to crinkle cutter to “kid-safe” to paring knife, we’ve allowed her space to increase “risk” as she gets older and her skills and patience improves.
(IKEA has inexpensive kid-safe knives or you can purchase some online too!)
I should also note that she takes cooking classes once a week at school and they make far more gourmet dishes (hummus on homemade pizza dough w pesto and chicken anyone?) so she is quite familiar in a kitchen.
4. Trust your child. Set up freedom within boundaries. Stay close just enough to keep them safe or step in if you need to but don’t project your fears or insecurity onto them. If you don’t think you can feel calm and confident around them cooking, don’t do it. Wait til you’re both ready, there is no urgency! Start small, could be as simple as just washing an apple and level up from there! ❤️
5. Make it fun! This is a precious introduction of a healthy food relationship for your little one. Where food comes from, how it is made, the joy of making and serving your food, the incredible life skills and self-esteem it builds.
The carrots won’t all be the same size, you might have a couple of close calls, but the quality time of cooking together and all the memories you will build together, that is the magic. ✨✨
