A smiling young girl with curly hair stands indoors, arms outstretched. She wears a blue pinafore dress over a light grey t-shirt. Bright natural light streams in from large windows, creating a cheerful atmosphere perfect for teaching children basic kitchen skills.

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Learning to cook is a rite of passage; after all, what child doesn’t want to be in charge of their own meals from time to time?

A smiling young girl with curly hair stands indoors, arms outstretched. She wears a blue pinafore dress over a light grey t-shirt. Bright natural light streams in from large windows, creating a cheerful atmosphere perfect for teaching children basic kitchen skills.

It’s surprising just how early it’s possible to teach basic kitchen skills to children. Most can learn some of the key skills from around the age of 8 or 9. Obviously, children, this young can’t be expected to deal with hot ovens or heavy pots so the best place to begin is with the most basic things.

There’s research that shows that when children are involved with the preparation of food, they are more likely to have a healthy relationship with it. When children are empowered with kitchen skills including cooking, they are more likely to –

  • Eat a wide variety of foods
  • Recognise different foods and know the difference between healthy and unhealthy choices
  • Rely less on convenience foods as they grow up

As parents, we all want our children to eat healthily so it makes sense to take control of our children’s experiences with food in a positive way.  Good schools will also try to implement a cooking curriculum or at least ensure children have the opportunity to give cooking a try – like this prep school in the UK which offers an excellent junior cookery course.

Here, therefore, are some of the easiest skills which you can teach your child in the kitchen.

  • Cleanliness – this includes handwashing and checking surfaces and equipment. Show your child how to wipe down surfaces and check chopping boards are clean.
  • Measuring – show your child how to measure out foods and liquids effectively.
  • Follow recipes including assembling ingredients before starting to cook.
  • Food handling safety – explain to your child why raw meats must not be prepared on the same surfaces as salad or other vegetables.
  • Peel and grate – this is a good introduction to sharp tools – there’s an element of risk but if you show your child the proper way to handle the tools, they should be fine.
  • Cooking terms – show them the difference between boiling, frying, baking etc. You can also teach them the names of the different utensils.
  • First steps to cooking – assist your child to do some basic cooking. Scrambling eggs is a safe place to begin!
  • Make a sandwich – really easy and useful for children to be able to manage this so that they can make a snack or lunch for themselves.

If your child enjoys cooking, help them plan a very simple menu which they can make with supervision. It won’t be long before they’re cooking for the entire family!