Getting Started

Q: How old is old enough to lend a hand in the kitchen?

The answer varies based on your own child's abilities, but don't underestimate him. All that's really required is the capacity to follow basic instructions ("put this in there") and a lot of patience on your part. Accept that things will take longer with your child helping, and plan accordingly. And by all means, start small. Don't prepare Thanksgiving dinner on your first venture--try dropping berries into a measuring cup, stirring some granola into yogurt, and combining the three. Presto! Your little one has just made breakfast.

We first introduced our daughter to food prep at around eighteen months. I'd slice off a pat of butter and ask her to drop it into a pot of warm noodles, or hand her a wooden spoon and let her slosh it around a bowl of pancake batter. Though these actions seemed insignificant, the level of interest and participation she felt was clear. She wanted to eat everything she touched--be it an onion or a raw egg (note to self: raw eggs not ideal ingredients for toddlers)--and even though she didn't like it all, there was no denying her natural curiosity. Now, at almost four, she can measure a cup of flour, combine salad dressing with a whisk, and crack an egg--without trying to eat it. Culinary school is right around the corner!

Here are some simple tasks to get your toddler started:

• Add pre-measured dry ingredients to a large bowl or pot
  
• Rip lettuce leaves into small pieces for salad
• Stir sauces and combine ingredients with a spoon (never on the stove!)
• Fill a measuring cup with ingredients that can picked up (nuts, chocolate chips, berries)
• Sprinkle garnishes and toppings on finished dishes

You'll come up with many more on your own as you go. Discovery is half the fun!

Tools Of The Trade

It's not difficult to get kids interested in what you're doing in the kitchen. Assuming you've got a willing participant, the next thing you'll need is some simple equipment:

• Stepstool that brings your child to waist-height at the counter
• Small non-slip (rubber backed) cutting board
• Measuring spoons
• Plastic dry measure cups
• Unbreakable liquid measure cup
• Large, easy-to-grip mixing spoon or spatula
• Child's nylon serrated knife ( we like these )
• Plastic or metal mixing bowls (i.e., "unbreakable")

Curious Chef makes some wonderful kid-friendly kitchen tools, but it's not necessary to go out and buy a lot of new supplies. Even the novice home chef usually has most of the items in the above list. Once you've assembled them, gather up your little sous chef and get cookin'!

What's For Dinner?

We understand how difficult it can be to prepare a meal with little ones underfoot. After a long day at work, making dinner can seem an enormous chore when you'd rather be unwinding on the couch, reading a good book to your toddler. That's why there's no better way to spend time with your kids AND put food on the table than to let them help in the kitchen. You'll be surprised how much they can do--and learn--and how much more they'll eat when they've had a hand in the preparation. So grab a stepstool and those measuring cups, because Kids Can Cook!