Cooking is one of the best sensorial experiences for young children. It allows them to see, smell, hear, taste, and touch. Cooking also helps develop fine and gross motor skills through practical life activities such as chopping, slicing, measuring, and pouring ingredients. Several studies have even shown enhanced language and math skills for children who learn to cook from an early age. Plus, involving children in the process of creating a meal encourages healthy eating habits.
Young children likely are unaware of all of these benefits; getting involved in the kitchen just looks like fun to them. And while it might mean taking a little more time to prepare and a bit more flexibility on the adult’s part, allowing children to help out in the kitchen is so worth it! With the right expectations, this time spent together cooking with your child can create memories to last a lifetime.
Here are 8 Helpful Tips for Cooking With a Young Child:
Involve Them in the Planning Process
Ask the child to help look through the kitchen, identifying ingredients that are needed at an upcoming shopping trip. Look at a cookbook together, letting the child choose a recipe they like and add these ingredients to the shopping list. By being involved in these planning processes, young children will develop excitement for cooking.
Take Them Grocery Shopping
Invite the child to go grocery shopping with you. Ask them to help you find the items on the grocery list and let them choose a few new items they would like to try, too. This active involvement will make children more likely to want to eat the food they helped select.
Encourage and Support Their Independence
The opinions expressed in Montessori Life are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of AMS.