Children Cooking

I am very lucky to be a mom to two amazing boys (ages 4 and 15 months). I am also very lucky to get to work from home (for the most part) and get to be there every step of the way. However, with my profession, that means a lot of recipe development with a child on my hip and one tugging on my pants. If I were to run a cooking school for kids, here are the tips I would share when it comes to cooking with your kids.

I am very lucky to be a mom to two amazing boys (ages 4 and 15 months). I am also very lucky to get to work from home (for the most part) and get to be there every step of the way. However, with my profession, that means a lot of recipe development with a child on my hip and one tugging on my pants. I grew up holding a wooden spoon watching my mom cook and I think I’m blessed to continue the tradition with my boys.

I think teaching your kids to cook and welcoming them into the kitchen will set them up for success in their adulthood. Just teaching the patience and basic skills will be sure to impress any future spouses!

Over the years, Cooking with Caitlin has had a lot of people ask us to teach private cooking classes – specifically for kids. What I’ve found is that it’s not a matter of teaching your kids recipes, but more a willingness to allow them to cook beside you and make mistakes. If I were to run a cooking school for kids, here are the tips I would share when it comes to cooking with your kids. Consider this an online cooking course to prepare you for children cooking.

Online Cooking School

1. Just admit to yourself you will get a little messy and chaotic, somebody might get hurt, and there is a large risk of the food not turning out in the end. If you mentally prepare yourself it won’t be half as bad as you think.

2. Let your kids help pick out the ingredients. When it comes to picking out the vegetables I always let my boys pick. Of course I give them options but by letting my son pick, it instantly becomes his onion or pepper. There is a sense of pride and accomplishment in the finished dish that it was HIS produce that sits diced before us.

3. Before starting on any recipe, get all of your ingredients out, and once you use the ingredient put it away. This will help when it comes to keeping an eye on your kids. There is less time running around and having your back turned to your kids where they could potentially hurt themselves. And by putting away the ingredients as you go, the kitchen will not get as messy. Your kids will also see you putting things away and cleaning up after yourself, thus teaching them another life lesson.

4. Honestly let your kids work. For me it is easier to let my son do something than fight with him because I need to be in complete control of everything. If I’m working on the stove I’ll put a small pot of water (with no heat) and let him be in charge of stirring it and making sure the water doesn’t burn. Also I will put a piece of bread in small saute pan and let him practice flipping like a real chef. (This is something we actually did in culinary school to master the flip.) And please never forget about buttons. My son knows how to work a blender, food processor, and microwave. Of course he knows he needs me to be there before he does anything and we have very strict rules, but the more he works with me the more he respects the rules.

5. Let your kids have the final taste before you serve anything. I make my son feel like if he doesn’t like it then I won’t make it again. Of course this isn’t completely true but it makes him feel amazingly important, and truly that is the greatest part of all.