I wholeheartedly believe that cooking is there as one of the most important skills you can teach a child, right down to reading and writing. It is very important to get your kids excited about food, where it comes from and how to cook it, from as early as possible - a savvy kid in the kitchen is going to be much healthier, happier in the long run. Here are some great tips to keep in mind:
START THEM YOUNG
Invest your time when they are younger and the impression is definitely key. Uncover them for the widest range of nutritious foods you can - experience more food knowledge they can gather, the safer they will be, meaning they will be curious to try new things.
START SMALL & BUILD UP
It is always good to start small, with jobs such as picking herbs, salad leaves and dry salad, mixing and measuring, and letting children make decisions to empower them. You can then advance elements of the recipe, and then proceed to some more complicated techniques over time. The more they cook, the better they will get - my older girls are very happy to go for the whole recipes these days, while the two young people are excited to help with random bits and pieces. It is only important to stimulate the hunger to want to be involved.
MAKE THE TIME
We are all slaves to a busy lifestyle, so be sure to put aside and cook together - keep simple jobs for sand, and then spend a little more time this weekend cooking something more involved. Batch cooking is a great option, as kids will love the fact that they have contributed to meals on other days (this is especially good if you have dog eaters on your hands). Make them help you whisk shakes, or groups of porridge mixture for their breakfast, is also a quick and effective way to involve them in simple tasks.
We are all slaves to a busy lifestyle
HAVE A HANDS-ON ATTITUDE
Get your kids to taste, touch and smell the ingredients you cook with - the more knowledge you can share with them, the better. Explain that it's okay not to love everything, but it's always good to try it, definitely lead by example - if you do something, chances are they will want to let it go, too.
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