A reader asked if I would talk more about the kitchen and cooking related lessons I hope to teach my children as they grow older. While I really don’t have a hard and fast rule as to when I want to teach certain things, I do have an idea of what I want to teach and a generalized idea of how old I think they ought to be.
Before I go any further, I do want to put in a plug for GNOWGLINS and their new Real Food Kids series. They have done a great job showing how to get kids involved in the everyday preparations necessary for cooking in a more traditional way. Plus, they have put it together by age so you can tailor your kitchen needs to your child’s age. You can check it out here: Real Food Kids: In the Kitchen
OK, so what are the kitchen fundamentals I am either teaching or planning to teach by age? Here they are…
Babies
- Basic table manners: sitting quietly, prayer time, learning how to use a sippy cup and utensils, waiting for their turn without screaming
Toddlers
- More basic table manners: Saying Please and Thank You, carefully passing condiments & lighter weight plates/bowls, using a napkin, etc
- Beginning Table Chores – I usually start with wiping down chairs and cleaning up anything that has dropped on the floor.
- Begin assisting in food prep. I love these knives for this purpose. Pampered Chef also sells a version of kid-friendly knives.
Preschool
- More food prep like stirring and mixing, cutting with their set of knives, using cookie cutters, etc.
- Beginning of helping to set table
- Helping put away groceries (learning where things go in the kitchen)
Ages 5-7
- More food prep, but still nothing that might burn them (ie griddle, stovetop, etc). Basically anything they can pitch in with that doesn’t involve outright cooking, I try to include them.
- Beginning measurements. Mostly 1 cup, 1 TBSP, 1 tsp, and leveling ingredients.
- How to make coffee (that’s what my son is doing in the photo above), hot chocolate and tea with tepid water.
- Easy snacks – things like Ants on a Log, cheese and crackers, buttered bread, etc.
- (this is the age I usually give them their very own apron!)
Ages 8-10
Here’s where I really start investing more time in their cooking skills.
- How to read a recipe.
- Learning to add ingredients by themselves and mix completely.
- Learning to use a hot griddle (we usually start with something like quesadillas or pancakes)
- Putting away dishes from dishwasher (by this age, I expect them to know where everything goes in the kitchen, so they know where to find something when they need it)
- More measurements – 1/4 cup, 3/4 cup, 2/3 cup, etc
- Beginning to make simple meals like Taco Salad or sandwiches.
- Learning what it takes to keep a kitchen clean
- Learning basic kitchen safety – garbage disposal, how to use hot pads, fire safety
Ages 11-13
- Cooking without my supervision.
- Learning to double and half a recipe.
- Learning how to use a stovetop and oven.
- Learning how to cook and clean various pans (we use cast iron and stainless steel)
- How to load a dishwashwer.
- Learning how to put away leftovers, as well as basic food safety.
- Learning how to clean out a refrigerator/freezer and oven.
- Meal planning
- Beginning baking – I like to start with my Pizza Dough recipe.
Ages 14 & up
Time to let them fly!
- Complete meal planning & cooking.
- Budgeting and understanding the cost of food and how to get the best deal.
- Bulk purchasing & storage
- Serving others with food (ie taking meals to others, hospitality, etc)
- Carving meats and other more difficult knife skills
- Grilling
- More “technical” cooking – broiling, basting, steaming, using a double boiler, etc.
- Mastering baking.
My son is 14 and can pretty much man the kitchen by himself (pun intended). Recently, he’s taken on the job of cooking breakfast for the crew since he loves a hot breakfast and is often one of the first ones up (and alert 
)
My 11 year old planned all our lunches for this month and my new 8 year old is becoming quite the kitchen helper.
It would be lovely if my kitchen weren’t quite so small so I could get more the of the kids in there at one time, but for now, this is the way it is and we just take turns.
I’m sure I’ve missed something, so I’ll probably come back to this post occasionally and revamp it, but it’s a good start and I hope it helps those of you looking for more tangible ways to get your children involved in the kitchen.
Thank you for this great blog! It has given me a reference to where my kids are and need to be! My oldest (5) helps in the kitchen alot, since he’s my little chef, and can make his own simple sandwich lunches. Oldest and middle boy all put away dishes in the dishwasher. It’s nice when they can help out!
I think a lot of what is appropriate for a child to do in the kitchen depends on the child. Our eldest is five now and saute onions or stir white sauce quite safely. He’s a naturally cautious and careful person so those activities are safe for him with moderate supervision.
Our second child (four) is not ready for those activities at all and I expect her to be six or seven before she is. She loves to be in the kitchen and cook, but isn’t temperamentally cautious so she needs training in that before she learns to use the stove…K
Yes, it definitely depends on their maturity level and abilities.
My son is tall for his age, but he is still not quite tall enough to reach our counters…even with his stool there are areas in our kitchen that are not accessible which makes it difficult for him to work in there with me. He really enjoys helping in the kitchen (he especially likes to peel potatoes),though, so I am trying to remember to let him help. I let him set the time on the microwave, I let him help load the dishwasher and unload the silverware (everything else is too high or in locked cabinets…and I’m not ready to teach him how to unlock the cabinets yet). I have to get the toaster out & plugged in and the bread down, but I try to step back and let him make his own cinnamon toast for breakfast. I try to let him fix his own chocolate milk once the milk jug is close to empty and not too heavy for him to use. I know these are all things he has to learn, but it is also a bit hard to acknowledge that my baby is becoming a big boy.
Great post Amy!
Kitchen skills are so important to teach our children. Homeschooling has given us so much more time to practice those skills & include them as a part of our school work. Life skills are just as important to teach as book smarts. My girls are 5 & 7 and love to help in the kitchen. Thanks again for sharing with us.
I’m sure as I have more children my ideas and what I do with my littles will change in the kitchen. Right now I only have one so it’s a lot easier for me to focus on letting her help me and teaching her then if I had six or seven
She is 2 1/2 and she loves to do everything I let her! She mixes recipes ( can even tell you how to make banana bread!) helps me clean, just about anything I do in the kitchen minus the hot stove she does! She does a great amount! It’s amazing really how much the learn so fast!
This was such a timely post for me…as we drove home with a screaming baby who was past her feeding and lunch time for everyone else fast approaching, I was telling my boys how the time when we got home was going to go. My #3 (6 years old) offered to make sandwiches for everyone. I turned him down at first but then thought back to this post, that I had read before we left. I gave him the reigns and he did wonderful. Everyone, baby and mama included, had a much more relaxed time when we got home.
Oh how wonderful! What a blessing!
Great post! I recently turned over the breakfast prep to my 11 year old son. He, too, loves a hot breakfast and loves to cook, especially breakfast foods. I am not a get up and get at it girl in the morning. So, while I enjoy my morning coffee and ease my way into the day my son is making a great breakfast for the family. (His scrambled eggs are the fluffiest around, beats mine hands down) It has been awesome! I love starting them young and then letting them fly. My oldest, 19, said to me the other day, “Mom, thanks for letting us try new things in the kitchen, we are going to be so ready to cook for our families when the time comes.” Music to my ears…goal accomplished!
Aw, yes…definitely music to a mama’s ears!
What a perfectly timed post for me! I have a 3.5 and 5 yo and was wondering how involved they should be in the food prep at this age. This gives me some great ideas on how to get them more involved. Thank you.
Yay! Thanks for posting this. I was finally able to sit and read it! You have compiled a wonderful list. My 9yo dd really loves to help in the kitchen. She just made her first batch of cookies all on her own. ( I was in the kitchen but she got all the ingredients, measured every thing and even was able to put two of the trays in the oven. She still is a little nervous so I did the other two. It was for a brunch for friends and it was a great way for her to serve and to help me!) Love the list!
Yay for her!