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4 Smart Tips For Teaching Kids to Cook Real Food

In Family, Tips & Advice by JennaLeave a Comment

Teaching kids to cook is a way for them to learn about healthy eating, but also gives them valuable life skills. It’s not always easy to get kids interested in cooking, though—they may be bored with the process or overwhelmed by the idea that they need to know what to do when preparing dinner. Here are four tips for teaching children how to cook real food: 

Start with a plan

The main reason you should start with a plan when teaching your children to cook real food is that it will make the process easier for you and your child. A good plan will help keep you, and your child focused on what needs to be done so that you can make sure they are learning all of the skills they need in order to cook real food. It will also help them stay on task and avoid distractions.

It’s important to remember that kids are naturally impulsive, so it’s important to teach them how to stay focused on what needs to be done. A good plan will help them understand that they need to follow through with each step in order for their food preparation process to succeed, which will give them confidence in their ability to accomplish things on their own.

Put kids in charge of prepping the meal

The best way to teach your kids to cook is to let them learn by doing. This is especially true when it comes to preparing meals for the family, as it can be difficult for young children to understand the whole concept of cooking without being able to participate in the process.

One way you can help your child get involved in meal prep is by having them help with prepping ingredients before cooking begins. For example, if you’re making a stir-fry with chicken and broccoli, let your child wash and cut up the broccoli florets while you prepare the sauce and marinate the chicken. This method is also great because it allows both parent and child to discuss what they’re making—which can lead to some fun conversations about food! If you want to go a little further, you can have them go shopping with you, and pick out the ingredients to cook their meal, whether that’s going to the supermarket or even searching online for a butcher shop near me to find what they want to cook for their meal. 

Let the kids taste as they go

It is important to let your child taste the food as they cook because it will encourage them to try new things and it will help them build confidence in their cooking abilities.

As a parent, you want your child to be able to experience all kinds of foods. If you let them taste everything that’s being cooked, they will better understand what each ingredient tastes like. This will allow them to develop an appreciation for all different kinds of foods and flavors.

It also helps your child develop confidence in their cooking abilities by letting them be involved with every step of the process. This way, if something goes wrong or gets messed up, there’s no reason for them to get discouraged or think that they can’t do it again on their own because they’ll know exactly what went wrong so they can fix it next time!

Get the whole family involved in cleanup

Finally, getting the whole family involved in the cleanup after they have cooked is important because it teaches them responsibility and teamwork. When everyone helps out, it becomes a shared responsibility, rather than one person doing all of the work. 

When everyone is involved in the cleanup, it also builds a sense of teamwork—the kids will learn how to work together with other people and how to do their part to accomplish something as a group.

 

Meet the Author | Jenna


Jenna Greenspoon is a mom & stepmom to 4 kids between the ages of 8 and 13. She loves staying up to date on all things kids and makes sure she is on point with the latest childhood trends! She is the owner of Savvy Sassy Moms and manages a team of creative contributors that work hard to keep moms up to date on the latest trends. Jenna loves social media and works on a variety of social media campaigns with brands big and small. Connect with Savvy Sassy Moms on Instagram

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