Independence in the Kitchen

Building independence in the kitchen…

My children have been in the kitchen with me since birth. Literally. Three meals a day, plus snacks, it is rare I’m in our tiny kitchen alone, even with teens!

By age six they were making their own breakfasts and from there their independence grew and grew.

In my experience, the biggest thing kids need to become independent in the kitchen is your unwavering belief that they are capable.

Don’t hover.

Don’t nag.

Don’t over-correct (I correct anything that is dangerous or unsafe, but beyond that, it’s all part of the process).

Secondly, invite them to be an apprentice in the kitchen, especially if they are young. Model good kitchen habits, model safety, use words to explain what you are doing and step back to let them fully participate (they are almost always more capable than we think they are!). Children learn by doing, so let them DO! It is the only way they will learn to read and follow a recipe, how to mix ingredients, what dough feels like when it is ready to put to the side to rise, how to measure out ingredients. They must have their turn as an apprentice, a full fledged helper, to understand the processes of cooking and baking.

Lastly, have recipes readily available, and have the kitchen open for business. My kids know I start cooking at 3:30pm every day, but beyond that it is fair game. We have a book of favourite recipes we’ve written out, as well as many many favourite cookbooks they have been using since they were young. Now, they pretty much wing all main courses without a recipe, creating their own masterpieces, but that’s after spending their younger years testing recipes in cook books.

If you want kids to cook, you need to let them cook.

Period.

It will be messy. They won’t do things the way you do things. Not everything will turn out.

It’s all okay.

Until next time,
Marina