An age guide for kids helping in the kitchen

CASEY SEIDENBERG

I VIVIDLY remember cooking with my mother and grandmother, and these memories are all exceedingly fond. Perhaps this is where my love of food began? Because I cook most week nights, I always need extra hands to get dinner on the table, and because my daughter is often looking for attention at the dinner hour, I am making it a point to designate her my official helper. Hopefully, her memories will be equally as fond.

It won’t be productive for me to hand her a fake task with a pretend tool; at 7 she is too savvy for that. She wants to use the same tools I use and cook the actual foods we will eat. I can’t ask her to safely dice an onion and sauté it over high heat, but there are loads of cooking tasks a child can undertake.

Here is my guide for getting your kids into the kitchen.

Younger than 2

At this age, it is all about exposure. Let them watch you from a safe spot such as a high chair, a playpen or a blanket on the kitchen floor away from hot pans and spills. Give them unbreakable kitchen tools such as wooden spoons and plastic measuring cups. If they are stable standing on a stool, they can rinse produce and “wash” plastic containers in the sink under cold water.

Ages 2 to 3

Before cooking, always ask your child to wash her hands; an important habit to teach. If working at the counter or in the sink, children should stand on a stable stool about 30cm off the ground. Expect mess.

Age-appropriate tasks Wash produce, tear leafy greens, spin lettuce break broccoli and cauliflower into pieces, rinse and drain beans, brush vegetables with oil using a pastry brush, knead dough, spread butter or cream cheese on to bread or a bagel with a dull knife.

Whisk, with your help, crack an egg, with your help, carry ingredients from place to place. (Be prepared for spills, keep it light, keep smiling.) Wipe counters, and throw things in the trash (surprisingly fun at this age).

Recipe ideas: Baked goods tend to be fun as every kid enjoys a cupcake or biscuit at the end of their hard work.

But you can also give children this age fake tasks, as they probably won’t notice and will learn just as much measuring, pouring and stirring items such as beans, oatmeal or flour.

Ages 4 to 6

At this stage, they can begin to use real cooking tools, although they should still stay away from a hot stove or oven.

Age-appropriate tasks

Stir mixed ingredients, peel oranges, grapefruits and hard-boiled eggs, juice lemons and limes, mash bananas, empty a bowl using a spatula, grease a baking pan, measure ingredients, with assistance. Use a mixer, with assistance, turn the blender on and off, with you nearby, set the table, fill the dishwasher with soap and push start, turn on a kitchen timer.

Early knife skills: Use a dull knife to cut soft items such as bananas. Begin by explaining the rules such as grown-ups retrieve and carry the knives, kids use a dull knife to chop only the items you tell them are safe, and only with you nearby.

Recipe ideas: Biscuits, cupcakes and other baked treats are easy and appealing for beginner cooks, but if you want to avoid an overload of sugar, make dips such as hummus, guacamole or tzatziki.

Other ideas include granola and yoghurt parfaits with fruit and nut toppings, salads, dressings and mashed potatoes.