Cooking is one of the most inescapable activities of life as a family, sometimes a joy and sometimes a burden, most of us parents spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

But, ¿what about kids?. ¿Should they be automatically removed from the danger-filled spaces of the kitchen to the more tranquil lands of the leaving room?.

We have been thinking about this, and have found a lot of information that suggests that involving the kids in the food preparation process might have quite a big positive impact in their life and well-being.

This is a list of some of the benefits that we could find and that, frankly, make good reasons to encourage kids in the kitchen at any age:

• Children like to eat food they make. This is a good way to get them to try new healthy foods.
• The earlier kids become accustomed to home-cooked nutritious foods, the less likely they will acquire a taste for processed foods.
• It’s a great way to give your kids a jump-start on math skills or to show scholars that math has a practical application in the real world.
• It can be a great opportunity to discuss real-life science and the origin of some items (geography/history).
• Kids will learn to follow instructions
• It is a great way to teach basic nutritional concepts and the importance of food hygiene and general cleanliness.

And if nothing else, you can try it because it’s much easier to entertain a child by involving him than having him crying at your feet.

We have also found some age-classified lists of activities for kids to do in the kitchen but we feel that it´s very hard to compare children, even our own two kids couldn’t be more different from each other in every aspect, so we feel the best advice is just to look at your own children and recognise what they are capable of doing. But be prepared to be surprised by these tiny humans, they can do awesome things when given the space (and a safe and happy environment).

So, these are some of the activities that you can involve your children in:

• Kids who can read can call out the ingredients from the recipe, younger kids can get some of the ingredients.
• Measuring out ingredients.
• Washing vegetables or fruits.
• Stirring or mixing room temperature ingredients.
• Mashing (Potatoes, bananas, etc).
• Cutting lettuce with kid safe scissors or by hand.
• Greasing cake tins.
• Sifting flour.

And here are some tips that you might want to consider before inviting the little ones to help:

• Go over the general process so your new helper knows what to expect.
• Establish clear kitchen rules (No running, no throwing things, etc).
• Talk about which kitchen tasks are for grown-ups and which are for kids.
• Clear the way. Ensure all hazards are away from grabbing hands and walking paths.
• Use large, deep bowls for a better chance of mess containment.
• Do not cook with a child when in a hurry or under stress.
• A small but solid, easy-to-move stool is essential (Yes, essential).
• Give frequent reminders about the process and what’s OK to touch and which items are not.
• Make this your mantra: ‘This is a good kind of mess’.
• Be prepared: Some kids will enjoy the cooking more than the eating. That´s OK.

We know that some parents might find it difficult to engage in this type of activity very often, and that’s OK too, just remember that as with many good things in life: It’s not about quantity.

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