Written by adam on Oct 25, 2007

Kid Helpers

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For all you home chefs with kids, the temptation to tell your kids to get out and stay out of the way is great. But, the kitchen can be one of the best places to keep your kids busy and out of trouble. Don't believe me? Check this out:

Aidan here has always loved helping make stuff, especially baked sweet goodies like cookies, cakes, and scones. This day, he wanted to use some of the Halloween shape cookie cutters. So I pulled out a sugar cookie recipe and broke out the canister of sprinkles and put the boy to work.

He even has his own chair he calls the "helping chair."

Getting your kids in the kitchen is such a great way spend quality time with them while teaching them about math, chemistry, and physics. I've come up with a few tips for you when teaching kids to cook.

1. Let them do the scooping and measuring. They love to pour flour, sugar, and butter into bowls. OIder kids will love to crack eggs.

2. Depending on their age, you can teach them about reading a recipe and what the different measurements are, i.e. teaspoon, tablespoon, cup, etc.

3. Keep the recipes simple. Nothing too complex that requires more than half adult intervening.

4. Choose recipes that they can get their hands dirty; they love it! For instance, Aidan loves to help me make scones because he gets to cut the butter into the flour by using his hands in "squishing" motions.

5. If you have to decorate cookies or cupcakes, designate a few just for the child so that they can decorate it their own way. They'll be proud of their work and that they did it all by themselves.