Cooking with grandkids can be tough initially, but it’s a great way to introduce them to an important life skill and new foods. With these tips, you can easily cook with the grandkids! Have fun and make some everlasting memories in the kitchen together.
1. Easy Recipes
Choose recipes that are easy enough for younger children to follow, like sandwiches or smoothies. You could also make recipes with them that include “break times,” like cookies or cake. These safe recipes don’t require much knife work, so they can be done with most age groups. This Kinder Cookie recipe is a great starter recipe to try!
2. Keep it Safe
Before jumping into the kitchen, teach your grandkids how to handle the more dangerous aspects of the kitchen safely. Once they understand how to properly use kitchen tools and appliances safely, injuries are less likely.
3. Make it Active
Young kids lose focus quickly, so give them a task for each recipe step. This will help them be actively involved in the process and feel more excited about cooking.
4. Start With a Toy Kitchen
Cooking with grandkids can start outside of the kitchen with toy kitchens! Introduce them to playing with toy foods and knives to get them used to cutting and cooking.
5. Attentive Cooking
This may be tough, but giving each grandchild individual attention while cooking is important. Having some one-on-one time with each of them will help prevent mistakes and injuries.
6. Quick Recipes
Children do not have the longest attention spans, so it’s important to have recipes that don’t take hours to make. Try to stick to quick recipes so they can taste the results without waiting too long.
7. Taste Test
This is one of the more fun tips for cooking with grandkids! Have your grandkids taste, touch, and smell the ingredients throughout the cooking process. Tasting will help them to feel more engaged and excited to be cooking. Depending on your grandchild's age, there may be some ingredients they can't taste just yet. Feel free to read more about the CDC's guidelines on what foods to limit depending on age.
8. Stay Organized
While cooking, keep your kitchen space clean and organized to prevent the kids from grabbing anything that could injure them. Having them help you with cleaning will also teach them how to cook in a more organized way in the future.
9. Use Step Stools and Boosters
Most grandchildren cannot reach the countertops without some help at a young age. Using a sturdy step stool or booster could help them feel more comfortable cooking with you while staying safe.
10. Use Child-friendly Knives
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This is an incredibly important tip for cooking with grandkids. It may be scary and intimidating to see your grandchild with a knife, but using knives properly is an important lesson in the kitchen. Luckily, plenty of kid-friendly knives aren’t as sharp as real knives, so they can cut vegetables without injuring themselves.
11. Compliments Galore
Young children may feel nervous when they cook for the first time, so encourage them throughout the cooking process. They’ll feel proud of themselves and will want to keep on cooking.
12. Set a Goal
Before diving straight into the recipe, think about your goal for the experience. Do you want to teach safety tips, show the wonders of bread making, or conduct a fun food science experiment? Knowing what you want from the experience can make it easier for you to guide your grandkids while cooking.
13. Set Expectations
Cooking with grandkids will likely lead to unexpected results. Measuring ingredients properly can be hard for them, so the finished product might taste a bit off. However, setting expectations for the dish ahead of time can help everyone enjoy the process rather than focusing on the outcome.
14. Have Fun!
Out of all the tips for cooking with grandkids, this is the easiest one. Things will get messy, and mistakes will happen, but that’s okay! You’re making incredible memories with your grandkids, so enjoy all the silliness and have loads of fun.
15. Let Mess Happen
Though keeping the kitchen organized and clean while cooking is important, be prepared for the mess. Kids don’t have fully developed motor skills, so it will be tough for them to handle things well. Don’t get upset if a mess happens, and embrace it!
16. Schedule in Breaks
Most young children need to have nap times and snack breaks, or they’ll get quite grumpy. If you’re making a more complex recipe that takes time, include some breaks for them to rest and re-energize.
17. Have a Safe Station
There will probably be some parts of the recipe that the grandkids won’t be able to join. When this happens, have them in a “safe station,” where they can work with other ingredients that don’t involve knives or hot surfaces.
18. Gamify the Cooking
Young kids love to play games and are at a very curious age. Turn the recipe into a little game or science experiment to keep the grandkids engaged and involved while cooking.
19. Dress Them For the Part
What kid doesn’t love to dress up? Give your grandchild a little apron to make them feel like a pro chef! This will make them much more excited to join the kitchen fun.
20. Start with Small Tasks
Ease the grandkids into cooking with small tasks to make them feel more comfortable in the kitchen. This could include getting the ingredients from the fridge, being a taste tester, or helping stir the batter. As they get more comfortable, feel free to give them tasks that require more cooking skills.
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