Not all of us are the most confident of cooks, which can make passing on kitchen skills to our children even more of a challenge. There are so many benefits of spending time in the kitchen with your children, but if you aren’t very comfortable there yourself, you’ll need to find the best ways to share your knowledge with them. Today we’re going to share some of our top tips for getting started with teaching your kids basic cooking skills no matter how confident you feel in the kitchen.
Focus on the Basics First
Even if you aren’t the world’s best chef, you no doubt have mastered the basic skills of chopping food and preparing meals. Don’t think you have to teach your children how to cook gourmet meals in order for your time together in the kitchen to be productive. Instead, focus on these basic skills that they’ll take through life with them. They are much more likely to use these skills on a daily basis in the future, instead of learning how to make extravagant desserts or meals. You’ll then be able to slowly add on new skills each week or month, until you build up a full set of kitchen skills.
Learn New Recipes Together
A great way to boost everyone’s confidence in the kitchen is to learn new recipes together. When you are learning something new, you are all on the same page, so you don’t have to worry about being the teacher. Explain to your children that you are learning a new recipe as well, and this will be a fun experience for you all. You’ll all be able to work as a team in order to decipher what you need to do to make the perfect finished dish. This is a fun way for you to gain confidence while having the support of your kids when cooking in the kitchen.
Use Videos to Teach Your Children
If you head online to websites such as YouTube, you’ll find endless cooking tutorials you can draw upon to teach your kids how to cook. This is much easier than reading out of a cookbook if you are lost for where to start. These visual guides will show both you and your kids what to do, helping you to have more confidence when you are leading them. The great thing about videos is you can pause them and go back if you need to repeat a step, allowing you to master any recipe that you are looking to learn. You’ll soon find a channel or video series that really appeals to you and your kids and that will keep you all engaged with your kitchen activities. Kids also find visual learning to be a very effective way to pick up new skills. You can find videos tailored to their age group as well, which will help with their understanding.
Focus on One Appliance at a Time
Recipes that require you to teach your children how to use a variety of appliances are likely to overwhelm you in the kitchen. For that reason, try to focus on teaching them how to use one kitchen appliance or tool at a time. You can find simple recipes that just require you to use the stove or oven, and there are plenty of recipes that don’t even require heat. Instead, you can teach your children how to chop food and mix different recipes, and then simply put the finished dish in the fridge or serve it straight away. Remember, your kids won’t be judging you as they won’t know any better about how experienced you should be in the kitchen.
Try Baking Together First
While experienced cooks may opt to teach their children how to make their favorite lunches and dinners, for those who aren’t as confident, baking is usually the first thing we recommend doing together. Everyone enjoys making sweet treats, and baking recipes are usually the simplest to follow along with. You can try a simple cookie or cake recipe as your first session in the kitchen, and then build upon your recipe collection from there. These types of treats will delight your kids the most as well, as they will love sharing them together once you are finished with the cooking session.
Bring in Other Family Members
As a last resort, another option for cooking with your children is to bring in another family member to help you out. Many grandparents absolutely love spending time in the kitchen, and they’ll be thrilled to be asked to share their wisdom and skills with your kids. It’s a great way for them to spend more time together and bond over an activity that they enjoy doing. Your older siblings may also enjoy teaching their younger siblings their favorite recipes, which will help to take some of the pressure off you as a parent. Remember, we aren’t all experienced and confident at everything in life, so don’t feel bad about not being the world’s best cook. Instead, find someone who loves spending hours in the kitchen trying new recipes and who will have the patience and tolerance to teach your children these life skills.
Even if you aren’t the most confident cook, there are ways in which you can adapt your kitchen sessions to make sure your children learn the most important kitchen skills they’ll need for the rest of their lives. We encourage anyone to start bringing their kids into the kitchen from a young age, as these are lessons they need to learn in order to thrive as they head off to college and start adult life. On our site, you’ll find a range of kitchen tools which are designed especially for young cooks. They can help to make anyone feel more confident and safe in the kitchen and will help you to offer your children the best cooking lessons you possibly can in the future.
