What’s Your Advice for Cooking With Kids and Getting Them Interested in Food?
Ever wondered how to turn meal prep into a magical experience for little ones? Insights from a President & Founder and a Chief Program Development Officer promise to transform your kitchen time. The first expert shares how making cooking fun and empowering can spark interest, while the last expert emphasizes embracing mistakes as learning opportunities. Dive into these three invaluable tips that will make cooking with kids an enjoyable and educational adventure!
- Make Cooking Fun and Empowering
- Turn Cooking into a Fun Activity
- Embrace Mistakes as Learning Opportunities
Make Cooking Fun and Empowering
As a mom of two girls—one who’s incredibly picky and one who will try just about anything—I’ve learned that the key to getting kids interested in food and cooking is making the process fun and empowering. For my picky eater, it’s about giving her ownership over small decisions, like choosing between two types of pasta or helping measure ingredients. For my adventurous eater, I encourage her to experiment by picking spices or toppings, which makes her feel like a real chef.
One strategy that works for both is turning the kitchen into a learning space. We talk about where the ingredients come from, taste-test as we go, and even make up silly stories about the “journey” of the food. I also make sure there’s a task for every age or skill level—whether it’s mixing, washing veggies, or setting the table—so they feel included and capable.
The biggest tip? Keep it lighthearted. Cooking with kids can get messy and chaotic, but those moments are where the magic happens. Plus, when they’ve had a hand in making the meal, even my picky one is more willing to try something new. It’s all about fostering curiosity and confidence in the kitchen, one meal at a time.
Christine Wetzler
President & Founder, Pietryla PR & Marketing
Turn Cooking into a Fun Activity
Cooking with kids can be a great way to bond as a family while introducing them to new flavors and building their confidence in the kitchen! Start by turning cooking into a fun, hands-on activity that engages their curiosity. Allow children to participate in age-appropriate tasks, such as washing fruits and vegetables, stirring batter, or sprinkling seasonings. Make it an adventure by giving them a chef’s hat or apron and keep the atmosphere light and playful, like playing music or storytelling.
It’s important to introduce new flavors gradually, so try involving them in choosing ingredients or tasting while you cook. Encourage them to smell spices (carefully!), touch ingredients, and ask questions about what they’re eating. Kids are more likely to try foods they’ve helped prepare, so try and say things like, “This salad has the cucumbers you cut!” or “This is the pasta sauce you stirred!”
Not only will this foster a positive association with food and help with pickiness and hesitation to try new foods, but it will also teach valuable life skills, support fine motor development, and nurture a sense of accomplishment. Outside of the kitchen, shows like “Waffles + Mochi” or “Junior Bake Off” are great for curious mini chefs.
Theresa Bertuzzi
Chief Program Development Officer / Co-Owner & Founder, Tiny Hoppers
Embrace Mistakes as Learning Opportunities
When I involve the kids in cooking, it often gets messy, and sometimes becomes a complete disaster. But, looking back, it has always been a rewarding experience!
The disasters just give our family opportunities to create something new, by turning mistakes into magic! They always leave us with stories we continue to talk about years later; That time we put sugar instead of salt into the egg salad. That recipe that called for bacon but we ended up eating it right off the griddle instead of adding it into our dish. It’s an on the fly, “mistakes-are-okay” type of experience.
My strategy is always to keep it light and keep it simple. I try to choose age-appropriate tasks: my two-year-old can help “wash foods” while his older sister uses her child-friendly knife to chop lettuce.
The end result of our cooking sessions is typically some sort of DIY station. For instance, a taco bar with a choice of taco shell (hard or soft), diced veggies, cheese, and ground beef.
Allowing the children to assemble their own tacos gives them more opportunity to customize and feel like a “big kid.” They often will try a new ingredient or food without all the prompting from me and my husband.
Always remember, it’s more about building memories—failures are just learning experiences. Every meal prepared together is an opportunity to get your children interested in eating healthy and discovering something new about the foods we eat.
Amy Johnson
Founder and Blogger, AmyBabys.com
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