Getting your kids to do something healthy and productive can often be a challenge. Kids like to carve out their own paths in life, which is completely natural. Unfortunately, it also means that they don’t like feeling forced into an activity that wasn’t already on their to-do list. As a result, many parents struggle to get their kids involved and enthusiastic about cooking.
When kids are not inclined to help out in the kitchen, they are often less likely to try out new foods. Having a picky eater can make it much more difficult to plan healthy, delicious meals for the whole family. Fortunately, you can largely avoid this problem by finding ways to get your kid enthused about cooking, healthy eating, and food preparation in general.
Thankfully, you don’t have to move mountains just to get your kids to want to cook. In fact, there are a few different tried and true methods to make cooking more appealing to your young ones. Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Keep your kids around when you’re cooking and shopping for food. Taking your kids to the grocery store is one of the easiest ways to get them involved before the cooking has even begun!
- Ask your kids what they want to eat and show them different foods and recipes online. Even if they repeatedly gravitate toward the same food or food category, you may be able to pique their interest with something similar.
- Get your kids to do very simple “chores” in the kitchen while you handle the actual cooking. For example, your kids could measure out ingredients, read steps from a recipe, retrieve a utensil, or let you know when the water is boiling (just to name a few).
- Try to get your kids to taste new foods. This is not always easy, especially if your child has already proven to be a picky eater. Nonetheless, if you can get your kid to try out new foods, they are more likely to become curious about the ingredients and how the food is made.
- Buy kids their own utensils and accessories in the kitchen. If your kid has their very own chef’s hat and apron, they are far more likely to help out with the cooking!
While all of these steps will help increase your child’s interest in cooking, there is one key element missing. When you cook for the family, you’re likely doing recipes designed for adults. If you try to get your kids involved, they may feel overwhelmed or frustrated with the difficulty of the task. This is why cooking kits for kids can greatly increase the chances of your young one acquiring a genuine interest in cooking.
Teaching Kids To Cook By Making It Fun
At first, kids will almost always see cooking as a chore. They have to do various tasks before they can taste the final product, and this can feel like a lot of work for someone who has never cooked before. To ensure that your kids don’t get impatient and give up, it is extremely important to make the process of cooking as fun as possible.
With a cooking kit designed for kids, you get lots of different ways to make things fun right out of the box. From themed games and puzzles to colorful recipes and ingredients, you can’t go wrong when you add a kid’s cooking kit to the mix. While teens and young adults may not show as much interest in them, cooking kits create a lot of interest and enthusiasm in kids between 5 and 12 years old. You’re literally giving them a box with tons of fun things waiting inside!
Let Kids Take Charge With Kid-Friendly Recipe Instructions
A lot of kids don’t like to help in the kitchen because they feel like they’re not controlling the process. In fact, this is one reason that children feel frustrated in general. They are forced to follow the rules and do as they’re told, with little or no say in their own day-to-day activities. Cooking with a kid-friendly recipe helps put kids back in the driver’s seat.
When the recipe is designed for young children, you can rest easy knowing that the vocabulary and directions will be simple enough for your kids to follow on their own. So, while you can always stand nearby to help supervise, you don’t need to direct your children as much. Instead, you can let them figure things out on their own. This not only helps them learn valuable life lessons but also allows them to direct the activity in a way that works best for them.
If you choose to get your cooking kits from Kidstir, you also get the advantage of the Kidstir Cook Along App. With this app, your kids can enjoy interactive cooking videos, fun games and activities, and individual lessons to accompany different dishes. It is truly the perfect way to encourage your kids to learn and have fun while cooking!
Accomplishment Leads To Further Interest
Once you can convince your kid to cook one or two times, it greatly increases the chances that they will want to cook more in the future. Why? Because kids, like adults, love the feeling of accomplishment. In the kitchen, kids can watch themselves turn a handful of ingredients into a delicious meal or snack. When your kids start cooking and tasting their own food, it will build their self-confidence and push them to cook again and again.
Cooking kits also make it easier to get from the beginning stages to the final product. If you were to hand your child a recipe designed for adults, there’s a very good chance that they would not be able to make it. This could end up turning them off to cooking for good. With a kid-friendly cooking kit, your child can learn and make simple yet delicious recipes, boosting their confidence and helping them feel accomplished.
Kids Want To Spend Time With Their Parents
Though teenagers often like to distance themselves from their parents, younger kids typically want as much time with their parents as possible. With a cooking kit, young children can enjoy cooking “on their own” while also enjoying quality time with you and the rest of the family. If your kids seem hesitant and aren’t sure if they want to cook, joining in can help show them that it’s fun and easy. This is yet another way to boost confidence while you spend time together.
So, when you look at the benefits of cooking kits for kids, it’s easy to see that you’re making a great choice for yourself and your family. With the help of cooking kits, you can encourage your child to get involved in the kitchen with fun games and cooking activities. Then, once your child sees what they are capable of, they will feel more confident, accomplished, and willing to try out more recipes. Finally, cooking kits provide you with the perfect excuse to gather together as a family and work toward the common goal of making something delicious!
Do you want to learn even more about using cooking kits to get kids cooking? Are you in need of high-quality kids cooking kits? If so, be sure to reach out to Kidstir today!
