Cooking with kids

Most toddlers and pre-schoolers love to be 'helpers' in the kitchen. As a bonus, being involved with meal preparation may even encourage your tot to establish healthy eating habits. Here's how to make the most of your time with your junior chef.

Choose an easy recipe

Keep your child's age and developmental level in mind when choosing a dish. Something like a fruit-and-yoghurt parfait is ideal since it requires few ingredients. Little kids like to stick their fingers in their mouths, so avoid anything that could expose them to potentially risky uncooked ingredients (like cookie dough made with raw eggs, for example).

Shop together

Boost your toddler's development by making the shopping trip a learning experience. As you pull items from the shelves, talk about how they add to the dish's flavour ('These blueberries will help make our muffins sweet!'), ask your child whether he wants a red, yellow or green pepper in your salad, or give him an introductory spelling lesson by pointing to letters on packaging.

Delegate simple tasks

Kitchen activities suitable for young children can include rinsing fruit, pouring in sugar or other ingredients, then stirring, mashing and patting. A fun game for an older child is to drop blueberries onto cooked pancakes to create smiley faces or the first initial of his name.

Supervise everything

Safety precautions and constant supervision in the kitchen are key. Let your child know what he shouldn't be touching, like the whirring beaters of a mixer, sharp utensils and hot surfaces. Make sure that you always keep pot handles turned in towards the hob to prevent accidents.

Praise your child's cooking prowess as you sample your dishes together, and as difficult as it may be, try and ignore the state of your kitchen. The important thing is that you're boosting your child's confidence by encouraging him to master new skills and sample new foods. Enjoy!