4 Ways to Include Kids in the Kitchen
Our favorite fun ways to get in the kitchen with your kids
(plus some bonus easy snack ideas!)
Let’s get cookin’!
Let’s be honest, the thought of bringing our kids into the kitchen may not always feel like the most relaxing (or clean) activity to do together. With so many variables at play, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed before even getting on your apron.
To give you the confidence you need, we’re sharing with you our 4 favorite ways to get you and your kids working together in the kitchen. Leave the headache behind and help your kiddos master skills, strengthen your bond, and have fun in the most delicious room in your home.
Including Kids in the Kitchen
Meal Plan Helper
Just like seeing delicious photos or videos of food online makes us hungry and eager to try it, kids feel the same way! The easiest way to start including your kids in the kitchen is before the cooking even begins.
When planning our your family’s meals for the week, include your kids in the conversation. Not only will they love feeling helpful, they will have more buy in to eat the meals you are preparing for the week if they are the ones coming up with them! A win-win.
Fine Motor Skills at Work
Kids of all ages have skills they are eager to master, and the kitchen is a great place to give them the opportunity to put them to work.
Pouring the spaghetti sauce into the pot, placing pizza toppings on top of their own pizza, or using kid safe kitchen tools to help slice softer items such as bananas or avocados for smoothies are all great, easy ways to put those skills to use. Nothing makes kids feel more proud of their skills then when they feel helpful.
Pretend Work Stations
If your kiddos are still little, or if you’re just not ready to take the leap yet into including them in your nightly cooking, giving them their own work area to do their own “cooking” is an easy way to make them feel involved without all the stress.
Making pasta for the family? Set out some small bowls, kitchen utensils, empty containers, and even some plain noodles if you’re feeling brave, and let them cook themselves up a pretend meal!
Tasting Games
Bringing some eating and tasting games into the kitchen is a fun way to learn about new foods, discover new flavors and textures together, and get them excited to be in the kitchen.
One fun game is to have each of you pick a food and then have the other person taste it with their eyes closed. You can work on language skills as well by describing the foods in flavor and texture. Just be warned, the kids get to choose foods for mom and dad too!
Easy Snacks to Make Together
Fruit “Pizza”
An easy, delicious snack that everyone will love! Using graham crackers as your base, spread on a thin layer of your favorite yogurt and top with your favorite fruits, such as blueberries, strawberries, or kiwis.
Your kids will get to customize their own pizzas with the fruit they like the most, and you can even work on slicing and placing fine motor skills as they work to assemble their very own snacks.
Cookie Cutter Sandwiches
A favorite sandwich can quickly and easily be made more fun with the help of a tool you may only bring out a few times a year: cookie cutters!
This is also a great opportunity to work on language skills when identifying each shape or animal. You can also use smaller cookie cutters for more bite sized shapes and sizes. From ham and cheese to pb&j, your kids can help you press out these fun shapes to make snack time even more exciting.