Why Kids Should Be Helping In The Kitchen

Sometimes it's less effort to handle the cooking ourselves. But what could we gain by embracing the mess and encouraging contribution in the kitchen?

The other day my 7-year-old dropped a full jar of jam on the floor, smashing it. Organic jam mind you, because don’t you know that organic sugary condiments are pretty much health food? Ha! But the point is, this jam is not cheap!

The very next day, my 5-year-old knocked the glass container full of butter off the bench. Same result.

Sigh.

Cleaning up glass is not my favourite thing. Neither is wasting money. But what could I do? I couldn’t change what had happened. It was only a mistake.

A little bit of perspective was in order.

Lately, my kids have been found in the kitchen more and more. I can thank the recent season of MasterChef for that. They’ve been totally inspired and coming up with all sorts of wonderful creations. One day they even took care of all meals for an entire day, including a dessert with six ‘elements’!

At morning tea time they take turns being the chef and cutting up fruit while the others yell from the table ‘3 minutes to go!’, ‘Get it on the plate!’, and ‘What does she think she’s doing with the salt? This could be a disaster!’ It’s quite hilarious.

They are having the best time and learning so much along the way. Even my toddler is getting involved, watching, learning, and participating herself.

Sometimes it’s hard to step back and let them experiment knowing the resulting mess you’re going to have to face, the potential for broken glass, or the risk you’re going to have to taste test cupcakes containing some rather questionable ingredients. But boy is it worth it.

Through cooking kids are learning so many things including:

Maths
Science
Language skills
Independence
Responsibility
Nutrition
Culture

And much more! Most of all, they’re having fun, developing self-confidence, and a positive relationship with food.

But, they can’t do that with my frustration, interference, or criticism.

They need the freedom to experiment without fear of getting in trouble for making mistakes. They need to know that their mess won’t be met with annoyance, but a helping hand to clean up. They need us to trust that they are capable, and have confidence in their abilities. They need us to respond ‘yes, I’d love you to help make dinner’ as often as we can.

Sometimes it’s hard to find the energy. Sometimes we won’t be able to, and that’s ok too. But when we do, we’ll be rewarded with witnessing the joy on their little faces and the pride as they present you with their latest ‘dish’.

And I promise it’s worth even more than a jar of organic jam.

Meet Sara of Happiness is Here. She loves photography, chocolate, Harry Potter, spending time in nature, life learning, and being a mum to her four beautiful girls. She and her family enjoy an unschooling lifestyle in Australia. She holds a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology, but boasts that being a mother to her girls (and helping them learn about the world) is by far her greatest achievement and joy.