The Kids in my Kitchen: The Process

"The Kids in my Kitchen" is part of an ongoing series where I blog a recipe the kids and I made together. Why do I think it's important for my kids to be in my kitchen with me? Read this."


The point of today's particular blog is that you don't have to cook from scratch to show your children their way around the kitchen. Plenty of people love to work in the kitchen and only work from boxes, premixes and pre made conveniences.

You don't have to be Martha Stewart or Suzy Homemaker to teach your children how to cook, to be comfortable in the kitchen, to love being in the kitchen.

It makes no difference whether the recipe you are using is your grandmother's or Betty Crocker's. They are still learning.

Children can learn to read the instructions on a package the same way they can learn to read a recipe card. The important thing is that they are reading.

They gain confidence by doing. It's the process that matters. The encouragement. Allowing them to try. To fail, and fail and fail again...to fail in such a way that they feel safe enough to keep trying. Because eventually, and with patience, they will succeed.

Whether the ingredients come from a box, a mix, or from your own backyard, all of these provide plenty of learning opportunities for your children.

They don't care if they are stirring 3 simple ingredients together from a premix, or 7 from scratch. They're just happy to be stirring.

He is singing Mary Had a Little Lamb

To feel like they have had a part in the process. That their role mattered. That when someone asks "Who made this?" They can proudly say "I helped" or "I did it". They may even be able to tell you how it's made.

When they get to do what the grown ups do in the kitchen, they remember it. They remember how it works, how it looks, how it smells, how it all comes together. When they get to practice these steps over and over again, they remember. Over time it becomes second nature, and that builds confidence.

It doesn't matter what you make with your kids, or how you make it. What matters is that you're doing it. Together.

When it comes to cooking, baking and the way around a kitchen, maybe you have a lot of knowledge, tips and tricks to share. Maybe you have a lot to learn.

Children are eager to help, eager to learn and eager to try new things. They can be your greatest ally in the kitchen as you figure things out together.

Don't ever feel guilty for baking out of a box. The important thing is that you're doing it.

You are still teaching them. So much.

:)