If feels like I spend a lot of time cooking throughout the week for my family—anyone relate? Sometimes it’s nice to have company and to be honest, it’s usually just my kids (and dog!) that are home with me!
Safety First!
My son Conor, who is now five, absolutely loves to help in the kitchen and has been a regular helper of mine since he was three and a half years old! Conor is the best kitchen buddy and has become quite the sous chef! He kept wanting to use real knives to help with chopping fruits and vegetables for our meals but I was concerned about him accidentally cutting his finger when he was younger, so I researched some kid-friendly knives to help kids get more comfortable with sawing and cutting motions with knives with much less risk to get injured.
Kid-safe knife recommendation:
I found this nylon knife set on Amazon and they have been wonderful for my kids to use. First of all, they actually cut, so when Conor is helping me in the kitchen, he can use one of these knives and help me cut apples for lunch—which gives him such a sense of pride to be preparing his meal and his siblings meals! They are not too sharp for him to cut himself either, though I always supervise him while he is using the knife to help teach proper cutting technique. Specifically, he (and many kids!) tend to not move their fingers back while cutting. It would be tough to break skin with these nylon knives but it is possible. As Conor has practiced and gotten older (thank you, fine motor development!), he needs these gentle reminders much less frequently.
Lastly, one of the most important benefits of having your kids help you in the kitchen is that it can often be a tool to help with picky eating. Rarely will kids be comfortable enough with a food on their plate to just pick it up and eat it. Specifically when they are toddlers, they will often refuse many once accepted foods. This is not only developmentally appropriate and completely normal—though I know how extremely frustrating it can be as a parent! Kids go through this phase, which can last up to five years of age, as they start to become more aware of their surroundings and their realm of control.
Being able to include your child in the meal prep and cooking process of mealtimes helps take some of that pressure off of the newer or less accepted foods by allowing them to touch, smell, and explore the food without the pressure of eating it. Additionally, allowing kids to help with meal preparation, especially when for the whole family, gives them an extreme sense of pride and accomplishment—just like Conor experiences—and this fuels their internal desire to eat what they have helped prepare. I hope you can find a time to let your kids join you in the kitchen—over time it gets less much stressful and is honestly one of my favorite times to connect with Conor!
