Cooking Up Fun With Toddlers
At 18 months, I started including my son in sensory/cooking projects in the kitchen, and boy am glad I did. Now that he is three, every day he helps me decide what we will have for our daily meals and snacks, helps me with almost all meal preparation, loves to set the table, hand wash dishes and load the dishwasher all without asking to watch TV. He loves being a big helper and I love having his help!
Here are a few reasons to consider having your little one join you in the kitchen:
By bringing you child into the cooking process you will be introducing him/her to healthy eating habits and good nutrition from the start. If they are helping you prepare it they are more inclined to try something new!
You will be providing a hands on activity for learning almost all academic skills your child will use later in life: simple math concepts (counting, adding, subtracting,sorting) language development (reading recipes and pictures with you to learn new vocabulary words), taking turns and learning to follow directions...the list goes on...
Start simple. Even if you are not a big cook yourself, there are still things you can do together. Cooking doesn't have to be about making something fancy. It is really about spending quality time working together to make something that they will enjoy preparing and eating. So when you don't have time for much, making simple healthy snacks is a great way to cook with your kids.
Here are a few simple foods/drinks suggestions to get you started:
Setting Out Boxed Crackers and Juice for Two with Plates and Napkins
Making Fresh Squeezed Juice- orange juice and lemonade always a kid favorite!
Making Homemade Applesauce
A Lesson in Simple Cutting with Sliced Bananas-I like to use a small, dull cheese spread
Making Homemade Butter-don't worry, this is beyond easy!
Making Instant Pudding
Making Fruit Salad
Preparing Cereal with Milk
Preparing Sandwiches
Preparing Simple Tortilla Wraps
Making Pizza
Making Homemade Whipped Cream
Making Peanut Butter From Scratch- for those who are not allergic
Making a Simple Green Salad
Hope this list helps and have fun!
Please check back regularly, as we will be adding "how to" and "recipe" links to the above suggestion list.
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