When do you know if the child is ready to cook?

[Autumn Moon]

I don't know about you, but I was a single parent for many years.
When my DD was 12, she would make dinner once a week. KD, fried eggs, hotdogs were not allowed. It had to be dinner/supper food.
She learned how to read recipes, plan meals, make sure she had groceries.
So - I thought I would give you some suggestions for when you are making that decidion about your own children.

I started with pre-prepared meals. No, not TV dinners. I would prep things and put them into the fridge for her with instructions on timing, temperature, types of pans etc. This probably started when she was 10 or 11. I would be there to guide her and over the next couple years, she was doing a lot of things on her own.

When she started Grade 8, she was taking the bus to school and I started giving her more responsibility towards her one meal a week. She now had to get the groceries for it. We graduated to 2 meals a week around her 14th birthday - and I started to give her a set amount per week for groceries. She learned to budget, watch sales flyers, purchase on sale and put into the freezer. She also figured out that if she was careful, we could have really good steaks every 6-7 weeks (remember single parent - single income).

Well, the DD is 23 now. Lives on her own (with roommates) and knows how to do things herself. The roommates are not as comfortable in the kitchen as she is.

The kids are NEVER too young to learn their way around a kitchen. Teach them safely and they will always remember kitchen safety.

Autumn

[mezzo soprano]

My mother was extremely proud of the fact that by the time all three of her daughters got to home economics class in 7th grade -- we all knew how to cook. We could all use the mixer, the blender, the cooktop, the oven, and the broiler.

We learned by watching, then by joining in, and finally by cooking entire meals by ourselves. It was just second nature to us! :) Same thing for laundry and other household chores.

When I had surgery a few years ago, my dd was 16 years old. She stayed with us for six weeks and managed to do all the cooking. (And no, we didn't have any Hamburger Helper, nor did we call 1-800-PIZZA. ;) ) She made chicken breasts and stuffing, spaghetti from scratch, roast beef, meatballs and gravy, cakes, cookies -- the whole thing. All because I (and her grandmother) took the time to help her learn to cook. She did it without complaint, because she enjoyed it!

My ds is 7 and he already helps me with simple stuff... hands me the eggs, mixes in the vanilla, stirs in the chocolate chips for the cookies. He stirs pots of things, and is already helping me read directions for cooking pasta, etc.

Thanks for the encouragement. Now that home economics (or whatever they call it now) is seldom taught in the school system, it's up to families to make sure kids have the "life skills" to be able to live beyond the microwave and take-out counter.

[jcme]

I think it is great that you are teaching your kids how to cook. My mom didn't like cooking so I didn't learn much more than the basic skills from her. I picked up baking skills from my grandmother. Somewhere along the line I found out if I followed a receipe I could cook. When I had home economics in Junior High I realized I enjoyed cooking and food could taste good (my mom overcooks and underseasons everything). It took a long time to create something without following a receipe exactly, but now I've developed enough cooking skills to make up my own receipes thanks to watching a ton of shows on the Food Network.

So all I want to say is even if you feel you can't cook well, teach your kids the basic skills so they function safely in the kitchen and that if they follow a receipe correctly they can make anything. Once they have that foundation their cooking skills will grow along with them.

[YellowRoseTex]

I don't remember at what exact age I began cooking, but do remember always being in the kitchen with mom. I would watch and she would let me stir things. I think when I was probably about 10 mom would let me prepare simple things. I recall heating up soup and leftovers during the summer. Than when I entered high school I would prepare dinner for my brother when we got home from school as he could never wait until mom got home to eat.

I do think those skills learned early have served me well today. To this day I love to cook. I don't bake well, but I sure can whip up a tasty meal. :yum:

[Marian Paroo]

How about changing the subject to "HOW do you know if the child is ready to learn to cook?"


As it is now, I'm thinking of the witch in Hansel and Gretel! :eek: :rolleyes: