Who wouldn’t like some help at hand while cooking in their kitchen. And who would fit better into the picture than your kids? Giving them some lessons in cooking will not only teach them how to cook for themselves when you are not around, but also make them more responsible and methodical.
But before you embark on the journey of teaching them cooking, you should first teach them the importance of cleanliness. Kids should understand why to keep their hands clean and hair tied or covered, not to lick fingers while cooking, keeping the raw and cooked vegetables separate. This will also help in keeping illnesses at bay. It is also very important to teach them why not to cook food at very high or low temperatures.
Before you start cooking with the kids it is a good idea to read out the recipe so that nothing is missed out and all the ingredients and appliances required are available easily at hand. Stick to the exact process for the most authentic taste.
While discussing the recipe or while cooking, explain to the kids how and why a particular appliance is used. Also teach them the importance of saving electricity and also how to protect themselves from getting an electric shock while operating the electrical appliances.
Always use hot pads when operating the oven and while taking out or putting in the trays. Try to use hot pads as far as possible in front of the kids so that they also pick up this habit. Also teach them to never taste food in a hot spoon and always wait for a few seconds when tasting hot food so that it cools down a little bit.
Keep your knives in brand new condition all the time. The kids should also be taught to use the knife properly and safely. A knife is as useful as it is dangerous in the kitchen. The kids should be taught to never put the knives in soap water to avoid anyone getting cut while doing the dishes.
The kids should be taught never to throw water on hot stove and also to call the adults or the neighbors or 911 in case of an emergency.
The kids must be taught not get tempted to taste the food until it is fully cooked. And even if you must taste the food, it must be done only using a clean spoon and the food should be allowed to cool down first. The same spoon should not be used twice so that the germs or the bacteria from your mouth don’t get mixed with the food.
While the food gets cooked, use that time to clean up the kitchen of any leftovers or spillovers or anything left on the kitchen counter from the cooking ingredients. If the cooking time is more, wash the utensils. After the food gets cooked or while it is on the stove, turn off any electrical appliance that you are not using.
Ensure that your kids see you working in the kitchen from an early age so that they also learn the habit of good cooking and good house (and of course kitchen) keeping.