Simple Lessons

There are all sorts of approaches to teaching kids to cook, but I believe the easiest and most effective is “let the child do what interests him or her.” I contend that nothing will spark an interest in cooking more than allowing the child direct you to a recipe or flavor that they want to cook. Chocolate chip cookies, pizza and pasta are easy ways to develop an early love for being in the kitchen, creating. Even using a novel kitchen appliance or tool can be something fun for a child. But when G recently started asking to use a knife, I had to initially tell him “no.” After all, at three, almost four, he is far too young to hone his knife skills. But G has an inherent love of things that are thrilling and a wee bit dangerous, so I we came up with this compromise: A very blunt butter knife and a very ripe avocado afforded G the opportunity to use a new kitchen tool, without the risk of an emergency room visit. Of course, this cooking experience also came with a stern explanation that a butter knife is a whole lot different than a knife mom or dad uses in the kitchen, and the warning of what would happen if he did use the other knives (which are way out of reach, by the way). SPC

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