Cooking as a family: a guide to little kitchen jobs for kids

15 May, 2024 • Par Natacha Langlois

There's no denying it: cooking with your kids not only lets you spend quality time as a family, but also passes on essential cooking skills, builds their curiosity about new foods, teaches them organization and improves their fine motor skills. Not sure where to start or which jobs to give them at what age? Here are a few suggestions, which can of course be adapted to your own child's level of development:

 

 Ages 2 to 3:

  • Pour liquid into a measuring cup
  • Spread a soft spread with a knife
  • Start the coffee maker
  • Put bread in the toaster
  • Stir muffin or cake batter
  • Cut soft foods with a kid-safe knife
  • Decorate cookies or cupcakes
  • Tear up lettuce
  • Toss a salad

Ages 4 to 5:

  • Prepare a bowl of cereal or a simple breakfast
  • Make a sandwich or spread-topped toast
  • Wash fruits and vegetables
  • Crack and beat eggs
  • Assemble the layers of a parfait 
  • Shape meatballs, cookies or patties
  • Top a pizza
  • Grease baking dishes
  • Squeeze a lemon
  • Roll out dough with a rolling pin

Ages 6 to 8:

  • Pack a complete lunch
  • Cook an omelette (with supervision)
  • Make muffins (with supervision)
  • Measure a recipe's ingredients
  • Use a blender or a can opener (with help)
  • Use the oven and the microwave (with supervision)

Ages 9 and up:

  • Peel a hard-boiled egg
  • Make a packed lunch from start to finish
  • Prepare simple recipes from start to finish

Looking for easy, fun recipe ideas to make with your brood? Here are a few, taken straight from the recipes in our Belles Combines Magazine!

 

Want a first look at everything we publish in the Magazine each month, plus access to our Toolbox, which includes free downloads that are as practical as they are fun? Subscribe to Belles Combines Magazine now!  

 

 

Put these tips into practice

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