Get kids cooking! Raising healthy kids isn’t just about checkups and vaccines. Those are important! But it’s also about building healthy habits at home. One simple and powerful way to do that? Invite your kids into the kitchen. Kids who help their parents cook are more likely to try the foods they prepare, even if they don’t embrace them right away. Cooking teaches kids about nutrition and food safety—not to mention mathematics and science. And a child who becomes skilled in the kitchen is less likely to grab processed foods quickly when they’re hungry. Ready to get started? Try these tips to set you and your kids up for cooking success. Start with food safety. Be sure your children know the basics, like: • Washing their hands with soap and running water before and after handling food. • Keeping work surfaces clean. • Keeping raw meat, poultry and fish separate from other foods. • Waiting until food is cooked before tasting it. • Cooking foods to the proper temperatures. Let kids explore with their senses. Kneading dough, rinsing produce, tearing lettuce and snapping green beans are all activities that can pique a child’s curiosity about food using senses other than taste. If your child is hesitant to taste a food, invite them to smell it first. Then taste it yourself and tell them how good it is. Teach them how to read (and follow) a recipe. Show your kids how to gather ingredients and utensils for a recipe. Teach them that it’s important to measure correctly and follow each step exactly for the recipe to work. You don’t have to be a perfect cook to raise a healthy eater. The joy of cooking with kids is in the laughter and learning. It’s one of the most powerful hands-on learning tools we can provide them.” —Samantha Rohe, MD, Faith Regional Physician Services Pediatrics Skill-building for all ages Pediatricians suggest these age-appropriate tasks to help kids learn safely: Ages 2 to 4: Toddlers can rinse fruits and vegetables and use safe, non-sharp tools to stir, mash or sprinkle. Ages 5 to 7: Practice simple measuring and counting, read short recipe steps together and introduce basic knife safety using soft foods and kid-safe utensils. All ages: Focus on fun, not perfection. Expect things to get messy. Celebrate effort and success. And offer kids praise when they try new foods–even one bite counts! 12 FAITH REGIONAL Health Services
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