7 Safe Ways For Kids To Help In The Kitchen

April 25, 2020
by Rebecca Down Seize The Summer

    Too many cooks spoil the broth? No such thing…

    Keep the kids busy by involving them in the cooking – from deseeding peppers to pulling leaves off herbs, involving your kids in the prepping of a meal can have really positive results. Our family chef Andre is a big advocate of this:

    “When my kids are on school holidays, I always try to get them helping out in the kitchen. Asking them to do things makes the child feel important however small the task – just get them to pop an apron on and get them excited about cooking.  If kids grow up with parents who cook fresh, homemade food, they are far more likely to replicate these habits in later life”.

    To get you started, Andre has listed 7 safe and child-friendly kitchen hacks to get your kids cooking in the kitchen. Many hands really do make light work!

    7 Child-Friendly Cooking Skills:

    1. Remove Pepper Cores

    Cut the peppers in half with a sharp knife before the kids take over! Make things fun by timing them and seeing how quickly they can de-core and deseed the peppers!

    2. Chop Herbs with Scissors

    Not only is this a great thing for kids to help you with, but it is also a brilliant kitchen hack that will save you time even when the kids aren’t helping! Put the herbs (basil, coriander, mint, parsley etc.) into a mug. With a pair of safety scissors chop the herbs until fine. Using a mug or a glass means the leaves are compressed into a small space, so is much easier to cut them up!

    3. Squeeze Fruit

    Tell them to roll lemons and limes on their sides before you help cut them in half (this makes them much easier to juice!). Make sure they take care when adding the juice to other ingredients to prevent pips from falling in!

    4. Mix The Ingredients

    Encourage your kids to help by asking them to mix dry ingredients in a bowl with their (washed!) hands or with a wooden spoon. Teach older kids about different mixing techniques (folding, whisking and beating with a whisk) and show them the best way to incorporate all the ingredients together.

    5. Wash Your Veggies

    Even the youngest children can help with the dinner prep by washing the veggies! They can also start tearing lettuce for the salad, scrubbing potatoes to clean them, and cutting soft foods (like olives and strawberries) with a butter knife or dull plastic knife.

    6. Picking Leaves off Herbs

    Start small and gradually progress – this is a great thing for the youngest of your clan to start with. A fun task for the kids to help with and a fiddly one you can avoid! Win-win!

    7. Chop Veggies (with the help from a grown-up)

    Older kids can help chopping veggies, with the help of steady grown-up hands! Be sure to show them how to hold the ingredients steady and safely before they chop with a knife.


    For our top family-friendly recipes, click here.

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