Magdelana Ferryra, a waitress at Jeffrey’s coffee shop in
Gilroy, started small
– showing her son how to get a glass of milk out of her
refrigerator – but she’s helped him to progress in his skills
little by little.
”
Now he can make eggs and toast, things like that,
”
said Ferryra of her son, now 10.
”
The thing he really likes, though, is doing dishes. He likes to
play in the water.
”
Magdelana Ferryra, a waitress at Jeffrey’s coffee shop in Gilroy, started small – showing her son how to get a glass of milk out of her refrigerator – but she’s helped him to progress in his skills little by little.
“Now he can make eggs and toast, things like that,” said Ferryra of her son, now 10. “The thing he really likes, though, is doing dishes. He likes to play in the water.”
It may seem like more of the day’s drudgery to adults, but for children, measuring ingredients, stirring mixtures and peeling veggies can be exciting. Moreover, by practicing these processes, they’re also getting practical lessons in math as well as physical instruction in coordination and muscle development, according to child experts James Van Horn and Lyn Horning of the Better Kid Care Project at Pennsylvania State University.
“Children learn by touching, tasting, feeling, smelling and listening,” the pair wrote. “They love to help prepare food and cook because they can use all their senses.”
While older children can help out with a variety of tasks around the kitchen, it’s never too early to begin teaching them about meal preparation, according to Van Horn and Horning. Pre-school age children can benefit most from this kind of interaction (see box) as they are learning to use a variety of muscle groups related to both fine and gross motor movement, they wrote.
One of the first things a parent can do with their child in the kitchen is to introduce the setting. Kids can watch their parents cook, fetch tools and help set the table, said Cinda Meister, part owner of BookSmart and Thinker Toys in Morgan Hill and who is in charge of choosing children’s books and soe of the toys for both stores. Deciding when to allow a child to take on greater responsibilities in the kitchen is a matter of maturity, she said.
“Parents can judge the attention span and skill level of their own kids,” said Meister. “Obviously, you won’t want a 4-year-old using sharp chef knives, but they may be able to stir a pot on a hot stove whereas some other kids that age you wouldn’t want doing that.”
Because the kitchen is filled with so many sharp, hot and otherwise dangerous objects, rule setting is key to ushering future gourmands into the kitchen safely.
“You show them the technique and you monitor them really closely,” said David Varner, a father of three and food and beverage director for San Juan Oaks Country Club in Hollister. “My little one will grab a knife and start cutting things, and it scares me to death, but we use electric mixer and Cuisinarts, and you just have to be really clear that they’re only to be used when the parents are around.”
Cooking with your kids is a great exercise in learning, too, since older kids can practice their math skills sizing recipes up or down to fit their family’s needs, said Meister, but parents shouldn’t force the issue with kids who aren’t interested, said Varner.
“Food has always been part of our lives, and there are things that all of our kids have done because we all eat, but the youngest one is the only one who’s taken a lot of interest in it,” said Varner. “Kids’ cookbooks give simple things fun names and make them more interesting, but if they don’t like it, I don’t think you can make them.”
For kids who are enamored with the process, a growing variety of kids’ cookbooks are available, many of them authored by world-renown chefs. For more information on these books, see box. And for more on cooking with your kids from a parent’s eye view, pick up a copy of “Cooking With Kids for Dummies,” by Kate Heyhoe, executive editor of Global Gourmet.
Heyhoe includes family profiles wit a seven-lesson tutorial plus cookbook, meal planning guide and nutritional section. For free recipes, tips and games, visit her Web site, www.CookingWithKids.com.
Cooking and development
The activities involved in meal preparation are more than practical knowledge for preschoolers. They’re also developmental exercises that can help your child to develop better coordination later in life, according to child experts James Van Horn and Lyn Horning of the Better Kid Care Project at Pennsylvania State University. For their tips on good activities for preschoolers, keep reading.
At two, children are learning to use the large muscles in their arms. In the kitchen, they can aide this process by:
scrubbing vegetables and fruits
wiping tables
dipping vegetables and fruits
tearing lettuce and salad greens
breaking bread for stuffing
snapping fresh beans
Three-year-olds are learning to use their hands, and their play often reflects this (anyone for a round of patty cake?). Help them learn in the kitchen by:
pouring liquids into a batter
mixing muffin batter
shaking a milk drink
spreading peanut butter on firm bread
kneading bread dough
Control over the smaller muscles of the fingers is learned when children are four or five, and parents can help them with the experience. Have these children:
roll bananas in cereal for a snack
juice oranges, lemons and limes
mash soft fruits and vegetables
measure dry and liquid ingredients
grind cooked meat for a meat spread
beat eggs with an egg beater
Cookbooks for youngsters and young adults
If you have a budding chef at home, check out these titles:
“Rachel Ray’s 30-Minute Meals for Kids: Cooking Rocks!” by Rachel Ray
“Emeril’s There’s a Chef in My Soup! Recipes for the Kid in Everyone” by Emeril Lagasse
“Cool kids cook” by Donna Hay
“Honest Pretzels and 64 Other Amazing Recipes For Cooks Ages 8 & Up” by Mollie Katzen, et al
And for new college students or anyone who finds their kitchen a frightening place:
“Teens Cook: How to Cook What You Want to Eat” by Megan Carle, et al
“Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen: 100+ Great Recipes with Foolproof Instructions” by Kevin Mills
“Student’s Vegetarian Cookbook, Revised: Quick, Easy, Cheap and Tasty Vegetarian Recipes” by Carole Raymond
“Vegetables Rock! A Complete Guide for Teenage Vegetarians” by Stephanie Pierson
