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| |     Cooking with Kids by Mary Silva, M.S., R.D. reviewed by Laura Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P. Cooking is a fun way to spend time with children of all ages. Young ones typically are eager to be helpers, while older children take pride in creating something on their own. One of the biggest advantages to having your child help in the kitchen is that you can often get a finicky eater to try foods if he has a hand in preparing them. Another plus: If you can get him to eat enough of the ingredients, you won't worry whether he'll eat the end product. This often is true of the child who won't eat vegetables at the table, but will sample them while helping you wash or peel them for dinner. Parents often are in search of creative activities for their children, sometimes simply to distract them from video games or the TV, and cooking fits that niche admirably. You don't have to be a skilled chef to have fun in the kitchen; simple recipes abound, from cooking instant oatmeal to building a sandwich to making fruit salad. Cooking together also provides the chance to teach your child a wide variety of things, including the basic principles of healthy eating and even a little reading and arithmetic. Finally, sharing an activity like cooking with your child when he's young can lay the foundation for good communication when he's older. What better reason to consider setting aside time at least once a week to hang out together in the kitchen? Learning Preparing meals offers countless opportunities to teach your young child arithmetic, new words, measuring skills, and the importance of following instructions. Use the time to reinforce school lessons in such subjects as spelling and geography and to teach your youngster about different cultures. Try to avoid sounding preachy, however--especially to a school-age child or adolescents. Teach through example by modeling desirable behavior, and praise your child for his good efforts. Remember, the important thing is to have fun. Guidelines for toddlers Accept the fact that cooking with a toddler will take a little extra time, so plan this activity when you're a little less busy. Choose simple recipes that contain only a couple of steps, such as:
Guidelines for preschoolers Talk about food in terms of what's healthy, not what's "good" or "bad." Make recipes that call for only few ingredients and steps, such as:
Guidelines for school-age children This is the age when children often really enjoy helping parents cook and plan menus--and begin to be truly useful in the kitchen. Some good dishes to try:
Guidelines for adolescents Adolescents often do well when they're completely in charge of a given task, so assign them responsibility for preparing one of the components of a meal, such as a salad, mashed potatoes, or pasta. Older adolescents even might enjoy planning and preparing a meal entirely by themselves. They usually can make all the items mentioned in the toddler and preschooler sections on their own, but you'll want to be there to share the fun. Some ideas to try:
Food safety The kitchen is the ideal place to teach hygiene by setting an example. Your child will no doubt notice when you wash your hands--after handling the phone, changing diapers, and sneezing or blowing your nose, for example. Also stress the importance of using paper towels or a clean dish towel while cooking. Other things you can demonstrate include washing vegetables and fruit, cutting off bruised portions off produce, refrigerating items immediately after use, washing cutting boards with soap and water after cutting meats, and wiping the tops of cans clean before opening them. Don't allow your child to prepare food if he has diarrhea or a contagious illness, and avoid tasting dough or batters that contain raw eggs, since they often carry Salmonella, a type of harmful bacterium. Physical safety With its collection of electrical appliances, the kitchen's hazards are clear. Watch for unsafe placement of sharp utensils and extension cords, as well as spilled liquids on the floor. Don't allow young children to get too close to the stove, and, in general, don't fry foods, since the high temperature of the fat can easily cause serious burns. If you have a microwave oven, discuss with your child what materials are safe to use in it, and demonstrate how to handle hot food. Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and baking soda next to the stove to douse any fires, and consider storing a first-aid kit nearby for quick treatment of minor accidents.
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