Getting Children Used to the Kitchen

Children are eager to learn new things because of their curiosity and interest.

So why don’t we see children in the kitchen who are used to being everywhere and can quickly adapt to where they are?

Is it because the kitchen is not interesting to them? Or do we not allow them? Do we think they’ll create a fuss and mess or is it because we think that kitchen can be a risky place them?

Children in the developmental age are curious about everything, even names of the objects: “Mom why do we call this a remote.” or “Daddy why orange and orange have the same name.”

There are so many things waiting to be discovered in our kitchens, like a whole new planet to be discovered for children.

Every food has a different story. From the cultivation of food in the soil, how the soil should be fed, how each part should be used, how it should be cooked, in short, we should tell our children how food comes before us.

If we have a garden, terrace, balcony, or just an empty pot or even an empty container that we can use, we can plant food so that children can come and watch their development every day. The easiest ones are beans, chickpeas and onions which grow very quickly. Or, according to some, the most beautiful thing in the world that most children love: potatoes. It may take some time for the potatoes you plant to appear from the corners of your garden, but it’s a very easy way to show the origin of their favourite food. 

Cooking also pushes children to be responsible. One of the easiest ways to prevent food waste is to learn and teach the process of that food until it reaches the plate. Some foods are extremely fast to grow such as tiny lemon trees, tangerine trees and tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers that you will plant in your garden with your child. You can leave the responsibility for all these fruits and vegetables to your child.

Besides learning while cooking in the kitchen, another important issue is of course having fun. Activities that will not pose a danger to children and that they can enjoy stepping into the kitchen. A few of them are washing and drying food, whisking, measuring, and of course rinsing, scrubbing, chopping, dicing for older children.

Children love to devote themselves to what they do. For example, they will of course want to feel like a chef while cooking in the kitchen. An apron and a hat will do. Setting up the table and arranging the plates, forks and knives are among the responsibilities we can leave them.

The food we produce and the world’s resources are limited. We should know the value of every food produced and never waste any food. We must create the sustainable future we dream of, not only for us today, but for our children. We must remind them of the importance of food and start the future from home. Let’s take a small step towards a better future.