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Getting kids interested in the kitchen

Only good comes from getting kids interested in the kitchen. Not that your actual cooking skills matter that much, nor that any of your children will become the next super-chef. You get to spend quality time together and help them to become independent.

Sometimes it is difficult to get kids interested in the workings of a kitchen. While we have already discussed why it is important, let's take a look at how we can excite them enough to get started.

Let them experiment

Kids love to try new things and the kitchen is a great place to do it. It is easy to clean up if there is a mess and with the proper instruction on safety, the kitchen can be a great place to get creative. Of course, some experiments fail, but no matter what happens, we, as adults, have the open door to discuss what happened and why it happened.

Kids get excited when they get to play around and experimenting in the kitchen is just that. The once elusive domain is now within reach and not only that, they get to have fun and play around. If you want to get kids fired up, give them the ability to play in the one area they were previously banned from entering.

Let them ask questions

Questions are a great tool to spark a kid's interest. Kids ask questions because they want to know and understand how things work and why they do what they do. It is important to field all of the questions you can when teaching a child to cook. It is also fun for the adult, even if they don't know the answer, to sit down with a child, find the answer and talk about what they found out.

Questions lead to more questions and bonds become tighter. Making room in the kitchen to stop and have a discussion will keep a child interested and will help them develop critical thinking skills for later in life. Learning how to ask the right question is also an important part of growing up. For instance, there is a big difference in the answer to "Where does milk come from?" a "How do we get our milk?" as there is with where and how questions.

Another great way to keep the interest flowing is to ask a question back. For instance, in the "Where does milk come from" question above, ask them where they think it comes from. This is a great tool to unpack and straighten out any wrong information they might have received in the past.

Let them have room to do it on their own

OK, this step will probably make some adults extremely nervous. Yes, you read correctly, let them have room to do it on their own. Let the child try their hand at certain tasks and then ask you for help if needed. This is a great way to spark interest because they get to put their hands on things sooner.

Kids love to try new things, especially when there are not a bunch of rules and regulations that come before they get to play. Let your kids discover that there has to be an easier way to stir the cake mix than with a fork and that pouring the flour slowly will keep it from puffing up their noses.

It is easy to get kids interested in cooking when they have some room to experiment, ask questions and try their hand at something new. The best way to keep a child interested is to get in the kitchen with them and learn to relax a little and have fun. So get up, grab your kids and get into the kitchen to kick-start the fun.