What do your children Cook?

Question

I am just looking into what others do and their theories on this.

How old are your children and what do they cook on the stove by themselves?

Answer 1

All three of my children started cooking when they were about 5. They helped me when they were younger than that, but at 5 they cooked hot dogs and other simple dishes while I stood by.

Now that they are teenagers, they each have a night where they plan, shop for and cook a meal for the family. This means that they cook an entree, a vegetable and rice or pasta.

I cook from scratch, no cans or frozen meals, so they cook from scratch as well.

My oldest is 17 and he likes to cook gourmet hamburgers or steak with a salad and wild rice pilaf. My daughter is 15 and she likes to cook chicken with rice and roasted fresh vegetables. My youngest son is 13 and he loves to cook Asian food. I think it is because he can put it all in one pan and cook it at the same time (or because when I was carrying him all I ate was Chinese food! LOL)

My daughter and I have written our own healthy cookbook. We are in the process of getting it published. It has been a great homeschooling project.

Answer 2

my children are 8 and 11. My oldest can cook spagettii, tacos, eggs ,toast oatmeal, cookies , cakes, with help he know how to BBQ steak or burgers. He also makes grilled cheese sandwiches and if he has instruction just about any thing he set his mind to. My eight year old is more of a prep chef and likes to chop and season the food before it is cooked. He knows how to cook most microwavable food but doesn't use the stove because he is too short and I feel standing on a chair over a hot stove is unsafe. Both children started using the microwave at about 2 yrs to nuke a hotdog (independant little boys wanted no help from me)

Answer 3

My kids are 9, 7, 5 and 4 (and 1). All but the one-year-old can sweep and mop the kitchen floor, clean the bathrooms, set and clear the table at mealtimes, clear out the dishwasher every morning, feed the dog, pick up his poop in the backyard, and vacuum. They also make their beds and keep their own rooms picked up (though I don't stay on top of this 100% of the time, but at least once a week, they clean up everything). I have a system where I supervise the younger ones on certain chores, or I have the older ones supervise. I know a lot of parents are anti-having the older kids help with the younger kids, but they LOVE to supervise--it's a step in the process for them. They start out as a "student", where they watch me do the chore. When they feel ready, they become the "apprentice", where they do the chore with help from me. The next level is "professional". They do this either with my supervision or their older siblings' supervision. The next level is "expert". They do the chore independently. The last one on the list is "teacher" and that is when they get to be the supervisor, which they just love. They pick at the beginning of each week (our chores rotate on a weekly basis--some are daily chores they do all week and some are chores they only do on Saturday) what they want to be that week (student, apprentice, professional, expert, teacher). Some weeks even the older kids who know how to do the chore sign up to be the student, which is good for them to have a review to make sure they are doing the chores well. As long as they sit there and watch me do it, I count it as them doing the chore. With cooking, you can start at any age, you just need to supervise them closely and let them handle things on their own when you feel they're ready. Don't forget, 110+ years ago, it was the 8-14 year old girls who were doing the bulk of the cooking over a fire with their mother's supervision. If an 8-year-old could cook over a fire 100 years ago, a 10-year-old today can certainly cook an egg over a stove. My nieces were both 8 years old when they made pancakes for the entire extended family at a family reunion a few years ago, and in order to do that without help, they must have been learning at home all this time. I felt like my kids were way behind because they could barely make a sandwich. I started teaching them how to cook right away. Now my 7-year-old is much better in the kitchen than his older brother, who is 9, but he is just more obedient and pays better attention. I let him do more independently than the 9-year-old because he's just better at it. Though they are all learning.

Answer 4

Well, I'm 13 now and can cook just about anything. But when I was younger my older brother and I would make dinner twice a week together (that way I had supervision on the stove but still got to do it on my own).
I don't really understand why you're asking this question and what to tell you ? so if you're looking for what your kids can cook or something try getting a kids cookbook or something and letting them make something once a week or whatever, maybe paired up with an older sibling.

Answer 5

Mine always "helped" beginning at age 3 at making dishes. Cooking in the microwave begin at age 8. Cooking on the electric stove and in the electric oven began at the same age, but with close supervision. Cooking "alone" with me in the next room, began at age 12 ... absolutely alone began at 14. But each child's maturity level must be considered. One age 14 may be ready, while another may not be.

Teaching children the safety rules and going over what to do in different cooking and kitchen emergencies is KEY! We role played and I periodically tested them by questioning. Even adults forget sometimes and behave carelessly. Children need repetition ... better safe than sorry!

Answer 6

my daughter is 14 and she cooks just about everything- she is actually very gifted in the kitchen and has prepared some meals much better than my own.
My daughter also deals with some pretty severe food allergies, forcing her to learn how to use more uncommon ingredients, how and what to substitute for the more common ingredients.
She has cooked, on her own, Hungarian Goulash, roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and steamed carrots, teryaki steak, baked fish, baked chicken- with a variety of seasonings for dinners. for breakfast- she can cook just about any kind of egg dish- even though she is allergic to eggs, she prepares this for others. She has made a couple of pies and cheescake- both gluten and corn free. She makes wonderful gluten free pancakes- her own recipe and her own recipe for gluten free chocolate chip cookies is just incredible.
My 10 year old is not too interested in chores and cooking but I have required her to learn a few things- she can make just about any kind of egg dish- she doesnt do much more than that besides sandwiches

we make everything pretty much from scratch and fresh ingredients so neither one gets the cooking thing easy by canned foods , boxed mixes or preprepared foods

Answer 7

Right now I'm almost 15 and I have free reign. I either make German food -lots of sausages, yum- or vegetarian Chinese food. I like variety.

I couldn't use the stove -except to turn on a burner, or sometimes my mom would let me flip a burger- until I was about eight or nine, because my parents didn't want me to do something stupid like catch my sleeve in the gas flame. But I could make something like scrambled eggs or pancakes if I had adult supervision.

If I have a kid or kids, I'm going to let them help as early as they want to, but they can't use the stove on their own until about nine. At that point, I can probably be sure they won't leave something to burn, or drop a pot of boiling water on their foot or something.

Answer 8

My son is 10 and he has cooking as one of his life skills lessons, he makes the most delicious cake I've ever tasted. He also cooks a mean spaghetti bolognese. His life skills exam last term required him to cook a 3 course meal, he chose spicy chicken skewers for en tree, curried chicken with basmati rice for main and apple flan with ice cream for desert. It was magnificent and he done a great job on presentation and table setting. I should add that his father is a head chef and he is following very closely in his footsteps. I'm not sure if this is normal for most children but i would assume not

Answer 9

My son's three and a half.
He makes his own PB&J, with supervision, or pb bannana sandwiches.
He's reading already, so he helps me bake cookies...we read the recipes together, and the measuring is a great introduction to fractions.
Cooking is such a great home school activity...nutrition, chemistry, math, an art and a life skill all rolled into one.

Good Eats with Alton Brown, on the food network, is entertaining and educational. He discusses the chemistry of cooking and nutrition.

Answer 10

I dont have kids but I do babysitt for a different variety of kids. I have one family and their little boy who is 6 (will be 7 in July) does a few things. Like make a sandwhich or pour himself something to drink. But thats about the extent of making his own self something. But id say about the age of 8 or 9 most kids can make themselves a bowl of soup or make macaroni & cheese (maybe). Anything that is kind of quick and easy. it also depends on how mature the child is too. I have one nine year old ( danny)who is very careful and cautious when using the oven. But this girl i babysitt for who is nearly 10 I wouldnt even let her make toast!! haha. -Well hope this helps.