Age-appropriate tasks for kids in the kitchen

When you involve children in the cooking process, it helps them become more familiar with different foods. It also helps them work on important developmental skills.

But how do you get started? And how do you make sure you don’t frustrate or discourage your child by expecting too much from them?

Brittany Smith, Clinical Dietitian at Children's Health℠, shares tips on how to introduce your child to cooking, what tasks to enlist their help with at what ages, and when they’ll be ready to start using kitchen appliances.

Introducing your child to cooking tasks

Introducing children to cooking can be very rewarding. But it does require patience, supervision and careful consideration of your child’s abilities.

Here's a rough idea of how your child might progress over time:

• Start with basic, no-cook tasks. Have your child wash fruits and vegetables, tear lettuce or herbs, stir dry ingredients and set the table.

• Add simple cooking tasks. Have your child measure dry ingredients, mix batters, spread butter or toppings and use cookie cutters.

• Introduce safe food preparation. Have them cut soft foods with child-safe knives, peel vegetables with safe peelers and grate cheese – all with supervision.

• Teach about contamination. Make sure they know they should never lick a spoon without asking you if it’s safe. And teach them to thoroughly and immediately wash their hands after handling raw meat, fish or eggs.

To help make cooking a fun, bonding learning experience, try to:

• Praise their efforts at each stage. Say something like: Great job cracking that egg without dropping it into the bowl.

• Turn mistakes into teachable moments. Say something like: It’s not easy to crack an egg without getting any shell into it. Let me show you how to fish out the shell pieces.

• Celebrate successes. Say something like: Wow, you cracked an egg without getting any shell in it this time. That’s awesome progress.

At what age can children start helping in the kitchen?

Children as young as 2 years old can start helping in the kitchen with simple tasks.

“It’s very important that parents and caregivers assess each child’s ability and readiness based on their maturity level and development stage – not just their chronological age. And that’s because every child develops at their own pace,” says Smith.

Important factors to assess your child’s readiness include:

• Interest and enthusiasm for helping in the kitchen. Do they ask to help? Do they enjoy pretend cooking or playing with kitchen toys?

• Ability to follow instructions and safety rules. Can they stop when you say “hot” or “sharp”? Do they follow simple two-step directions like “wash your hands and bring your plate”?

• Fine and gross motor skills. Can they safely hold a spoon, pour from a small pitcher, or carry light items without dropping them?

• Attention span and ability to focus on a task. Can they stay engaged for a few minutes without getting distracted? Do they finish simple tasks like wiping the table?

Age-appropriate kitchen tasks for kids

You know your child best in terms of what they may be ready for. But here are some general guidelines to follow.

“It’s perfectly OK to tell a child ‘not yet’ if you think a task is beyond their abilities,” says Smith.

Ages 2 to 3

Kids in this age group are often ready to:

• Wash fruits and vegetables

• Tear lettuce

• Stir room temperature ingredients

Ages 3 to 5

Kids in this age group are often ready to:

• Measure dry ingredients

• Mix batter

• Knead dough

Ages 5 to 7

Kids in this age group are often ready to:

• Cut soft foods with a dull knife

• Crack eggs

• Set the table

Ages 8 to 10

Kids in this age group are often ready to:

• Use a can opener

• Peel vegetables

• Use the microwave

Ages 10 to 12

Kids in this age group are often ready to:

• Follow simple recipes

• Use appliances with supervision

Using kitchen appliances

Microwave

Children can typically start using the microwave with supervision when they are 7 or 8 years old and tall enough to safely reach the microwave without standing on their tiptoes.

As you teach your child to operate the microwave, be sure they:

• Understand that food can be hot, even if it does not look hot.

• Stir food after it’s been heated.

• Let it cool down before taking a bite.

Learn more about kitchen safety tips.

Stove

Children can begin using the stove at around 10 to 11 years old, with close supervision.

As they learn to use the stove, be sure to teach them to:

• Use the back burners when possible – to reduce the risks of accidents.

• Turn pot handles inward, so they’re not sticking out and likely to get bumped.

• Use potholders while stirring.

• Pay attention to not putting their hands on the stove top after cooking – and letting it cool down.

• Make a habit of keeping the stove area clean and not putting anything but pots and pans on it.

“Teaching kids to cook helps them build lifelong skills and develop healthy eating habits. It also makes for great bonding time,” says Smith.

Oven

Children around 11 to 12 years old are also often ready to use the oven with supervision.

You can help teach them about safety when being around heat by:

• Teaching them proper use of oven mitts and how to safely handle hot dishes.

• Supervising them very closely – until they demonstrate consistent, safe practices.

The benefits of involving kids in food preparation

“When kids help make something, they’re generally a lot more likely to eat it – and enjoy it,” says Smith. “So if your child helps make a salad and puts apples and raisins in it, they’re probably going to be more enthusiastic about eating salad that night than they usually are.”

Smith recommends that parents have kids help start making their own lunches early on by giving them age-appropriate tasks and adding responsibilities and skills as they get older. “Again, this helps them have buy-in to eat what they put in their lunch. And it also teaches them about the components of a healthy lunch,” she says.

Parents can be reluctant to let their kids help in the kitchen because it poses certain dangers and it can take longer or lead to more dishes. But the payoff of training your kids to help and learn to cook can be huge.

“Meal planning and cooking are such great life skills to give a child – it builds confidence, encourages healthier choices and creates meaningful moments together,” Smith says.

Learn more

Learn more about how we help families with kids of all ages learn more about healthy eating – and the cooking classes we offer – through our Get Up & Go program.