By Paloma Cortez
Doing kitchen chores with kids is a fun and helpful way to get them engaged and entertained. When the little ones are having fun, they learn better and faster, moreover they form bonds of affection with the people who accompany them. In addition to completing certain tasks such as teamwork with their family, children feel fulfilled and develop a sense of responsibility, pride, and connection with their beloved ones.
The activities to be carried out in the kitchen with the children will depend on the age and skillset that each child has. Activities can be from helping to set the table to chopping foods and even cleaning up the kitchen!
Here are some ideas for different ages:
Preschoolers:
- Set up the table
- Clean up the table after eating
- Wash veggies
- Silverware storage
- Wipe down benches or chairs
- Start the washing cycle of the dishwasher
School aged children (5 to 11 years):
- Make sandwiches with spreads
- Fill and empty the dishwasher
- Empty the trash bin
- Peel and grate vegetables
- Storing groceries
- Chop soft foods under supervision and appropriate utensils
- Clean dishes to be washed
These are just ideas, but each family is different and surely in it they will know how to organize.
It is important to consider that we must congratulate the children every time they help us and complete a task and validate with words of affection the work they did in the kitchen. Likewise, you have to remain patient at all times and support whenever is necessary to facilitate the task and avoid a negative response from children towards kitchen work.
It will probably not be an easy task at first, but in the long-term kids will be formed as adults who can be self-sufficient in the kitchen so they can be proud of themselves, and who knows, maybe become superstar chefs!
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