VRG > Vegetarian Journal > 1994 Issue July > Children in the Kitchen

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Children in the Kitchen

By Amy Shuman, R.D.

Does this visualization inspire you or depress you? While working with children in various settings throughout the years, I have found that if we are properly prepared for their energy and willingness to help, then we can provide for optimum learning and growth experiences (and the making of special memories) for all involved.

No matter what the age of the child, a good rule is "safety first!" These ideas may help to make sure that the kitchen is a safe haven for those little helping hands:

• Maintain close supervision around heat. Never let a child near hot oil or boiling syrups.
• Point all saucepan handles toward the back of the stove to avoid spills and burns.
• Use long-handled wooden spoons, which don't get hot.
• Use extra-big bowls to avoid spills and large messes.
• Use small oven mitts for older children. (You can shrink an adult-size mitt in your dryer.)
• Use aprons to protect clothing. (An adult's old shirt put on backwards for fun, or a cobbler's small apron or frock, can be used.)
• Cut fruit/vegetables in half; then place flat side down to cut. Use a cutting board on a flat surface for chopping.
• Teach children the proper way to use equipment. If you have hand-beaters or hand-graters, let the child experiment with these.
• When older children use an electric mixer, show them the slow and medium speeds. Use an extra-large bowl with a wet dish towel underneath to keep it steady.
• Allow young children to have their own cooking equipment drawer or cupboard to store their special things.
• Use a serrated plastic knife for young children. Older children can use regular knives to chop fruits and vegetables.

As you begin to think about a meal or snack, imagine what you will be doing and what the children in your life can do to help. Prepare some things ahead of time, if needed. When it's time to work together, make sure that the work space is at the child's level. For instance, place a sturdy chair with its back to the stove, sink, or counter for the child to hold onto for balance. Use stools of various heights to make the experience pleasant. Of course, cooking activities offer a great opportunity to teach cleanliness. Children need to learn always to wash their hands before preparing or eating any meals or snacks. Gentle reminding is often necessary, sometimes for years, in order for these ideas to become ingrained as habits.

While working with children in schools, clinics, and at home, I have found the following recipes always to be fun for them. Adapt as necessary to fit to the needs of your family.

SPARKLING FRUIT JUICE
Children enjoy "adding the bubbles," even when they are very young.

Put ice in a cup and then half fill with your favorite unsweetened juice, such as orange, pineapple, or apple. Add club soda or seltzer water to fill cup.You can also add a piece of fruit if desired.

APPLE SANDWICH
Use a serrated knife for safety. Help children find the "star" in the center of the apple.

Slice favorite apple crosswise into about 6 to 8 slices. Spread peanut butter on half the slices and top with another slice of apple to make sandwiches.

TRAIL MIX
Large quantities of this mix keep well if stored in a tightly covered container or jar. Use any mixture of cereals and fruits that your children like.

1/2 cup your favorite breakfast cereal
1/2 cup Wheat or Corn Chex or other cereal
1/2 cup bite-sized Shredded Wheat
1/2 cup small pretzel sticks or tiny pretzels
1/2 cup peanuts (omit for children under age 5)
1/2 cup raisins or other chopped dried fruit

Combine all the ingredients in an oversized bowl and mix gently with a wooden spoon.

PAPER PLATE DELIGHT
This activity is great for birthday parties or rainy days. Allow a lot of time to be creative and then to consume their treat.

Give each child a paper plate. Encourage them to arrange assorted pieces of fruit or vegetables, such as pears, apples, bananas, raisins, strawberries, grated carrots or sprouts to make a face or entire body design such as a clown or monster. n example would be a peach half face with raisin eyes, banana-slice ears, a strawberry mouth, and grated carrot hair.

FUNNY SANDWICHES
Offer children a plate of all types of toppings and allow them a lot of time to be creative.

Spread whole wheat bread with any variety of nut butter. Decorate with fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, etc., to make faces. rated carrot or cabbage or bean sprouts make fun hair.

From the time my nephew, Ben, was two, he helped my husband, John, make whole-grain oatmeal yeast bread. During those early years, the three of us huddled closely together, with me holding Ben on a high "bar-type" stool. Ben could then add flour into a bowl, one cup at a time, as Uncle John kneaded it. My mom lent me old-fashioned tiny loaf pans that she had collected through the years and "Ben's buddy bread" became "the thing" to do. He asked John to bake every day during his two-week vacations with us. As he grew, the jobs became more involved, until the time that he helped to knead the bread and would insist on putting a "nose print" in it, as it smelled so good. The idea here is to "match the child's age to the job." This list may help to identify what to expect from children.

AGE 2

• Spin lettuce and tear it into bite-sized pieces
• Mix bean or nut loaves with hands
• Help set table (maybe put out napkins)
• Put pre-measured dry ingredients into an over-sized bowl.
• Put in a pinch of salt.

AGE 3

• Gather ingredients
• Pour frozen vegetables into a pot to be steamed
• Count carrots for a vegetarian stew
• Squeeze a lemon or orange
• Mix dough for muffins/cookies
• Cut greens (with child-size blunt-edge scissors)
• Snap fresh beans

AGE 4

• Cut parsley or other herbs with blunt-edge scissors
• Shuck fresh corn
• Cut cucumbers/strawberries/bananas with a plastic knife
• Mix homemade salad dressing
• Mix cereal
• Wash grapes/apples
• Continue to learn more about setting a table

AGE 5

• Make sandwiches/peanut butter crackers
• Fill napkin holders
• Stir pudding
• Make cake/other desserts

AGE 6

• Mash potatoes
• Do simple recipes once child can read
• Learn to measure correctly

AGE 7 ON UP

• Progress as child learns more
• Make tofu French toast/pancakes (takes coordination)
• Peel/chop harder vegetables
• Put water on to boil

When I was a child, my mom decided that, because I was always underfoot in the kitchen, she would "give me" the drawer at my eye level underneath the oven. She tells me stories of how I would play for hours with the metal measuring cups and spoons, small pots and pans, etc., that she had designated as mine. She gave me a real gift — my "own stuff" and the freedom to play as I liked in an area where she spent a lot of time.

Here are a few more ideas that might help you to assist your children in the kitchen:

1. Cooking boosts self-confidence and self-image. Children are artists. Let them create something that is pleasing to their eyes and stomachs.
2. Children don't eat "because it's good for them." They eat because it looks and tastes good.
3. Don't expect perfection. Let children be creative. Be sure to offer praise.
4. Children are more likely to eat something they helped prepare or grew in a garden.
5. Helping children learn to be self-sufficient combats their wanting all the convenience foods on television advertisements. Being "couch potatoes" decreases activity levels, and encourages eating foods which are high in fat, sugar, and salt.
6. If vegetables are disliked, wait awhile and give the child a chance for change. Then reintroduce the foods.
7. Serve small portions. As adults, we think children should be eating much more than they usually need. For the first few years, offer one tablespoon of each food for each year of the child's age.
8. Don't bargain by saying statements such as, "Eat everything and get dessert." Children like a food even less when this is suggested. Give a taste of dessert and don't make it a big deal.
9. Allow children to experience hunger and how hungry they are. In America, we have forgotten what it is to be hungry. We generally eat three meals a day, regardless of our body's needs.
10. Adults can set healthy eating patterns for children. Be a good role model!
11. Smart parents learn that it's more fun at mealtime to serve colorful, nutritious foods that taste good, and have the kids happy and eating, than to face fights at each meal. Mealtime should be pleasant, not a battleground.
12. Create a party-like atmosphere. Have a picnic inside on the floor on a rainy day or create an Italian night with a red and white tablecloth and some special napkins. Your children will think mealtime is the greatest!
13. Parents can share more time with children when they involve them in mealtime. While learning, the children get attention and enjoy the fact that they are helping.

Our local WIC program features a video for parents and caretakers of children ages 2 through 5. Its title, No Better Gift, is well chosen. The narrator states at the end that, "there may be no better gift to give our children than the sense of good nutrition." My challenge to readers is this: Find a child, even if there are none in you life at this time, and plan some special food experiences to create positive memories for that little one. Making food fun helps us to be children again. Relive the fun and enjoy! At the same time you will be teaching vegetarianism to young children.

Amy Shuman, R.D., worked for the Allegany County, Maryland Health Department. She designed and produced a video, with an accompanying cookbooklet called, Cooking with Ben and Aunt Amy, in which Amy's 10-year old nephew starred with her. Many of the ideas presented in this article are taken from that compilation of information.

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