creating {healthy eating} habits in kids :: little kitchen helpers

During our kitchen event this week, I’m hoping to share some ideas for creating healthy eating habits in your kiddos! Today I’m going to show  you how I let my girls help out in the kitchen with age appropriate tasks, and tomorrow I’m going to show you how we do kitchen play!

I don’t think it’s a secret that if kids get to help with picking out and preparing meals, they will most likely be more excited about eating it.

I started my girls sitting up in their baby seat as soon as I could during cooking. MOSTLY because it was the only way I could get anything made, and still entertain an infant! As soon as they could hold a spoon I’d let them chew on it and pretend to stir. In those infant stages they were so mesmerized by watching me chop, stir, and talk to them while I was cooking 🙂 So if that is the stage you are in – give it a try!

My latest pic of my little kitchen helpers 😉

Around a year or so, I started teaching my first born how to wash up veggies and put them in a bowl. It kinda depends on the type of kid you have – I still can’t really trust my second born who is 16 months old to do this – she would be all over the place and probably shove everything in her mouth. My first born really understood instructions young and followed commands/copied tasks very well. I still involve my youngest but sparingly and with lots of supervision.

Just turned 2 here – helped me wash up zucchini and onto the sheet for roasting!

My first born started helping get food prepped to go in the oven around 2, like putting veggies on a sheet pan to roast, or dropping biscuits on a tray to bake. She would help scoop out a squash or a pumpkin for roasting and put veggies in a pot for a whole chicken. She could help dump ingredients into a bowl for making bread or pancakes, and “help me” count eggs to go into a recipe.  At this age I even let her start helping me smear butter on a whole chicken for roasting – good hand washing afterward of course!

Scooping out squash seeds! She was about 2 1/2 here.

This was also the age that I really could trust her to understand “hot”, and she was very trustworthy to sit with a long wooden spoon to stir a soup or skillet. Again, it really depends on the type of kid you have – my second has watched her sister do this for months now but there is no way I could trust her near anything hot at this point. She totally understands that it is hot but she would touch it just to test it out – my first would have never done that. I never left her by herself with the heat and usually was right there holding her arm or hand to guide and teach her how to stir.

At age 3 now she is very trustworthy to stir a pot of soup, and understands the stove, as I have taught her why it is hot and what it does. Start out slow with your kids if they have never done it before, and show them how to do it safely. These “learning tower” standers are SO helpful to get them to a good level and safe spot to help cook. My dad built me this one, but one of our SIMPLE moms, Carinn, did a review you can read HERE on a great learning tower if you are in the market for one!

My oldest is now almost 3 ½ and helps me pull a whole chicken apart after cooking. She is trustworthy not to spill a measuring cup with a spout to pour ingredients. She even helps me choose what is for dinner as I teach her how to put balanced meals together.

Just over 3 years old

Age 2 1/2 scooping out tomatoes for tomato soup.

But it pays to slow down and let them help you – my oldest can recite almost perfectly how to roast a chicken and make pea soup (her fav!). She knows that her eggs and milk come from the farm because we take her there to see it. She knows where and how veggies and fruit grow because as we walk through the grocery store to pick out produce we talk about where it comes from. She gets excited when we get to have “her” veggie for dinner than she picked out at the store or farmer’s market. It is so worth it!!!

Chloe watching the cows get milked at the farm where we get our milk from 🙂

So here are some more pics with some ideas – I hope this inspires you to get in the kitchen with your kids! If you already do, please leave some of your tips and and ages in the comments below – we can all learn from each other!

Age 2 putting the tops on for popsicles

Just over 3 and just over 1 spreading out granola to bake.

Stirring the filling for Thanksgiving pumpkin pie! Age 2 1/2

Chloe and her cousin making salad for Easter dinner. Almost 3 and 2 1/2

Just over 3 pulling kale leaves off for kale chips

This is my most recent picture of my oldest 🙂 She is growing up too fast!

Come back tomorrow! I’m gonna give you a peek at how we do kitchen play! HOURS of occupying fun for your kids!!!

This post was shared at Real Food Freaks Freaky Friday and Real Food Forager’s Fat Tuesday!