10 Ways to Spark their Interest 

Something I always enjoyed was cooking with my daughters. Because I used some clever (I think) ways to get them interested in it. They all continue to enjoy it and be creative when making their own meals today.

Children are like sponges and absorb everything we teach them. And the best way to teach is to DO! As Thanksgiving approaches, include your little ones in the meal prep and shopping trips. And try some of these hands-on cooking- related activities that I have listed by age range. There are ideas here for older children too, like mine!

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TODDLERS AND PRE-SCHOOL

Easy Bake Oven. I was so happy to see they still sell these! I actually had one growing up, and so did my girls. These are a wonderful way for little kids to get their first exposure to baking. They are just the cutest things, with the small pans and mixes. Super easy, holds their interest, and is very safe as well. They’ve updated it with new things to make, like pizza and pretzels. Yay. It makes a great Christmas gift for a small child!

Sandbox and Water Table. In the summers when I was young we played in the sandbox a lot. My dad actually made our sandbox, and it was nice and big with seats on the side. I had a small one like this one for my girls, which I liked because it could be covered when not in use. You can get all sorts of small kitchen toys to put in the sandbox and let them make their own pies and cakes and whatever. I also set up a water table! I think these are so much fun for little kids. Pouring the water using pitchers, bowls or measuring cups – this weirdly keeps them occupied for hours! It keeps them cool and entertained. If you don’t want to buy one, just set out a storage bin or other big container outside in your yard. Fill it with a hose and let them go to town!

Doll House. I grew up playing with this doll house, and I’m saving it for possible grandkids one day!

For my own daughters we had the Barbie Dream House. Ha! These little houses are the best things to spark your kids’ imagination and include tiny kitchen appliances that the mommy and daddy dolls can use.

Child-Sized Kitchen. This was a great Christmas present for my daughter when she was about four, an actual kitchen they can work in at their level. They can use the cooking outfit (apron etc) too! My girls LOVED to play with baby dolls, and this was a wonderful addition to their toys when they pretended to be mommies. Sitting the doll in the high chair and preparing food, feeding them…so cute and entertained them forever.

Play Dough. We loved playing with this SO much. Many of the sets they sell have food molds or simulate kitchen appliances like pasta makers! You can also use the things the kids play with in the sandbox, like cake pans, cupcake molds, etc. My kids loved to pretend to make pizza a lot 🙂 And you have to pretend to eat it! “Oh this is so good! Yum, Yum!!” Did you know you can easily make your own play dough too?

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Cute Cookbooks. When my daughter struggled with reading, we were actually told that cookbooks are a great way to keep attention and improve reading skills. We used these adorable books to make fun kid-friendly recipes.

And it does work, because if you miss a step in the process, you definitely learn the hard way. As my kids got older and interested in different cuisines, we got a bit more sophisticated, see the next section on HS and Beyond!

Menu Planning. One of the first posts I ever did was called, “How to Stop Hearing ‘What’s for Dinner?’” It used to annoy me because after a long work day, I was (for some reason) expected to pull some sort of creative, interesting, and delicious meal out of my hat. This gets on your nerves really fast. So I decided I wanted my kids to take an active role in the meal prep and share the work, and the calendar idea was a lifesaver.

Here’s how it goes. Go to the store, and get whatever foods YOU want your kids to eat. Varieties of proteins, pastas, veggies. Then make three lists of entrees, sides (ie rice, applesauce, garlic bread) and veggies. Print out a weekly calendar, and give this and the list to your kids. They then decide what foods go together each day, and which days they’ll eat what. Be sure to add to the calendar any activities planned for the week that will impact meals, like soccer practice or whatever. Those days you’ll want something fast and easy. You may want to allow for one day (Friday we like) to eat out as well. So just pre-populate the calendar as needed, then let them create the meals. Do this on Sunday, and post the calendar on the fridge. When they ask “what for dinner?” The answer is, “Look on the fridge!!” 

Play Restaurant. This one one of the cutest activities I used to do with the girls. Let them run their own restaurant! They choose the name of the restaurant, plan the menu, and design it too!

You are the patrons and you can even pay them with some monopoly bills 🙂 There are adorable outfits you can get the kids too, from aprons to chef hats. Depending on their age, you can help prepare whatever they need assistance with, but I like for them to pretty much do everything themselves, and I think they do, too. They can also set the table however they’d like. We used to do ‘color your own’ place mats that they could design and would be cute to use.

HIGH SCHOOL AND BEYOND!

Cooking Shows. This can apply to a lot of ages, but my youngest daughter and I got hooked on these when she got into high school. They are so popular now, and there are so many shows and celebrities doing them that you just need to find what you like best. We love Hells Kitchen, Top Chef, and MasterChef. We even watch MC from other countries like Australia and the UK. And My Kitchen Rules is awesome! So many of these shows focus on ‘home cooks, so they make them very accessible for those of us at home. We get very inspired to try things on our own, like recipes or new appliances. I invested in a pasta maker years ago, and we pull it now and then to try our hand at it. Also this pizza stone for the grill made cute and delicious personal pizzas this past summer.

Cookbooks. Just as in younger ages, cookbooks are great for kids to make creative choices. Older kids have more sophisticated palates (in my experience anyway), and can be ambitious with what they want to try. And they can even drive to the store for the ingredients at this age! Since my daughter loves sushi, I got her this book along with the tools (mat, roller, knife) to make it. She did a great job!

Themed Parties. This is really fun for older kids, like my daughters in their 20s. My oldest daughter and her boyfriend LOVE Asian food. She decided last year that they would rent an Airbnb over the holidays and have an Asian dinner party for Christmas Eve! Everyone brought something, and it was amazing. I brought bao buns and our steamer basket to make them. They had hot pot, dumplings, ramen. So yummy and festive.

We also love Mexican (tacos, yes), Greek, Indian- actually pretty much everything! It’s a lot of fun to do some research and try something new and different to round out a dinner party, like making your own tzatziki! Make it into a party with special utensils and serving dishes- ie chopsticks, ramen spoons, taco holders, etc. 

Do you have some ideas for fun ways to include kids with cooking? I’d love to hear!