As children grow, they are able to help out with different tasks in the kitchen. Make sure you emphasize the importance of hand-washing before and after helping!
At 2 years:
- Wipe tables
- Hand items to adult to put away (such as after grocery shopping)
- Place things in trash
- Tear lettuce or greens
- Help “read” a cookbook by turning the pages
- Make “faces” out of pieces of fruits and vegetables
- Rinse vegetables or fruits
- Snap green beans
At 3 years:
All that a 2 year old can do, plus:
- Add ingredients
- Talk about cooking
- Scoop or mash potatoes
- Squeeze citrus fruits
- Stir pancake batter
- Knead and shape dough
- Name and count foods
- Help assemble a pizza
At 4 years:
All that a 3 year old can do, plus:
- Peel eggs and some fruits, such as oranges and bananas
- Set the table
- Crack eggs
- Help measure dry ingredients
- Help make sandwiches and tossed salads
At 5 years and older:
All that a 4 year old can do, plus:
- Measure liquids
- Cut soft fruits with a dull knife
- Use an egg beater
Make Food Fun
Picky eating is temporary and there are many things you can do to deal with picky eating in a positive way. One way is to make food fun!
Get creative in the kitchen:
- Name a food your child helps create. Make a big deal of serving “Dawn’s Salad” or “Peter’s Sweet Potatoes” for dinner.
- Cut a food into fun and easy shapes with cookie cutters.
- Encourage your child to invent and help prepare new snacks or sandwiches. For example, make your own trail mixes from dry cereal and dried fruit.
- Have your child make towers out of whole-grain crackers, spell words with pretzel sticks, or make funny faces on a plate using different types of fruit.
- Jazz up the taste of vegetables with low-fat dressings or dips. Try hummus or bean spread as a dip for veggies.