Cooking abilities by children’s age

When dealing with children, our advice is to think safety first, and don’t try and tackle anything you feel unsure about. The skills mentioned for each age range are meant to be a guide, and will depend on the maturity, dexterity and exposure of each child.

Activities to try with 3 – 5 year olds (simple, nothing sharp)

• Weighing – pouring or spooning ingredients into scales. Using measuring spoons
• Washing fruit and vegetables
• Cutting soft ingredients eg butter, mushrooms, strawberries using a strong plastic knife
• Breading and flouring – you can set up three stations with flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs for fish fingers
• Mixing – using either a spoon or hands to mix together ingredients
• Tearing and squashing – tearing herbs and lettuce or squashing fruit
• Sieving – it’s best to balance the sieve over a bowl and tap it rather than shaking it around!
• Using a pestle and mortar – a light wooden one is better than a heavy one
• Kneading – light kneading can be fun but you’ll need to step in to complete the task
• Rolling, shaping and cutting dough – choose plastic cutters and a small rolling pin
• Spreading – buttering bread and spreading icing
• Podding, picking and hulling – podding broad beans, picking leaves, tomatoes or grapes off the vine and hulling strawberries

Activities to try with 5 – 7 year olds (introduction of cutting tools)

• Cutting using a small knife – children should learn how to form their hand into a claw to keep fingertips out of danger, take a look at our knife skills video
• Cutting with scissors – if you can get smaller scissors or children’s scissors, use them to snip herbs
• Grating – fingers can easily be grated so keep watch and make sure they don’t get too close to the end of whatever they’re grating
• Measuring – even the very youngest children can do this but as children learn to read and do basic maths, this is a great opportunity for them to do this with less supervision
• Rubbing in – rubbing in flour and butter with fingertips is called for in many recipes
• Beating and folding – show children how to beat cake mixture with a wooden spoon or fold in egg whites without knocking out too much air
• Greasing and lining a cake tin or tray
• Peel oranges or hard-boiled eggs – make sure eggs aren’t too hot, run them under the cold tap first and be careful of residual heat
• Setting the table – encourage them to cherish the ritual of family meals

Activities to try with 8 – 11 year olds (Activities from 5-7yo + planning activities)

• Planning the family meal
• Following a simple recipe
• Finding ingredients in the cupboards and fridge
• Using a peeler
• Whisking, using a balloon whisk or handheld mixer
• Using heat on a hob, oven and microwave
• Making salads
• Opening cans

Adapted from http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/guide-cookery-skills-age