How to nurture toddler's interest in cooking

@karanu, thanks for the tag. my DD loves cooking too (same here...its in her genes). From the beginning, even before she could talk/walk, I used to get her to watch me cook. We bonded so much over food. Mine is almost 3 and half too. Knives are off limits but over a period of time I ave taught her to measure the ingredients.

Say if I am making pancakes/ cupcakes etc, she helps me measure the flour, add water and stir the batter. She has perfected making pan cakes now. She can even flip!
As for veggies, I cut the veggies and she gets to wash them and put them in the pan. With assistance, she even stirs the pot.

Get her to measure things and give it to you. talk to her about the veggie. The color, how its grown (root veggies etc), how to cook etc. Mine likes to pluck the leaves from the mint bundle and curry leaf bundles.

 

while making chapatis, give ur daughter the dough , so she can make round balls, and even use rolling pin to make chapati.

For salad mixing
raitha making
microwaving anything
arranging plates and spoons and filling water in glasses
storing food in containers and putting the in the refrigerator


My two year old tried few days ago to do a chapati with rolling pin. he tries to imitate everything we do. He tied to imitate us by washing clothes in a tub 2 days ago.

 

I hate cooking though I do it and god knows where mine got the interest from! Anyway I can happily palm off whatever she can do to her

Measuring our rice and dale, Whisking eggs, separating leaves from the stalk (methi, curry leaves, coriander etc), cutting vegetables and fruit (mine started using a real knife from the time she was about 2.5 under intense supervision), clearing and sweeping the kitchen floor, squeezing lemon, rolling out roti dough, mashing stuff, mixing stuff...

Mine loves the tin with raw spices too, I get her to put in a spoon /pinch of seeds into a separate bowl which I can then add to the oil.

 

My little niece is interested in cooking.

I give her little chapathi dough while making chapathis. she makes her own. I dont let her cut veggies. Whenever she comes home, we cook together. Things that need mixing with hand, beating egg, separating curry leaves. I at times take her out for shopping. the little one knows how to select veggies. i dont let her near stove. rest little things she knows....its amazing how kids learn!!

 

@karanu i am not getting the tag..so i just chanced on this thread.

it is just a phase that they want to try everything that you are doing..once in school it reduces a little..and then it catches enthusiasm as they watch cooking shows and then the real drill starts.. (kidding enjoy the phase)

we used to have a lot of talks while seggregating vegetables. putting them into bags..i had those netted bags.

I allowed them to peel vegetables..sepangizhangu/colcassia, potates especially.and even shallots..
remove leaves and store them in boxes.coriander, curry leaves and mint.
help clean greens too.

but this does not actually satisfy them. i know..

rolling rotis..making rounds for making rotis/puris. it helps them with hand coordination improving motor skills.

once a week/15 days we used to have these ummini kozhukattai..the mini steamed balls..as tiffin..so they got to sit and do it..takes a lot of patience..but the same size, the hand eye coordination and patience sets for say 30 minutes..then they move away.

making soppu for kozhukattai.. not necessary it should be a festival do it once a month. that will keep the creativity and interest up.

i allow them to pat adai on a plate..same goes for seedai, pressing the sevai nazhi/murukku press.

and no i never allowed them near the stove until they were older..

making bread sandwiches..jam/butter..gives her a lot of satisfaction. you only need to guide her to do it, then clean the mess..it gives her a way to keep things back in place. and also clean the mess.

mixing salads. arranging fruits, vegetables for salad on plate..gives creativity. you can also use biscuit cutter, cookie moulds to cut cucumber, carrots..the flower, duck, round,star shape, the small ones make nice shapes..the sense of thrill on the face...great..

later you can show her spooning batter into mini idli moulds.. yes there will be mess..without the messing we are not going to learn..and remember all this is fun and she will remember it for a long long time..my kids do...

always place a newspaper and work on it. she will learn.
folding kitchen napkins, wiping and checking spoon grooves...
simple things go a long way.

 

@butterflyice and the interest comes back to bite you when they get hooked on to masterchef and you get irritated when you observe them trying to smell the vapor coming out of the dish lol...these days, it is al dente, crisp, too tart, too spicy, too bland that easily gets in to describe food..:rotfl.

@karanu mess is good..if you keep her away from mess then how will she learn it is ok to mess and also cleaning up mess. i know of kids who do not like anything sticky on their fingers..i like the hands on mess..

I know the back breaking cleaning too..:bang