Kids and cooking

[Kcthepouchh8r]

So we were on a play date yesterday with a little boy that's five. Kid actually prepped/served lunch independently. Think pushing a chair to reach things in cabinets to get plates/pb/jelly, spreading pb/jelly into sandwiches with knife, serving snacks. Mom didn't get off her chair at all.

It was one of those head slapping moments for me because I still prep DS's meals even though he has the same ability; it's not like he has a delay in maturity or motor skills that would make those tasks beyond his abilities.

Tl;dr when were your kids making their own meals solo (outside of items that require cooking)?

[abs]

Not yet. DD probably could but I just haven't wanted to deal with more food battles.

[lala]

In the mornings, at almost 7 & 4, they can do cereal with milk, toast or toaster waffles on their own. I doubt the younger one could, but she would try.

About 6 months ago dd2 started asking to make her own pb&j. She needs a little help because the Costco jar of natural pb is hard to get out & spread.

I guess they do a lot on their own but I probably micromanage too much. Plenty of times I just do it out of habit and because it's faster.

They help with dinner prep a lot.

I've been trying to have them do more tasks independently this summer.

[quesyrah]

DS is 5 and could make himself a sandwich but I often don't let him.

He helps with cooking/baking a lot- measuring ingredients, chopping, etc. under supervision.

I'm sure he could fix himself his own lunch but I don't let him, and probably won't for awhile

[cna]

At 6 and 7 my kids are pretty good at making themselves a bowl of cereal, toast, sandwiches and snacks. They also love to help me cook dinner. I would say they really started doing it themselves around 5 or 6, but they showed an interest in being more independent well before that.

[nicolewi]

Wow. I didn't even consider having them do that but I probably should!!! I should be teaching my 6.5 year old to make sandwiches. My kids can pour cereal and sometimes drinks (carefully) but that's it so far. They (especially DS) love to help me cook and bake, but it's always with me right there.

[gastro]

DS is 4 and helps with most meals. He can prep, measure, use a toaster, mixer and blender. He's allowed to use a certain pair of scissors and a butter knife in the kitchen. We've had a learning tower in the kitchen since he was 2 so he was always helping me.
He helps himself to simple snacks and uses a stool to climb up on the counter to get stuff he wants.
He recently made a cake - measured everything on his own (I told him how much) and given the ingredients he knew the order they should be mixed in the kitchen aid. We make banana bread a lot and he can do that start to finish on his own. I pour the batter at the end and he's obviously not allowed near the hot oven by himself.

Today he will roll his own sushi for lunch.

He's responsible for clearing his plate and utensils at the end of dinner - scraping plate into trash and putting in dishwasher.

He does a weekly cooking project at his preschool too which all the kids love.

[jcm]

Wow! DD will get her own snack from the pantry & water from the dispenser in the fridge. I know I do way too much for her & need to encourage her to be more independent. She went through a phase about a year ago where she wanted to make her own PB & J & I was all for it but I guessed the novelty wore off & I didn't even notice until now.

[ashb62]

DD(7) almost always gets her own breakfast (cereal, toast, fruit, yogurt, waffles, etc) and snacks. She can make sandwiches, use the toaster and microwave, and pour drinks unless the container is really full. She packs her own school lunch sometimes, too.

She was probably around 5 when she started doing those things independently. I still do it for her a lot, though. Mostly out of habit, and also because I'm preparing food for her brothers.

She's probably old enough to start learning to prepare simple meals and use the stove/oven with supervision.

[dizzycooks]

Dd can make breakfast and has made yogurt, fruit and granola for all of us and puts it out on the table. She also makes pbj sandwiches. We've been working on other chores, but this fall I do plan on teaching her to prepare more things. As it is, she can and will get anything out of the fridge so she's a big help when I'm cooking.

[jnksmom]

DS and DD are 8 and 6. They are pretty independent for breakfast and lunch as long as it doesn't need to be cooked. I would say they have been doing it more for a year or so. DS also likes to help me cook

[cabbagecabbage]

DD is almost 3 and helps a lot. She loves it. I do let her stir at the stove and some dangerous stuff with supervision. I let her cut soft foods with a butter knife and crack eggs with my hands over hers.

[andrewsgal]

Both can get their own breakfast and lunch (6 & 8) Dd does the microwaving if needed. She and a friend made brownies from start to finish oven and all the other day. I was nervous but it turned out great. dD will also do eggs or stir fry on the stove.

[expectantsteelerfan]

I started letting ds make his own pb sandwiches a while ago.  And I think it was this past spring that I started having him make dd and him breakfast on the weekends so that dh and I could sleep in (seriously, that was the best idea ever.  I told them he could put on cartoons and get them food and as long as they didn't yell or do anything bad they could watch as many cartoons as they wanted till we got up).  Breakfast for them is usually just cereal and milk, or muffins from a bag on the counter, but he can make toast too.  I still make lunch for him most days but if he wants more or something he makes his own.  He still does stuff like leaves the bag of bread open on the FLOOR at times though.

[4speedy]

My head slapping moment came when I was drive my only two kids home from Friday night soccer with their friends. The friends were 8 and 5 at the time, same ages as my kids. They are brother and sister and the youngest two of 7 kids in their family. I made a comment that I would have to rush in to make the beds the moment we got home because I had forgotten to make them after doing laundry and it was close to bedtime. The 5 year old boy said, "You really should teach James to do that himself. It's not that hard."

I pretty much get all my parenting advice from that kid now. he tells me what I should have my kids doing and I listen.

Another story about the same family...the now 9 yo daughter was in my DD's class in kindergarten.  That's when we met the family.  The daughter kept begging for food from my DD's lunch.  I remember thinking "Oh, that poor family.  They can't even afford to feed all their kids!" And I started packing double of everything in my DD's lunch so there would be enough to share.  Until the mom called me.  She explained that starting in kindergarten, her kids all pack their lunches together the evening before.  The kindy daughter was goofing around rather than getting her lunch packed so they were trying to teach her responsibility by not re packing it for her.  I was asked to kindly stop sending food for her so she would learn to pack her own lunch.  Sure enough, she very quickly learned how to pack a healthy and well rounded lunch.  When I worked in the lunch room, she was the only kid eating every bit of what she brought and not wasting anything.