Eating together as a family, or learning favourite recipes from parents or loved ones, can create fond memories and cultivate useful culinary development. Family meals always bring members closer together, so here are some useful parenting tips to get your kids start cooking!

Health

• We are all concerned about making sure our children eat a healthy, balanced diet, but it can be a bit more tricky to convince the child in question to cooperate. If your child is a fussy eater, or reluctant to try new things, then making food together can be a great way to encourage them to be more adventurous. A child who is involved in choosing what to make, buying ingredients and making the food will be much more likely to try the results.
• To bring them round to your way of thinking, try making healthier versions of their favourite junk food such as beef burgers or fish fingers.

Choosing a recipe

• Pick something simple, fun and hands-on. There are plenty of children’s recipe books in shops and libraries if you are stuck for ideas – let the kids browse and decide what they want to make.
• Pick age-appropriate recipes – something quick and easy for the youngsters, and more complicated dishes for older kids.
• Perhaps suggest to your teenager that they cook one meal a week for the family so that they can practice their skills. Supervise them at first to teach them hygiene and safety in the kitchen.
• With younger children, steer clear of recipes involving dangerous equipment such as sharp knives, hobs and ovens. Think carefully about what might pose a danger to your child and put it out of reach. Never leave a young child alone in the kitchen.
• Always offer help when it comes to the harder jobs.
• Explain the importance of clearing up after yourself, but help them do it.

Planning

• To minimise stress on your part, get all the ingredients organised before you start.
• Allow plenty of time – recipes will take longer than you expect them to when you have little helpers joining in.
• Things are guaranteed to get messy, so aprons are a pretty good idea.
• A fun way to stir up some enthusiasm is by engaging their imagination: explain where different ingredients come from and how they can be combined to make a healthy and delicious meal.