COOKING WITH KIDS
What better way to spend time with your children than cooking. You can get your children involved with meal preparation from two years on up. They may want to try more foods if you get them interested early. Have two year olds start off by letting them play with your pots, pans, mixing and measuring spoons. They will pretend they are cooking and you can play along too. Around the ages of three to four is a good time to let children help set the table. They can have fun stirring or mixing cold foods. Let them use their hands to mix doughs, toss salads, make cookies, etc. Be sure to have them wash up first. Young children should never use the stove or sharp knives. Make sure you keep handles of hot pots and pans pushed back away from little hands. Remember: (1) Be patient; (2) Plan ahead-get ingredients out before starting to cook; (3) Don't expect the finished product to look exactly like you would if you were cooking; (4) It may be messy; (5) Cleaning up can be as fun as the preparation.