Age 5 to 12 : The Magic Number for Kids in the Kitchen

Hey gang,

I posted a little about this magic age yesterday on my socials, we received a huge response, so wanted to elaborate in a blog post.

I believe that teaching kids cooking skills is so much more than an extracurricular activity. This is a vital skill for life. The health benefits are huge to children has have been giving the opportunity to access just a few cooking classes.

The reason age 5 to 12 is the magic age to get your child into the kitchen is that they will be more willing to learn!

At this age, our kids thrive on independence and a sense of accomplishment, they will be more adventurous and willing to try new things.

As children reach their teen years research shows they start to perceive cooking as a chore, they lose interest and are more likely to continue the later years on convenience or takeaway food unless they are lucky enough to have a loved one to cook for them.

By teaching them culinary skills at a young age we are giving them independence and choice. I know as a busy parent it can be hard to prioritise teaching this skill because we find it hard to see our kids as adults.

Our mission is for every child in our cooking club to have the skills to cook for their future self!

As well as being fun, Our Family Cooking club gives a child the opportunity to Get hands-on with fresh ingredients, healthy foods, and new foods.

They will learn about how different ingredients appear in their natural form, and where our food comes from.

This helps them develop healthy eating habits because they’re more likely to try food that they’ve helped to cook. Setting them up for life. Cooking also helps build math skills – for example, when you count out teaspoons or measure liquid together it also helps build their vocabulary – for example, when you read a recipe together.

Cooking together is a great way to spend more time with your child, sharing the responsibility of cooking for your family, but not only that in our club they will make new friends from all over Ireland.

During our Kids in the Kitchen cooking classes, we like to go back to basics using basic utensils like scissors, graters, wooden spoons, and peelers as our main cooking tools.

The kids and parents are always amazed at the results they achieve. We develop all the recipes for class so they are doable for children, they can fully immerse themselves in the class and feel pride in what they have cooked at the end of class.

We love the idea of making the kitchen the heart of the home, building life skills, and a family bond.

Each class includes an hour-long Zoom session which is recorded and saved to our private member’s area with easy-to-read printable recipe cards.

All classes are recorded so you can cook at a time that suits
It is proven that simple recipe videos play a role in helping to support families to cook from scratch.

To help children of all abilities we give visual, reassurance, and flexibility to work at their own pace, giving enjoyment while growing confidence.
The difference in our recipes is that all the ingredients can be sourced in any supermarket and can be cooked, press to the plate in minutes.

Since the lockdown in 2020, we are proud to say we have cooked with over 500 children.

Jolene and Lils x