Getting tweens in the kitchen can be challenging.
From busy schedules and handheld devices that typically have most of their attention, tweens can have a short attention span.
Helping your tweens learn how to navigate a kitchen will set them up for success. They can learn about nutrition and other essential life skills.
Here are some ways to persuade your tweens to spend some time in the kitchen.
1. Plan Meals Together
Make your tween a part of the meal plan. Meals may vary depending on the time of year. For example, summer is an excellent time to put tweens in charge of making lunch or dinner.
Breakfast might be a better option for the school year if they’re in extracurricular activities after school.
Have your tween research recipes and plan a few meals to practice.
Some excellent breakfast options for beginners are spiced yogurt muffins or sweet potato hash. Keep it simple so they don’t get overwhelmed and throw in the towel.
Pizzas are a great jumping-off point because they’re so fun to make.
Come up with a cooking schedule with your tween so they’re involved every step of the way. Show your tween how much work goes into meal planning from beginning to end.
Start with searching for sales and creating meals based on what you find. Including them in the process will help them know where to begin when it’s their turn to cook and into adulthood as well.
2. Let Them Choose
Most tweens like to make decisions—give them all the options. They’re coming into their own style and taste and figuring out what they want.
Give them a choice regarding what they want to make to get them interested. Let them research recipes and find something that piques their interest.
Have your tween make a shopping list of the ingredients they need for their chosen dish. Show them how to substitute healthy alternatives to ingredients, like subbing coconut oil for vegetable oil in a recipe.
Take it up a notch and teach them how to pair drinks with entrees. For example, crab meat is rich and sweet and pairs well with light and bitter drinks, and dry white wine pairs well with almost all seafood.
Shopping for groceries is part of the process. Take them to the store and let them do all the work. You can supervise, but let them take the lead.
If needed, let them start small with an appetizer or sweet treat. Who doesn’t love to bake? If baking gets your tween in the kitchen, start there!
Once they feel more comfortable, encourage them to branch out to entrees, side dishes and entire meals.
3. Create a Challenge
Make it fun by encouraging your child to think outside the box. Set them free in the kitchen to rummage through ingredients to create a meal.
They’ll need guidelines, like knowing how to make a nutritious meal with adequate sides and portions for the family.
Ensure that your tween is up for the challenge by teaching them how to use ingredients for multiple meals as you cook together. Research recipes for inspiration and let them have at it.
Or, try a 30-day challenge for your tween to participate in. This challenge uses a variety of recipes to teach everything from preparation to cooking.
Ingredients are often versatile. For example, when preparing vegetables like broccoli to toss into an alfredo, prompt your tween to consider what other meals they could create with the veggies.
Teach them how a sauteed spinach, zucchini, and mushroom combination can be thrown into an omelet, used on a pizza or also used in the alfredo.
Allow your tweens to become creative and create their own recipes to test out.
4. Foster Independence
Tweens are at the tender age of discovering independence on their own terms. Facilitate their independence by backing off and letting them do their thing.
If you let them flex their creativity without your input, they will likely become more confident and self-sufficient. They might need your guidance occasionally, but let them come to you and ask for it.
It can be easier said than done, but be patient—wait in the wings until your tween comes to you for help.
Ensure you’ve taught them safety protocols beforehand and supervise if they aren’t comfortable with kitchen objects like sharp knives.
However, don’t do it for them. Allow your tween to spread their wings and discover their likes and dislikes in the kitchen. It might encourage them to spend a lot more time in there!
Teaching Tweens How To Cook
Your tween can learn a lot about cooking and other life skills in the kitchen.
Use this time to teach your tween as many natural lessons as possible and bond with them.
Kitchen skills are valuable in the real world as much as they are in your home. Use these tips to get your tween in the kitchen—the heart of the home.