Kitchen Chores for Kids

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How to Get Kids Cooking

One great way to expose your kids to new, real foods is to get them involved in the kitchen. Whether you have a toddler on your hands or a middle-school-aged child, this is a great way to open the eyes of your picky eater. And depending on how old your child is it’s possible they can even help—versus hinder—your progress in the kitchen. A lot of work goes into providing real food meals each day, so it only makes sense for everyone to pitch in and do their part!

Click through the gallery to see kitchen chores for kids in each age group.

Photo: Judith Haeusler/Getty Images

Toddler

It's never too early to get kids engaged in simple kitchen work. Keep them busy:

· Stirring pancake or other batter, scrambling eggs

· Wiping easy-to-reach surfaces after meals

Photo: johnnyscriv/Getty Images

Preschool

When kids gain a little more motor control, there's lots of safe stuff they can do. Ask them to try:

· Setting/clearing the dinner table

· Washing and drying vegetables, lettuce, and other produce (kids love using the salad spinner!)

· Assisting with simple food prep, like snapping off the ends of green beans, peeling hard-boiled eggs, or cutting soft foods (like bananas) with a dull knife

· Unloading (dull) silverware from the dishwasher

Photo: Radius Images/Getty Images

Elementary School (Kindergarten – 2nd grade)

Kids don't have to be big to be a big help—and to really get immersed in meal making. Here are some activities that can open them up to all kinds of foods:

· Cooking simple things at the stove with close supervision, like scrambled eggs, grilled cheese, oatmeal, and pancakes

· Independently preparing other basic dishes such as sandwiches, salads, toast, and heating up leftovers

· Assisting with the preparation of a more complex meal like getting out ingredients, chopping foods with a dull knife or close supervision, assembling meatballs, peeling shrimp, and measuring out spices

· Packing school lunches

· Filling water glasses for dinner

· Harvesting produce from the garden

· Completely emptying the dishwasher and placing hard-to-reach items on a dish towel (or using a stool to put them away)

· Picking out one to two dinner recipes for the week

· Adding items to a food shopping list (and helping mark off those purchases in the store)

· Putting groceries away after a shopping trip

· Putting away perishables after dinner

· Folding and putting away clean dish towels

· Ironing cloth napkins with supervision

· Sweeping or vacuuming kitchen floor after meals

Photo: Antenna/Getty Images

Elementary School (3rd – 5th grade)

This is the age range when a lot of kids begin cooking their own dishes. It's hard not to love a food you've made! And there are more responsibilities you can add too:

· Independently following and cooking simple recipes such as baked potatoes, steamed broccoli, popcorn, salad dressings, cookies, smoothies, etc.

· Taking out the kitchen trash (and/or compost)

· Loading dirty dishes into the dishwasher

· Hand-washing larger dishes

· Taking over more complex prep jobs like peeling carrots/potatoes, grating cheese, and chopping ingredients

· Cooking more complex foods on the stove with supervision like stir fry, chicken nuggets, and sautéed vegetables

Photo: Altrendo/Getty Images

Middle School

New teens have a tendency to hide in their rooms, but not when they're in charge of one of these tasks:

· Planning and preparing dinner for the family one day a week

· Independently making straightforward recipes, including muffins, granola cereal, chili, chicken noodle soup, and tacos

· Doing a complete “clean up” job after dinner

· Grilling foods with supervision

· Preparing foods that require the use of appliances like the food processor or electric mixer

Photo: Jose Luis Palaez Inc/Getty Images

High School

My suggestion for upperclassmen: Plan the meals, drive to the store, purchase all the groceries, cook for the family, and clean up afterward! At least this is what I am hoping for one day!

In reality, with some guidance, teenagers have similar capabilities as adults when it comes to kitchen chores—it’s just a matter of getting them to willingly contribute.

Photo: Bogdan Kosanovic/Getty Images

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Lisa Leake is a wife, mother, foodie, and blogger who chronicles her family’s journey on 100daysofrealfood.com as they seek out the real food in our processed food world. What started as a simple pledge has turned into a valuable and practical resource that’s now read by millions around the globe

100 Days of Real Food: Combat Picky Eating With These Kitchen Activities for Kids