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My kids are 11 and 7 years old, and have been cooking in the kitchen since they were four. I have always included them in cooking, and now they rarely need me for breakfast or lunch preperation. My 11 year old makes a mean shrimp scampi, and can do almost everything I do in the kitchen short of draining pots of pasta and grilling meats.
My daughters started by mixing tuna and mayo, spreading peanut butter on bread and celery, tearing up salad greens, etc. They now prepare breakfasts for themselves, slicing fruits, and preparing instant oatmeal in the microwave. There are always cold cereals that are self-serve, and a miriad of toaster-ready waffles and pancakes. Bacon is microwave ready, and easy for them to prepare themselves, and they can both scramble eggs on the stove themselves.
They can heat up a can of soup to accompany their sandwiches, microwave mac-n-cheeze, make baked potatoes with melted cheeses in the microwave, and prepare many other microwave oven treats. They also make toasted cheese sandwiches, which are a good alternitive to grilled cheese, as they use less fat. They toast the bread, layer on the cheese, and microwave the sandwich for 20 seconds. This is a lunch they make for themselves on the weekends. They also prepare english muffin pizzas, as long as the 11 year old does oven-duty.
Since they can both read, they can follow directions on any microwavable package. The seven year old is prohibited from microwaving anything liquid ( to avoid the scald burn danger) but aside from needing help with that step, she is an accomplished chef. She makes the best meatloaf in the house, having learned how to use measuring spoons as a pre-schooler by cooking with me. We cook our meatloaf in the microwave, and it comes out juicy and wonderful in about 20 minutes.
By starting them in the kitchen as toddlers, they learned safety and technique at an early age. I love sharing the kitchen with my daughters, and they surprise me with their creativity and love of cooking.
On mother's day, my breakfast in bed is actually tasty! It's great.
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