As children grow into teen years, their desire to learn and do more increases. Whether it is more advanced academic material, or learning to drive, adolescence is a great time to learn new skills, especially cooking!
Plus who doesn’t love a delicious home cooked meal or perhaps freshly baked chocolate chip cookies that you just made yourself?
Working in the kitchen as we all know involves many steps and materials. There are dishes to put away, vegetables to wash, and meals to be cooked. Lots of different shaped kitchenware, thousands of food recipes, and oven temperatures to keep your eye on. All of this is a lot to manage for an adult, let alone a teenager.
But don’t fret, teens can learn to maneuver the kitchen safely with your help and the following strategies below!
Develop a Cooking and Cleaning Routine
Ingredients, dishes, and utensils are out and spread around the kitchen. Counters are covered in oils, salts, and peppers. The more you cook, the more the plates stack up until eventually you finally turn around and notice a monstrous pile behind you. Yikes!
At this point, this is when you might notice the kids stepping away or running off completely. Avoid this pile up by educating your teen on the importance of “Clean as You Cook”.
Teach your teen to put dishes in the sink after each use and wipe counters as they clear up their areas.
Instruct your child to develop a habit of putting away any remaining ingredients and spices back into their retrospective places instead of waiting until the meal is complete.
It’s unlikely that your child will have to hover over the pan and mix continuously. Instead of standing around idle, educate your teen to use time wisely and wash dishes during cooking wait times.
Encourage teamwork among your children. The kitchen is a great place to experiment while also bonding with family or friends. Have teens assign one another roles of either gathering supplies, mixing ingredients, and cleaning up workspaces to finish the task more effectively and efficiently. Remember, teamwork makes the dream work!
Begin With the Easiest Meals Then Build On
Make it easy and once your teen masters that meal, make it more complex. Chaining of tasks is an effective way for children to learn new skills. Chaining involves breaking down tasks into smaller steps and allowing the child to master the step. As your child begins to master the steps, add additional steps one at a time, ensuring mastery with each one until eventually, they can independently complete the whole task (Porter, 2016).
Backward and Forward Chaining
This breakdown of tasks can either be done by backward or forward chaining. Backward chaining involves teaching a sequence with the last step first. Until children master the last step, the previous one is not introduced. Forward chaining involves teaching the child the sequence from beginning to end. Again, you introduce each step to the child one at a time until they master that step (Pratt & Steward, 2020).
For a free sample of step by step cooking with visuals, check out our 3 Ingredient Pancake recipe from our Neurodivergent-Friendly Cookbook.
Teach Your Teen Safety in the Kitchen
It’s Sunday morning, you and the kids are awake and ready to create new memories and experiment in the kitchen. You all head down to the kitchen and begin preparing your new recipe for homemade cookies. Bowls are out, ingredients are mixed, water is running, and the oven is on. Your child is so eager to see how the cookies are coming out and impulsively reaches into the oven and touches but doesn’t have an oven mitt on. Ouch!
Things like this happen and please remember it is not anyone’s fault. Rather than feeling guilty or bad, be proactive and educate your teen on safety in the kitchen to avoid any future injuries.
Kitchen Safety Rules to Teach:
Important rules to remember in the kitchen are:
- Always use oven mitts when handling hot kitchen dishes. It’s better to have it on and not need it than reach for a hot dish without the protection.
- When cooking on the stove, ensure your pan handles are pointing inward towards the stove rather than outwards towards the body. This will ensure no bump-ins with the handles and potential spillage of the pans onto the ground and more importantly, your child.
- Keep hot pots and pans within an arm’s length of reach, especially when mixing. Avoid having your child’s face be within the level of the pot or pan to avoid steam in eyes or burning of skin.
- Never leave meals unattended. Emphasize the importance of being near the pot or pan when cooking. Avoid heading to the bedroom to play videos or running outside. Meals may boil over or spill, and so, the sooner your child recognizes this, the sooner they can take action.
- Avoid cross contamination and the spread of bacteria by using different cutting boards and knives for meats and vegetables.
- Be extra careful when using cutting utensils. Sharp knives can lead to serious injury if handled incorrectly. Teach your child how to properly cut, starting with easy to cut food items such as bananas and breads and working your way to thicker textures such as meats or hard fruits. Equip your teen with cut resistant gloves to protect their fingers.
Educate Your Teen on Different Kitchenware
There are endless amounts of kitchenware and utensils out there. These include different measuring spoons, mixers, and appliances. Looking at everything novel may be intimidating for your child and may even discourage them from cooking.
Rather than letting these uncertainties settle in, equip your child with knowledge on the proper use of each utensil. Be sure to not only educate your child on what each utensil or appliance is, but provide encouragement and praise for properly using them.
Encourage your child to experiment with different sized and shaped utensils and process how each utensil felt and if they notice a difference when using certain types.
Good questions to ask are:
- Do you notice the eggs look fluffier when you use this whisk versus that fork?
- Does the electronic mixer make mixing the cake mix easier or harder?
- Do you like the way the pancakes are cooked on this pan versus that pan?
Contact a Professional
Not every parent or teacher comes equipped to assess and evaluate a teen’s skills in the kitchen. Even if you evaluate your teen needs additional support to learn their way around the kitchen, you may not know the best course of action moving forward. Reach out to a life skills coach with experience in helping teens and young adults develop greater independence.
Final Thoughts
The kitchen is a great place for teens to bond with family, learn new skills, and experience the wonders of cooking. Help your teen to learn their way around the kitchen by educating and guiding them along the way. Be sure to:
- Assist teens with developing a cooking and cleaning routine.
- Begin with easier meals and break them down so they can master each step.
- Teach your teen critical safety rules to remember in the kitchen.
- Educate your teen on different kitchenware.
By working with your teen, you can help them successfully learn these skills!
Further Reading
- Porter. (2016, September 20). Fostering Independence: Introducing Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
- Pratt, C. & Steward, L. (2020). Applied behavior analysis: The role of task analysis and chaining.
- Life Skills Advocate – The Neurodivergent-Friendly Cookbook
- Life Skills Advocate – Executive Function Coaching