Involve Your Kids in the Kitchen

It is important to include your children in meal preparation when they are young. Doing so is a great way to introduce them to a variety of food flavors and textures as well as to teach them kitchen safety, basic cooking techniques, and lessons on healthy eating. Another plus: your kids are more likely to try something they helped prepare than something that's just dished out to them.

Smaller kids, age three to six, should be able to add ingredients to a bowl and stir them; they can also wash fresh produce. Seven- to nine-year-olds should be able to use measuring cups and spoons, an electric can opener, a hand-held blender, and a microwave oven. A ten-year-old (and older) should be able to learn to use the oven and a sharp knife under adult supervision and prepare simple recipes with minimal adult supervision.

An added plus: you'll get to spend time with your kids at the beginning or the end of the day. What better way to talk to them and have a casual setting in which to stay connected to them?

More on: Healthy Meals for Families

Excerpted from:

From Raising Healthy Eaters: 100 Tips for Parents by Henry Legere, M.D. Copyright © 2004. Used by arrangement with The Perseus Books Group.

To order this book visit perseusbooksgroup.com.