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A Guide to Cooking With Your Children

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Updated: 6/19/18

Develop your child’s interest in healthy eating by getting them involved in the kitchen or garden.  Cooking at a young age can ignite a passion for watching what they eat and creating healthy meals – healthy skills they can take into adulthood.  Where should you start?  Use this handy guide to see what your kids may be capable of at different ages.

  • Preschoolers (ages 2 to 5): Motor skills are still developing in younger children, so start them off with short, simple tasks. With your supervision, they can carefully mix and stir ingredients, pour liquids and wash fruits and vegetables.

  • School-age children (ages 6 to 8): They can start handling simple kitchen tools like graters and can openers, as well as cutting soft foods with a blunt knife (or if you think they are ready, you can introduce a sharper knife). Be sure to supervise them and show them safety tips, like how to form their hand into a claw to keep fingertips out of danger and when to stop as their hand gets close to the grater. They can also start portioning ingredients for recipes with measuring cups and spoons. This can help incorporate math skills into cooking.

  • Preteens (ages 9 to 12): As their confidence grows in the kitchen, they will be able to take on basic recipes, such as cooking eggs. They can also start using kitchen appliances such as the blender and the oven. Discussing the recipes with your children can also help teach them about the science of cooking.

  • Teenagers (ages 13 to 18): At this stage, they should be able to develop more complex skills and take the lead in technical tasks. You can help further their kitchen knowledge by introducing cooking math, such as how to divide food into portions and double recipes. Continue to broaden their horizons by trying new and different ingredient combinations as well as informing them about food safety and storage.

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When you enroll in a Medical Weight Loss Clinic program, the length of your program will be determined by you and the staff based on the amount of weight you want to lose and how quickly you want to lose it. Your actual weight loss will be determined by many factors, including, but not limited to: your medical circumstances, the plan you choose, adherence to the meal plan and use of nutritional supplements. Your goal and program duration information will be given to you in writing at the time of enrollment. As your program progresses, the rate you lose weight may change and you will have the opportunity to discuss this at every daily visit with your weight loss consultant, where changes to your meal plan and/or program can be made.