Chef shares the best age to teach children how to cook
Chef Nozipho Mbatha speaks about why children should learn to cook from a young age and how spending time in the kitchen can help them develop valuable life skills.
When it comes to cooking, one thing is certain, food has a unique way of bringing families together.
Whether it’s preparing ingredients, chopping vegetables, stirring a pot on the stove or simply gathering around the dinner table to enjoy a home-cooked meal, time spent in the kitchen often creates some of life’s most cherished memories.
In every household, cooking looks different. Some families have one person who prepares most of the meals, while in other homes, everyone lends a helping hand. But one question continues to divide parents: At what age should children start learning to cook?
Chef Nozipho Mbatha, who hails from KwaZulu-Natal, says her passion for cooking began at home, where Sunday lunches became a family tradition. She fondly remembers watching her mother prepare large meals for relatives who would gather at their family home, with treasured recipes being passed down from one generation to the next.
Those early memories inspired her own love for cooking, and today she believes every parent should introduce their children to the kitchen from a young age.
Mbatha believes parents should give children opportunities to participate in the kitchen from a young age.
“Parents can start teaching kids how to cook from an early age, especially to help around the kitchen, to collect things, take out the onions, peel or cut potatoes with supervision, and that kind of thing.”
Her sentiments are echoed by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which recommends that children start participating in the kitchen as early as two years old and move towards cooking at nine, depending on their motor skills and maturity.
Mbatha says cooking is about much more than preparing meals.
“It’s not only about the cooking, but cooking gives them a life skill and a survival skill. It teaches them to do things on their own and become independent.”
Learning to cook, she explains, helps children become more independent, builds their confidence and equips them with skills they’ll use throughout their lives.
Mbatha also encourages parents not to underestimate what their children are capable of.
“Sometimes we want to coddle the kids, thinking they’re not capable or they’re not ready.”
Instead, she recommends closely supervising children as they learn before gradually allowing them to take on more responsibility in the kitchen.
For beginners, Mbatha suggests keeping meals simple.
Her own children started by making toast, eggs, rice, pasta and mince- easy recipes that helped build their confidence while allowing them to enjoy the food they had prepared themselves.
She also encourages parents to make use of the many child-friendly recipes available online.
“Parents can simply download simple recipes. It’s nice for kids to follow recipes.”
Following recipes, she says, teaches children much more than cooking.
For Mbatha, teaching children to cook isn’t simply about what’s on the plate, it’s about giving them the confidence, independence and practical skills they’ll carry with them for the rest of their lives.
@versatile_beatrice Pernille making noodles and cutting veggies #kidscooking #cookingwithkids #noodles #familymoments #homecooking ♬ original sound - Versatile_Beatrice🌸
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