Planning and Preparing Meals with Your Preschooler

Cooking with your preschooler can be a healthy, educational, and fun activity. Involving your child in cooking and other aspects of meal preparation helps them learn about food and nutrition and many life skills, like basic math skills and decision-making. You may be hesitant to bring your child into the kitchen due to some potential hazards; however, as a parent, you can determine what aspects of meal preparation your child is ready to manage under your supervision. When deciding what meal preparation tasks your child can safely complete, consider their developmental level, general abilities, and attention span. By providing age-appropriate tasks, using safe kitchen equipment, and throwing in a pinch of patience, you and your child can transform mealtimes into a joyful and memorable experience.

The benefits of preparing meals with your child:

  • Engages the senses. Cooking can be a sensical experience beyond tasting the completed dish. Your child can feel the variety of textures among the vegetables and herbs used in the meal. They can smell the food aroma spread throughout the house. They can hear the food sizzling in the skillet and see the food transform from separate raw ingredients into a delectable meal.
  • Builds early math skills. While helping you cook, your child can count the number of items needed for a recipe, identify the steps to complete the process, and get early exposure to measurements and fractions.
  • Exposes your child to family culture and traditions. Food is traditionally ingrained in a community’s culture and heritage. Many families tend to pass recipes down through generations to celebrate their heritage and continue traditions. Inviting your child into the kitchen gives them an opportunity to spend time bonding with their parents and other family members while learning about and maintaining family traditions.
  • Empowers your child’s voice and choice. Young children are eager to feel in control. When you encourage them to select ingredients or recipes for mealtimes, you can help them build their self-esteem, increase their sense of responsibility, and develop their confidence.
  • Encourages your child to explore a variety of foods, flavors, and textures. Meal preparation ensures that your kid has time to explore the foods and ingredients in their own way. You can discuss the differences among the ingredients and even sample a few items to help your child develop a positive perception of the food.
  • Increases your child’s likelihood of trying new foods. Cooking with parents can make food fun for children. Your child may be more willing to try foods from different food groups when they have helped prepare them.
  • Engages your child’s creativity. Having your child help in the kitchen may give them an opportunity to tap into their artistic side. They may make funny shapes and characters with the ingredients or “paint” oil on the dinner rolls. Additionally, cooking may encourage your child to suggest a new and delicious mix of flavors.
  • Teaches them food safety, cooking tricks, and hand hygiene. When your child cooks with you, they can learn important strategies about keeping raw foods separate from cooked foods, cleaning produce before cooking them, and continuing to wash their hands throughout the process to ensure food is safely prepared and served.
  • Offers a sense of accomplishment and can boost your child’s confidence. When your child sees the completed dish in front of them, they can gain a sense of pride that they contributed to the meal in some way. Cooking allows them the opportunity to smile and say, “I did that!” and share that excitement with the rest of the family.

Safe ways your preschooler can assist with meal preparation:

  • Select a new fruit or vegetable from the market to try at mealtime.
  • Pick fresh herbs and vegetables from the garden or market.
  • Help you grow your own produce in an outside or inside garden.
  • Help you “read” a cookbook by turning the page.
  • Wash and dry produce.
  • Rinse canned beans.
  • Pour ingredients into a measuring cup or spoon at your direction.
  • Mix wet ingredients, dry ingredients, or batters.
  • Sift dry ingredients.
  • Add ingredients to recipes.
  • Stuff ingredients into dough, bread bowls, or cored vegetables.
  • Squeeze fruits (e.g., lemons, limes, oranges).
  • Crumble and sprinkle cheese on top of baked dishes and salads.
  • Brush butter or oil onto veggies or bread.
  • Tear lettuce and toss salads.
  • Add toppings to pizzas.
  • Dip foods and set them on a platter.
  • Mash potatoes with a potato masher.
  • Beat egg yolks for scrambled eggs.
  • Roll, knead, and shape dough.
  • Cut dough with a cookie cutter.
  • Place cookies on a cookie sheet.
  • Spread icing over baked goods.
  • Set the timer.
  • Add dirty pans and unbreakable dishes to the sink or dishwasher.
  • Wipe the countertop clean.
  • Fill cups with ice and/or a beverage.
  • Help set the dishes and utensils on the table.
  • Remove unbreakable dishes and utensils from the dinner table.
  • Help clean the unbreakable dishes and silverware by rinsing them.

Additional Resources

For ideas on how to make cooking with your child engaging and fun, including child-friendly recipes, try the following resources:

Download the Cooking to Thrive resource at https://thrive.psu.edu/resources/cooking-to-thrive/ to learn about healthy eating habits and recipes you can try with your family.

Find tips and resources to help your child develop healthy eating habits with MyPlate at https://www.myplate.gov/life-stages/preschoolers.

The USDA Kids in the Kitchen website at https://www.nutrition.gov/topics/nutrition-life-stage/children/kids-kitchen hosts a directory for recipes and resources on food safety and resources for families like yours.

References

Fernando, N. (2020, November 17). 5 great reasons to cook with your kids. Healthychildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/Cooking-With-Your-Children.aspx#:~:text=Teach%20kids%20the%20importance%20of,safe%20and%20age%2Dappropriate%20tasks.

Garden-Robinson, J., & Smith, T. (2021, August). Now you’re cookin’: Meals with help from kids! North Dakota State University Extension. https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/now-youre-cookin-meals-help-kids

Gavin, M. L. (2021, November). Cooking with preschoolers. Nemours KidsHealth. https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/cooking-preschool.html

Healthychildren.org. (2018, April 26). 10 tips for parents of picky eaters.https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddler/nutrition/Pages/Picky-Eaters.aspx

Malan, C., Bevan, S., & Savoie-Roskos, M. R. (2022, September). The benefits of including kids in the kitchen. Utah State University Extension. https://extension.usu.edu/healthwellness/research/benefits-of-including-kids-in-the-kitchen

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (n.d.). Chefs in training: Getting children involved in the kitchen.https://healthyeating.nhlbi.nih.gov/chefTraining.aspx?linkId=3

University of Illinois Extension. (n.d.). Cooking with children.https://extension.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/cooking_with_children.pdf

National Teen Driver Safety Week October 15-21, 2023

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). Teen drivers speed, make mistakes, and can be easily distracted, especially if they have friends in the car. Parents can play an important role in helping their teens develop into safe and responsible drivers. In addition to providing supervised driving practice, parents and their teen drivers should have conversations about driving safety.

So, what safety issues should parents talk about with their teens? In honor of National Teen Driver Safety Week, this blog contains some important conversation topics and provides suggestions for how parents can encourage safe-driving practices.

Teen Driver Crash Statistics (CDC, 2022)

  • Crash risk is highest in the first year a teen has their license.
  • Fatal crashes are more likely to occur at night.
  • In 2021, 51% of the teen passenger vehicle drivers who died in crashes were not wearing their seatbelts.
  • The likelihood of teen drivers engaging in risky behavior triples when they travel with multiple passengers.
  • In 2021, almost one-third (32%) of all teen drivers of passenger vehicles involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time of the crash.
  • In 2021, 19% of teen passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes had alcohol in their system.

Talk about Safe Driving with Your Teen

Talking to your teens about safe driving early and often, even before they reach driving age, can help to prevent their chances of being in an accident and could potentially save their lives. You may choose to start the conversation during National Teen Driver Safety Week, but you should consider continuing the conversation regularly (e.g., weekly) throughout the year. Your teen is listening, and your constant reminders about driving risks—and your clear expectations—will get through and make a difference.

Seat belts

Wearing a seat belt in a vehicle is one of the simplest ways for everyone to remain safe. Buckling up is the law, and fastening a seat belt is also one of the easiest and most effective actions an individual can take to reduce their chances of injury or death if they are involved in a car accident. Help your teen understand why seat belts are important and that they must be worn by everyone in the vehicle and on every trip. Make them aware of the consequences of not buckling up, such as getting tickets, losing driving privileges, or sustaining injury, or even death, in the event of a crash. It only takes a few seconds to buckle up, but this small action could save a life.

Passengers

Your teen’s risk of having a fatal car crash increases with each number of passengers in the vehicle. Passengers can distract an inexperienced teen driver who should be focused on the road and the cars and pedestrians around them. Many states have laws that restrict the number of passengers who can ride in a car that is driven by a teen. Even if the state you live in does not have passenger restrictions, establish rules with your teen about who can ride with them and how many people they can have in their car at one time.

Distractions

Distracted driving can be deadly. Remind your teen about the dangers of texting, dialing, or using mobile apps while driving. Require your teen to put their phone away and to turn on the “Do Not Disturb” or similar phone features when they are driving. Distracted driving isn’t limited to phone use—other passengers; vehicle, audio, and climate controls; eating; and drinking while driving are all sources of potential dangerous distractions.

Speeding

Speeding is a safety issue for all drivers, and it can be especially dangerous for a teenage driver who lacks the experience to react to hazards or changing circumstances around their vehicle. Teens who are monitored closely tend to speed less. Set the expectation that your teen will obey the speed limit. They should be particularly aware of their speed during inclement weather (e.g., rain, snow, leaves falling). During these situations, they may need to reduce their speed in order to handle traffic stops or winding roads. Remind your teen to maintain enough space behind the vehicle in front of them to avoid a crash in case of a sudden stop.

Driving While Under the Influence

Consuming alcohol before the age of 21 is illegal, and alcohol and/or marijuana or other substance use and driving never mix—no matter your age. In fact, driving under the influence of any impairing substance, including illicit, prescription, or over-the-counter drugs, could be fatal. It is critical that teen drivers understand that driving impaired can also have legal consequences. They could face strict penalties, fines, or jail time, and they could lose their license if they are caught driving while impaired. Further, remind them that they will face additional consequences at home for breaking the rules they agreed to follow when they started driving.

Set Safe Driving Ground Rules

When your teen begins driving, establish expectations or rules that address common safety risks. Rules for your teen driver may include the following details:

  • Do not drive impaired.
  • Always wear a seat belt, and make sure your passengers do too.
  • Keep your eyes on the road, both hands on the steering wheel, and your mind on the task of driving.
  • Follow the posted speed limit.
  • Limit the number of passengers in your car.

You may want to make your rules more specific by stating what your teen will not do while driving (e.g., consume alcohol, text, dial or scroll on their phone, eat, drive at night) and you should outline the consequences for breaking the rules, such as a loss of driving privileges. You may also choose to create a parent-teen contract for safe driving and display your contract by the family car keys or near the front door.

Model Safe Driving

Model safe-driving behavior for your children by following good habits, such as using the turn signals or looking left-right-left before pulling out at an intersection, any time you drive them anywhere, even before they begin to drive. Make sure you refrain from grabbing for your cell phone, and buckle your seat belt before starting your car. Obey the speed limit, and keep your eyes on the road. Be consistent with the messages you tell your teen and your own driving behaviors.

Driving is a privilege. If your teen has difficulty following the rules, you may need to suspend their driving privileges and discuss your safety concerns. Safe teen drivers can mean the difference between life and death—for themselves, their passengers, and others on the road.

Resources

Parent-Teen Driving Agreement: https://www.cdc.gov/parentsarethekey/agreement/index.html

Safe Driving Pledge: https://thrive.psu.edu/universal-parenting-programs/branch-out/

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, November 22). Eight danger zones. https://www.cdc.gov/parentsarethekey/danger/index.html

Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State. (n.d.). Branch out. Thrive modules [Computer-based module]. https://thrive.psu.edu/universal-parenting-programs/branch-out/

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (n.d.). Teen driving. https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/teen-driving