I remember when I was in grade school, my mother taught me how to fry an egg. Take note that pans and skillets were the ordinary metal type since the non-stick with the black teflon was not invented yet. Now, the challenge is how to cook an egg in the sunny side up fashion. After some tries, I was able to succeed. But we already had ran out of eggs. How did you learn cooking?
I started cooking at a pretty early age. My sister and brother were both 7 and 8 years older than me respectively, so they were already off at school, while I would be home alone with my mother, and my dad was off at work. In addition, the neighborhood we were living in was a brand new development, and up until I was about 6 years old, there was nobody else in the neighborhood around my age to go out and play with, so I spent most of the time indoors learning to cook with my mother. I didn't start actually using the stove though until I got a little older and was tall enough to see over it, but I did help her out a lot with preparing stuff to roast in the oven in addition to a lot of baking.
I think that it is always a great idea to try and teach children a few simple things that they could make in the kitchen. As they get older, you could help them with more and more things, and eventually they will have enough knowledge about it to be able to do everything that they need on their own. It's awful when kids leave to go to college and they still can't cook, so this is a situation that you should try and avoid with your own children if at all possible!
I taught my grandson's to cook a scrambled egg in the microwave. Now that they are older I taught them in a non-pan how to cooks a fried egg, so they can make their own ham, egg and cheese sandwich.
Almost half of college students can't cook. Even when they do cook the food is so horrible that they only eat it because they are broke. When they've got money they'll opt instead to buy ready-made food. Obviously most of them didn't learn to cook and must pay full price for that mistake. Parents should teach their kids how to cook when the kids are still quite young. It's a skill that will save them a lot of money later in life.
As it was and still is to some degree customary where I come from - to teach children both how to cook as well as to encourage them to grow fruits and vegetables from a very early age - I can't say that - although I vaguely remember first being introduced to cooking somewhere around the age of five or six - I actually remember exactly how I learnt to cook - as for me it was just a natural part of the growing up process - particularly as - not only were we encouraged and often expected to help out in the kitchen and the garden but we had cookery lessons at school too. In fact as learning to cook also involves planning, budgeting, time management etc and encourages healthy eating habits - I think that it is a very important skill to teach children - especially as not only will they grow up being able to feed themselves and their future families in a healthy way - but as they will have learnt the value of what things are likely to cost - it will help them to be more responsible too.
Cooking is a really important skill for saving money in life. Not only does it save you money in the long term, it also means that you are healthier overall. There are many people who can't cook even when they're adults, which is quite poor, and it will mean that they waste a lot of money on unhealthy food. I think parents should start teaching their children how to cook from a relatively young age - maybe 7 ish. I remember being introduced to cooking at around that age, maybe one or two years younger even.
My daughter has been helping to prepare her own food since she was in preschool. Initially of course it was only simple things. "You pour the cereal, I'll pour the milk" or "press the button on the toaster". She's been using the stove with supervision and a stool since around age 7 or so. There are still things she needs help with but at 14, she can manage most of the basics as well as an adult. She cooks one dinner per week for the entire family - planning, shopping, cooking, and clean up. It's good practice but oddly enough, the child actually LIKES cooking too, something I don't quite understand. Regardless of whether a child likes cooking, I agree that it's an essential skill and learning early helps prepare them for life. In addition to the practical aspect, measuring and other parts of cooking reinforce book lessons they learn in school or can provide a point to start a homeschooling lesson on a topic. Math. Science. Health. Even reading a recipe and following directions. Advice on the over-easy eggs - teach a child to make birdies in the nest (sometimes called egg in toast) first. You make a hole in the center of a piece of bread, put the bread in the hot pan, and then the egg in the hole. Cook slowly, then flip and finish cooking. The bread helps protect the yolk when you flip it to keep it from breaking and gets nicely toasted at the same time.
I learned to cook by watching my grandmother. She was the typical 50s mom (but way cooler lol). While taking care of house and family, she was always cooking or baking and there was always a chair waiting for me to stand on and help. I absolutely loved my time in the kitchen with her and it shaped the person I was to become.
I've started teaching my 12 year how to cook about 6 years ago. We started with him helping make cookies and cupcakes. He would help measure flour, sugar etc. He learned to crack eggs about that time too. As he got taller he would help stir food in the pan, bread chicken, put the pasta in the water (with my supervision). Now he makes scrambled eggs and bacon by himself. I've been teaching how to use a chef's knife to chop vegetables and mince garlic. He really enjoys cooking and it's a nice time in the kitchen for both of us. As we make a meal together I usually compare it to how much it costs us to make it vs how much it would cost to order it in a restaurant. I know he sees the value in making meals at home.
Children see cooking as an adventure and they pay attention to safety instructions pretty well because they want to get to the end result. It makes them feel capable that they accomplished it. It is also fun along the way, like cookies and the gooey batter, etc. It is good to start teaching children young, and then they develop comfort in the kitchen, and they can be creative too.
