“Can you smell them?”

Children who help in the kitchen will not only learn to independently prepare their own meals but will learn other skills too.- Josianne Facchetti

10-year-old Nikki-Lee Zammit asks me as she turns the sliced courgettes she’s frying in the pan. “And look, see how the liquid comes out of them.”

I had never noticed that before.

“They sometimes squeak when you press them.”

That was also something I had never noticed. She knows when the courgettes are cooked and asks me to taste one. I cannot resist of course. She seems to be completely absorbed in each task as she continues helping her mother.

Nikki has been lending a hand in the kitchen since she was a toddler. Her mother, holistic health coach Shirley Cauchi explains that at the start of her culinary journey, Nikki would stand up on her stool to reach the kitchen counter and basin to wash vegetables. Now she chops vegetables, makes salads and soups and decorates dishes as a normal part of her everyday life.

Kitchens are the hub of many family lives as it is where they interact most. They serve as a meeting room, dining room, play room, study and social room. Some children help out while others watch, talk and taste the food while it is being prepared.

Parents who let their children help out in the kitchen know that it is quite a feat, especially when babies sitting on a high chair seek attention and toddlers play on the floor or shift the contents of every cupboard. Children normally make a mess and food takes longer to prepare.

Shirley Cauchi says that cooking with Nikki used to take longer.

“Now it always takes me about an hour to cook, a bit less or the same time when Nikki and I cook together, and always about an hour to eat. For us eating is an everyday celebration. We spend a long time at the table as a family.”

Shirley and Nikki sometimes get in each other’s way. “That’s part of it all and I close one eye,” says Shirley.

She points out that having a big kitchen helps so as to have more space to work.

“The patience and teaching reaps its results in the end. I try to let Nikki create her own recipes. She is also very good at decorating. I think parents who work out of their home should at least cook with their children at weekends.”

The more time spent doing hands-on activities with children, the more parents and children bond. Even babies sitting in high chairs watching their parents cook mentally duplicate actions and emotions. Eventually children who help in the kitchen will not only learn to independently prepare their own meals but will learn other skills too.

Hands-on experience is particularly important when children are very young. This is because childhood is a period of major neuroplasticity, when learning actually changes the brain’s functional anatomy. While helping in the kitchen, children learn skills such as teamwork, patience, self-motivation and creative thinking. They also learn from their mistakes, the importance of hygiene, to accept and realise the importance of healthy food, to follow instructions, to think for themselves and self-confidence. As children have a short attention span, they should be given short tasks that are easy and have quick results such as soups, sandwiches and salads.

Potentially dangerous kitchen equipment such as blenders, sharp knives and burners should be kept away from children when very young. As they get older, they should still be supervised when using them. However, there are a lot of safe tasks that children can do such as washing fruit and vegetables, mixing ingredients, kneading dough, pouring ingredients in measuring cups, preparing simple snacks, creating their own salads and setting the table.

Due to her everyday contact with food, and the first-hand information she gets from her mother, Nikki has learnt what ingredients make up her meals. She also knows the nutritional value of most ingredients.

I ask the name of a dark looking vegetable.

“Wakame, a Japanese seaweed,” Shirley replies, while Nikki informed me that it is high in calcium and good for the hair, bones, and nails. “Carrots are good for the eyes – with the amount of carrots I eat I should not need glasses.”

When children touch, smell and taste fresh ingredients, they eventually understand that homemade food is healthier and could taste better than food that comes out of a packet or a freezer. Consequently, children who are in touch with fresh food rarely form part of the overwhelming percentage of children who eat junk food and are already facing health problems such as obesity.

“I have never tasted a burger in my life.”

“Do you feel you’re missing out?” I ask her.

“No but if my mum had to make it, I would eat it.” Nikki tells me.

It is normal to spend a longer time cooking and even longer cleaning the kitchen when children first start helping out. The food might also not taste or look as good as when you prepare it on your own. However, these drawbacks are far outweighed by the sense of pride and self-esteem that children experience. Moreover the bonding due to quality time in the kitchen is priceless. Children’s attitudes towards food can change as many children love to eat the food they prepare or help to prepare. It is therefore never too early for a child to help and learn in the kitchen.