How to Teach Kids to Cook When You Don’t Like Messes

But my kids are so messy in the kitchen!

If you can’t stand the mess your kids make in the kitchen and it’s stopping you from teaching them how to cook, you’re not alone!

It’s one of the most common roadblocks to getting kids in the kitchen that I hear from parents.

How can you teach your kids the life skill of cooking but also keep your cool if a messy kitchen stresses you out?

Let’s learn from one dad who sets a great example for all of us. 

Case Study: Meaningful Connection in the Mess

Matthew R. found Kids Cook Real Food^™ through my friend Amy at Positive Parenting Solutions. Matthew went from working at home alone all day (focused bliss I’m sure!) to having the whole family at home in 2020 when 7-year-old Maya came home for virtual school and his husband had to shutter his business for a while. 

Maya was struggling with all the changes caused by the pandemic, and they needed a meaningful way to connect with each other.

Maya often asked to be in the kitchen, but Matthew had some reservations. He visibly cringed on our Zoom call thinking about the mess created when you bring kids into the kitchen!

But sometimes a little self-talk helps a lot. Matthew knew that it would mean a lot to his daughter, so hit bit the bullet and jumped in. 

If you’re worried about the mess, just jump right in!

This is what I tell parents, including myself: You just have to take a breath, remind yourself they’re only little once, and give them the same grace I give myself every time I open a bag of white flour. (How does that stuff get everywhere no matter HOW careful I am!??)

Besides that, the structure you can embrace by using our Kids Cook Real Food^™ classes can help a lot. It brings a sense of calm and direction watching a quick video lesson first, and ideally, the kids know exactly what they need to do. 

Our hand-over-hand “guide” method also helps kids know how much pressure to use when doing things like stirring and cracking eggs, reducing the mess. 

Once Matthew decided to just go for it, he saw how much Maya enjoyed it, and he was able to breathe a little easier. 

He reported: it was “probably the best thing we’ve done since the pandemic started.” Seven-year-old Maya looks forward to it every week and almost had a meltdown the one week they skipped.

He told me “I survived” lesson 4 of the intermediate level when Maya got to make a recipe by herself. The mess drove him nuts! But…it was so worth it! That’s why sometimes I tell parents to just leave.the.room. It’s what I do every time my big kids make the whole meal!

Maya especially loves when a video teaches something Dad didn’t know. She delights in getting to be the teacher for him, and like many of our students, giggles and corrects when she catches Dad using slightly imperfect knife techniques. 

There are so many benefits to teaching kids to cook!

Aside from learning to cook, another benefit they’ve seen in Maya is that her palate has expanded. She remembers to add healthy fats to her salads and is more willing to try new things because “Mrs. Kimball says!” and she’s taking pride and ownership in her new kitchen skills. 

If you’re on the fence about giving Kids Cook Real Food^™ a try, listen to this:

This is going to be the best investment you have made in a very very long time. For your child’s growth, for your comfortability, and a great connection experience for the kids. We have a blast every time except for the “it’s messy” nail biting. -Matthew R., KCRF Parent

Matthew’s example is inspirational. How do you teach kids to cook when you don’t like messes? 

You just go for it and appreciate that you’ve done something hard that mattered. 

And the kids do too!

Matthew kindly sent me an update since Maya is about to turn 8 in the next few months. They started with Beginner and Intermediate together, but they stopped lessons at Advanced because both parent and child were a little nervous about big knife skills. 

Our classes are 100% available to our members immediately, no waiting, and with VIP access never expires. So the family was able to complete the lessons that felt comfortable and have no worries at all about waiting for the final set of lessons, generally recommended for ages 8 and up. 

Now with Maya leading the charge, they’re ready to tackle chef’s knives as she finishes this turn around the sun—that’s child agency at work! 

Case Study: When Doing Dishes Isn’t Even Terrible

Tonya, another KCRF parent, found that many of her friends didn’t want to deal with the mess when she shared our summer camp with them. 

 For her, it’s just about learning what’s appropriate, and how to be patient.

She was cooking at age 10 but wasn’t taught. She learned a lot herself from the knife classes and the egg cracking class.

In fact, her 6-year-old learned how to crack eggs cleanly even faster than mom!

Tonya tells people:

I don’t even mind doing dishes if the kids are cooking. -Tonya, KCRF Parent

As someone who thinks doing dishes is a far worse punishment than having to clean toilets, I can tell you that I echo Tonya’s feelings. When the kids cook, they can really trash the kitchen. (We’re honest people here, folks, no sugar coating!) 

But.

I’m so grateful that (a) I got a night off, (b) they bonded with each other, and (c) they are building life skills, that I can channel that gratitude into the dishes and feel good about taking them on. 

And although we had a child here at the Kimball house let an entire egg roll off the counter onto the floor just the other day, most members find that our egg cracking method is pretty magical. Like Stephanie H. shared:

This is totally the best way to crack eggs! My daughter (7) who hates getting her hands dirty now LOVES to crack eggs. She BEGS to crack the eggs. The 5 and 3-year-olds do pretty well with it too!

To be fair, our young chef who dropped the egg was making himself a fried egg to go with our paltry offerings of leftovers for lunch, and he cleaned everything up with just a little help from us. It’s a learning experience! 

Is Teaching Kids To Cook Worth the Mess? 

Yes, it’s messy when kids get in the kitchen, but I firmly believe it is worth the mess to teach your kids the valuable life skill of cooking.

Over time they’ll learn to be less messy, and you can enlist their help cleaning up after cooking class if you need to. Tara O. reported:

Now that they’ve got some basics down, [my kids] have actually started taking initiative in other kitchen duties including cleanup and dishes. Who knew an online cooking class could do that?

I can tell you that when I sit down to a dinner made completely by my kids once a week, I’m not thinking about the messes we created when I was first teaching them to cook, and I’m not bothered if the kitchen is messier than it would be if  I’d cooked.

Parents: You knew you signed up for a hard job that would be worth it. This is exactly what your kids need! 

I’m here to help:

Check out our Kids Cook Real Food^™ cooking classes today!