You don’t need to invest a lot of time, bake a cake or cook a whole meal with your child for them to benefit from the time you spend with them in the kitchen.

Some days, you might be pushed for time and just want to crack on with cooking, but even on those days, some simple tasks like helping get ingredients out of the fridge, talking about the ingredients you’re using, being involved in setting the table or serving once at the table, are enough.

When you have a bit more time (and are prepared to embrace the mess!), there are some quick and and easy tasks they can be involved with such as squeezing, scrubbing, ripping, stirring, whisking, tipping or pressing buttons. You can work up to cooking a whole meal when time and energy allows. 

If you’re consistent and regularly get them involved in the kitchen to do whatever you feel is achievable at the time, you’ll be making great strides in supporting them to develop their love of food.