Cooking Skills By Age

Match your kids' skill levels with various tasks for safe kitchen fun. Here are some tips for age-specific tasks:

3-Year Olds

Wash fruits and vegetables
Stir ingredients in a bowl
Tear lettuce
Pour liquids

4-Year Olds

Grease pans
Open packages
Peel oranges or hard-cooked eggs
Snip fresh herbs with dull scissors (with supervision)
Mash bananas with a fork

5-to 6-Year Olds

Measure ingredients
Cut soft foods with a blunt knife (with supervision)
Set the table
Garnish food

7-to 8-Year Olds

Help plan the meal
Roll and shape cookies
Beat ingredients with a whisk
Find ingredients in a cabinet or spice rack
Make a salad

9- to 12-Year Olds

Open cans
Use a microwave oven
Prepare simple recipes with few ingredients
Use an oven (with supervision)
Use a knife (with supervision)
Shred cheese and vegetables

13- to 16-Year Olds


Prepare recipes with multiple ingredients
Prepare recipes independently

Source: snackworks.com