Involving your family in the kitchen can streamline meal preparation and allows everyone to explore the wonders of food and have some fun along the way. Here are some quick tips to bring your family on board in the kitchen:

Be a role model. Parents have a large influence on their children’s food choices, so show your family that you eat and enjoy healthy foods.

Make healthy foods easy to find. Give kids plenty of opportunities to find and try healthy foods. It may take eight times or more before kids accept the new food. Let kids decide how much to eat – pressuring them only creates negative feelings.

Invite everyone into the kitchen. Kids learn from watching and doing. Have them set the table, make table decorations, stir the dip or spin the salad. Kids who help in the kitchen are more likely to eat the food being served. Lending a hand also teaches them important skills needed for lifelong healthy cooking and eating.


*Above copy adapted from “Development of a Self-Directed Home Kitchen Makeover for Mothers of Young Children,” The Forum for Family and Consumer Issues, by C. Byrd-Bredbenner and J.M. Abbot, 2009.