Can your kids cook? A new report suggests they should have mastered 20- five dishes by age 11

Can your kids cook? A new report suggests they should have mastered twenty- five dishes by age eleven

Mums Tips

Feeding the Family

Published on Monday, 28 November 2016 12:35

Last Updated on 25 November 2016

lewisdarren

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Wouldn’t it be lovely if the kids could take care of meal times? London Mums would be very happy about it, wouldn’t we all… Well a new report suggests they should be able to do just that by age 11. Commissioned to launch the Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator, the research of 2,000 parents found that 25 years ago the average child could make six dishes by the age of 11 – however the modern kid can cook only four.

Amongst the top 25 dishes mums and dads think pre-teens should be able to make are spaghetti Bolognese, scrambled eggs on toast, and pancakes. It also found that Six in 10 parents think being able to cook is an important life skill – however 37 per cent currently cook less than once a week with their children.

Emma Spitzer, MasterChef finalist and mum of four, has demonstrated how to cook some of the dishes kids should be able to make in a free-to-download recipe book. She said: “I love cooking with my own children – it’s great fun and a brilliant way of encouraging them to try new foods. “I have created a simple and free Samsung Family Hub™ recipe book which I hope will inspire families to cook together and for children to learn the joy of making their own meals from scratch.

Watch her in action here:

The report also discusses the amount of food wasted by the average British family.

The typical British family throws away £676 worth of food each year – around a fifth of their total average food bill. Now I don’t know about you but this to me is madness, not just for our personal pockets but also for the world we live in where so many struggle to get food. I’m not alone, three quarters of respondents said they are concerned about food wastage. Interestingly though around a fifth pinpointing fussy children as one of the main causes of the excess.
However half of parents admit they throw away food because it is out of date and a quarter bin it because they have a tendency to buy too many groceries. A fifth of those polled also said they resort to chucking away uneaten food because didn’t know how to use up ingredients bought for a specific recipe.

Emma Spitzer, says “The food wastage issue is something which affects us all and I firmly believe that getting kids involved in cooking and preparing food at a young age can help.”

Take a look at the full list of meals parents think their kids should be able to cook and let us know what you think. Can your kids cook any of these? Is eleven too young to be left alone in the kitchen?

TOP 25 MEALS KIDS SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE BY 11 YEARS OLD:

1. Spaghetti Bolognese
2. Scrambled egg on toast
3. Omelette
4. Jacket potato with baked beans
5. Cheese on toast
6. Cottage pie
7. Sausage and mash
8. Pasta bake
9. Stir fry
10. Porridge
11. Dippy egg and soldiers
12. Stew/casserole
13. Pancakes
14. Pizza from scratch
15. Lasagne
16. Macaroni cheese
17. Fairy cakes
18. Roast chicken
19. Chilli con carne
20. Beef burgers
21. Meatballs
22. Victoria sponge
23. Chocolate Rice Krispie/Cornflake cakes
24. Apple crumble
25. Scones