What sort of things can your 8 year old cook/make?

[SecretSnake]

My 8 year old wants some more responsibility in the kitchen. Atm she can make toast, cereal, sandwiches etc. she often chops the veg for dinner and I let her stir things. But she wants to start using the oven and making things like lasagne and pies.
Too young? Or Aibu and over protective? She loves cooking.

@JessicaBrassica just went to have a nosey and it’s only two courses!

Nowt.

Some of these posts are funny!

A bacon sandwich.

But we have an electric hob so it's ok to do for her

At 8 years old my son could open a bag of crisps all by himself <proud>

At 8 my eldest could cook a few simple meals e.g. sausage & mash, pasta & (jar) sauce, rice & pre-prepared chicken.

Mine still manages to cock that up!

After watching junior bakeoff which had kids from 8+ making quite complex things I realised I had been possibly holding my (eager!) then 7 year old daughter back.
She makes pancakes, french toast, cakes, scrambled egg, omlette, homemade chicken goujons. Does rice in microwave (not the 2 serving packet stuff)
She actually mentioned yesterday she'd like to try making lasagne next week. I feel it's quite a big task but maybe meatballs instead.

I'm also a cub leader, and we've done the chef badge at meetings a few times - usually something like soup, spaghetti bol, camp donuts etc as we only have access to camp stoves at our hut (no proper kitchen, bar a kettle and a microwave), so can basically only fry or boil. We supervise with at least one adult to 4 cubs, but we've very successfully make two course meals, and definitely more sophisticated than a sandwich or beans on toast.

Of course, it does depend on pack size/number of adults available. But it's a great badge to do, the cubs love it, and are often surprised at how much they can do, if given the chance.

DS (9) can make simple lunches using the microwave - scrambled eggs, beans etc.

He can also make a Spag Bol and butter chicken from scratch with the help of Alexa for timers (I help to cut the chicken). We have an induction hob so I know he can't burn himself like he could if it were gas or electric.

My 8.5 year old has just learnt to make toast. He’s very proud of himself 😝

I think height is the main factor. My tall 7 year old can use the hob safely, but not the oven or microwave as they’re too high.

my 12 was less able to do stuff as he was shorter at the same age.

Lasagne is a good one if they’re making it for the next day as you can let the meat and sauce cool a bit before assembling.

I was cooking fairly easy things like spaghetti bolognaise, casseroles etc at that age. My mum would have been keeping an eye on me and giving me instructions - she didn’t just leave me to it - but I was allowed to use the oven and cook stuff on the hob. I used to stand on a box I think. I used to do a lot of chopping and peeling and whisking and so on for her when she was cooking too.

Thinking back to my own childhood, I used to do all sorts of chopping, beating & whisking kitchen tasks at that age, and was making simple cakes by the time I was nine or ten. My usual tasks included making the batter for Yorkshire Puddings, chopping vegetables for soups & stews, peeling potatoes, shelling peas and making simple sauces.

My DS was a keen young cook too, and I remember him getting his chef's badge at cubs, l think he made an omelette.

As I was using my air fryer the other day I thought what a useful piece of equipment it would be for a young cook, no hot oil to spill or splash, turns itself off at the end of cooking, good for things like fish fingers, potato items, pastry items etc that would be a quick meal for a child. As long as the child had tongs & an oven glove it would be safer than the hob to use.

I think in general at 8 they should be supervised particularly if using hob, grill or oven. To be honest most dishes have elements that kids can help with even if they can't do the whole thing independently. For an example if making lasagne they can chop veg, crush garlic, chop herbs, measure ingredients, grate cheese etc but I'd want to lift the pan off the hob and lift the lasagne in and out of the oven.

For fish cakes, I'd use a recipe where they can be baked as safer than frying. They can peel potatoes, I'd drain, they can mash, shape cakes and breadcrumb.

If you have a food processor it can be handy for chopping or particularly grating. With the help of a food processor coleslaw is an easy side for children to make.

Peppers stuffed with cous cous, chickpeas and veg, topped with mozzarella is a simple dish for kids.

We had rainbow salad, chicken and ham pie and veg (with a veggie option) with chocolate dipped fruit and Victoria sponge from cub 1 ( done with a friend for 8 people) and cub 2 did moules marinier, ham egg and chips and gooseberry fool. All done at home. No clue on what was expected. We just told them to look through the cook books ( cub 1) or cook their perfect meal (cub 2). Possibly we went way beyond expectations. But it was worth it!

@budgiegirl we’ve done backwoods cooking but never the chef cadge (although I suppose some crossover there!) we have 36 Cubs currently…

Rice and chicken is beyond me. I've been veggie since I was 14. If my kids want meat and dh isn't here, they have to cook it themselves!