I Gave My Boys a Sharp Knife…and Nothing Terrible Happened! That’s Because…

…because I taught them what to do.

I’ve taught my 3 and 6 year old to properly use a butter knife, so they can butter toast. I’ve taught the older two boys have to use a sharp knife. I have confidence their skills, I still supervise them.

But I gave them a knife and nothing terrible happened.

In fact, quite the opposite happened. Confidence, pride, even some humble bragging. (My oldest recent went on a Scout weekend, and the entire group deemed him the “camp chef” because he was bragging about his skills and proving himself quite the little outdoorsmen around the camp fire and camping stove!)

How did I do this?

While I have been working with the boys in the kitchen for quite some time, had taught the older two to properly use a butter knife, it was my friend Katie’s encouragement and guidance that helped me teach them well. Specifically, it was the knife skills part in her Kids Cook Real Food class that did the trick for me. I finally “got it,” and immediately pulled them into the kitchen to let them watch, learn and practice. It was part the way she laid out the class, so simple to follow and participate with the kids. And it was part the methodology and step-by-step details that she shared for teaching knife skills.

(Of course, I can’t spill all her beans for her, but you can go through the Knife Skills class for FREE!)

Katie understands what I understand as a mom. She understands kids (she has 4, like me…they’re all about the same ages too!). She understands that it’s hard to know when a kid is ready for something, but what if you don’t know how to teach them that skill.

{Side note: Like swimming…I didn’t know the proper way to teach my boys how to swim, so the older 3 did swimming lessons intermittently between ages 4 and 8. I learned the overall step by step and process, and let them practice, practice, practice. Cuatro is now 3 1/2 and he’s ready to learn to swim. A full year younger than the other boys – because he’s ready, because I know how to teach him myself (from what I learned watching the other lessons), and because we are always at the pool so he has plenty of time to practice.}

She understands the challenges for parents that come with teaching basic and advanced kitchen skills, especially when it comes to knives. She even addresses all of that – including the reason I’m teaching my 11 year old and 9 year old at the same time.

I’ve waited to teach my 11 year old how to use a sharp knife because of his dexterity issues. He has extremely low muscle tone in his hands and struggles with fine motor skills. He is working with an occupational therapist, and she agreed that he was ready for sharper knives…with supervision, of course! So he’s learning at the same time as my 9 year old, who does not have dexterity issues and is mature and responsible enough to start with sharp knives.

And because I like to be real…boys love and crave “adventure,” right? Handing a sharp knife to a boy is like handing them an adventure…even if it is just cutting fruit. It’s still an adventure, it’s something they need to learn and something I want them to learn right…from the beginning.

Next stop…Master Chef Junior 😉 😉 😉

If you want to gain confidence with teach your kiddos knife skills and learn from Katie too, then I highly recommend her knife skills class!

You’ll get 3 free videos to help you get your kids in the kitchen in a positive atmosphere and get help teaching them something a little scary but incredibly practical: knife skills!

Your kids will learn how to safely manage either dull or sharp knives (depending on their age) and you’ll get some valuable tips about how and when to get them into the kitchen.

The videos include:

• Basic Knife Safety and Techniques: Teach your kids to master the 3 safe ways to hold food and 4 techniques to cut. This video is a teaching tool for kids to watch.
• Challenges & Developmental Readiness: Just for adults, learn solutions to common challenges so that you can be completely confident giving sharp knives to your kids.
• The Biggest Mistake Parents Make: Get a tested 3-step process for teaching kids in the kitchen so that your young cooks will learn basic skills the right way, the first time.

She’s only opened up this free class for us THIS WEEK. I’ll be sharing some photos and videos of the boys on Facebook and Instagram this week…so you can see what we’ve learned and our progress! They’ve had a great time watching their videos and learning to master new skills. And I LOVE watching their faces light up with delight as they’ve mastered using knives properly!