At age 8 and ten they can certainly be helping out with preparing meals, my older kids have been ‘cooking’ since they were little and I think the key is to involve them at all levels of preparation, from planning and purchasing to prepping and presenting; the more involved they are the more pride they will take and the more motivate they will be.

I think we fought over the custard spoon and saucepan; also the electric beaters before we could even reach high enough to help. My Mum made most of our cakes and icecream using and electric cake mixer after doing them by hand for several years. At least my Mum knew exactly what was in the icecream she made. The lucky thing was with one of the fridges we had you only needed to beat the icecream once. It was a can of evaporated milk, some gelatin dissolved in a small amount of hot water, some sugar and vanilla essence. You beat milk and gradually add in the other ingredients at the same time. You can also use the same recipe but add double the amount of gelatin and put it in an ordinary airtight container in the fridge. It keeps for several days. I think the gelatin may act as a preservative as well as flavour. It is ideal if you don’t like icy cold sweet food. A family favourite for many years.

Iv been cooking with my little girl since she was 2. I started with letting her pour ingredients in and mixing things and now she is 3 and cracks egg, adds toppings to pizza and cuts softer fruit with a knife for fruit salad. She often stands on her step and watches me cook and I will continue to let her help where she can

I get mine to help and I got them some kiddicutter knifes which are safe for kids to use as it won’t cut through the skin
Also my 10 yr old makes pasta sauce from scratch and can whip up an omelette and make French toast
As long as they learn under a lot of supervision it is all alright I think
Make things like blender cakes and blender muffins
Those are fun and easy

Yes they can help to to set dining table and after dinner help you to clean all the stuff

My daughter started helping me at four. By the time my daughter was 10 she was able to use the oven and stove top to make things that just needed to be heated. It wasnt until about 14 that she really started making meals.

My kids started helping around 3 or 4 with the preparation. My eldest joined cubs and at age 8 he cooked a meal for the family to get his cook’s badge. My girls joined brownies and had similar tasks to earn badges. I found they all loved helping and cooking an occasional meal as they felt more grown up.

With my daughter & son I started getting them to help with small tasks at 3 years old and gradually increased what they did as they grew and they skill level. My daughter can cook a lot of stuff know at 9 years old and my son is increasing his skills as he is 7 years younger

My boys started helping when they were around 5. It was more with preparation to start with and they used to fight over who got to wash and dry the dishes. I’d let them peel veges and they also could make up salads but I never let them near the stove or oven. I wouldn’t let them near the stove and oven until they were between 8 & 9. They loved to cook and my eldest is now married and he loves cooking. I think it all depends on the child and if you believe they are responsible enough. I just made sure I was always with them until I felt comfortable.

Yep, a great age. I had to learn to cook dinner when I was ten

I started my kids to do small task of cooking while they were in preschool.Also let them to watch how to cook.They will learn easily.

The earlier the better! It’s a great skill and encourages children to get a better understanding of food and a willingness to try new things.

Start slowly with easy tasks im sure they would love to help with the cooking

When they are old enough to help and you think they are fine around hot things like the stove and ingredients

It’s an important life skill. I remember cooking dinner for the whole family at 11 and feeling accomplished.
My husband never had that encouragement and isn’t able to cook anything for himself. As an adult I’ve had to show him the basics that just come naturally to me.

So it really is something important to have and the sooner the better (age appropriate wise). You don’t want them to become clueless adults and it will be harder to convince a teenager.