[refoundglory]

It's totally possible to learn to cook without ever ruining a meal. You start by working under supervision and doing prep tasks - a lot like the hierarchy in a professional kitchen.

[wincy]

My daughter is three and she already cracks the eggs for breakfast. We’ve ended up with a few yolks on the countertop but it works pretty well. Today I took out the garbage and came back to discover she’d put a new bag in, without any prompting whatsoever. She desperately -wants- to be useful and get our approval, and it’s really endearing. It makes me really proud of my little child, even if the day before she pulled all the stuffing out of the pillow.

It believe it also helps that we don’t have TV or any electronic devices for her to use. We dabbled in Daniel Tiger and the like, and her behavior immediately became worse, and the TV was the only way to mollify her.

[toomanybeersies]

My parents were never adventurous cooks (ironic, considering they love travelling to other countries for their cuisine), but I've always loved pushing culinary boundaries. A standard dinner cooked by my mum might consist of rice, microwaved vegetables, and microwaved chicken breast with a jar or packet of sauce mix. Most meals my parents cooked were based around pre-made sauces or seasoning packets.

I think the ruined meals were more a case of me biting off more than I could chew and attempting something beyond my skill level. I've always loved experimenting in the kitchen, but when I was starting out it didn't always go so well.

My experimenting has paid dividends though, as people are constantly impressed at everything I cook.

[criddell]

We started using Blue Apron a couple of times a week and an unexpected benefit was that my kids have started cooking and helping in meal prep more. Having the correct ingredients in the needed portion size with clear text and lots of images makes cooking very kid friendly.