The busy holiday season is just around the corner and you probably have enough stress without worrying about your child’s picky eating habits. Do you want your children to try a wider variety of foods? If so, consider enlisting him as your official “kitchen helper." Kids who are more involved in the preparation and cooking of meals are more apt to taste and enjoy those foods. All parents know that kids love to have control and independence in their lives, so give them some power in the kitchen and encourage new eating habits!

Let your children choose a creative nickname, only to be used when they are playing the role of your cooking assistant. Just like a superhero, they can only use that name when they are in the kitchen, using those secret powers to help you! A few examples might include Matthew Masher, Thomas Tomato, Cooking Carol, etc.

Provide kid-friendly cooking gear. You can purchase cooking tools specifically designed for young ones or just choose tools that would be safe for them. Check out these Playful Chef sets for kids ages three to five or six and up, or the inexpensive aprons and chef hats from GrowingCooks.com. If ordering from a site like this, consider letting your child pick their own apron and hat.

Find space in the kitchen for your children to prepare foods. It might just be one stool or a separate workspace on the counter, but just make sure to designate this area. They will be proud to have a space in the house which is usually controlled by mom and other adults. If they are just too young to participate but like to observe, be sure to find a good spot for them to watch you cook. If possible, use glass bowls and clear dishes for their visual enjoyment.

Ask for your kids’ advice throughout the entire cooking process. If your recipe calls for carrots, ask your daughter if you should use big or small carrots in the recipe. By making a decision about the meal, she will be more likely to take to the chosen vegetable at mealtime.

Work on basic math skills in the kitchen. Count out the number of eggs or cups of flour for the recipe. If you are kids are older, you can also practice math with measuring cups and kitchen timers.

Take your children with you to the grocery store or farmers’ market to pick out the ingredients. If you have young children, aim for word pronunciation or spelling of fruits and vegetables. Let them unload groceries at home to get excited about the cooking process!

Get playful.. Check out the book Food Play by Joost Elffers and Saxton Freymann. It is full of wonderful, vibrant and silly photographs of fruits and vegetables (no words). My daughter just discovered this book at home, and she loves to match the real vegetables in the kitchen to the playful photographs in the book! Z Recommends also did a great review of several cookbooks for children.

For more tips, see this post from Z Recommends. Before you know it, your children might just be asking you to make more healthy recipes in the kitchen!