Grilling with Kids

Introduce grilling to your kids at an early age and they will love it. Obviously you need to take precautions for their safety, but I guarantee your kids will perk up when you ask them if they want to help you grill.

I actually first had my grandson do some grilling when he was 2 1/2 years old. I put a step in front of the grill, then explained to him how the grill was hot and he needed to be careful. We started with hot dogs.

You can and should grill hot dogs on a lower heat setting in order to keep from burning them. I normally grill them with the lid down but did so at this time with it up so he could watch. He used tongs and easily rolled them over. I think only 1 hit the ground.

The dogs came out excellent and he was excited when he took them off the grill and put them on a serving dish I was holding. He ran in the house and told his grandma he just cooked hot dogs. He told his mom when she came to pick him up.

We did hamburgers next, then he took a try at steaks. Now the steaks get grilled at a higher temperature so I had to watch him carefully, but he did a great job.

It’s important to bond with kids and this is a very good way to do so. He is nearing 5 years old now and he still loves to grill and is learning some more techniques all the time.