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Finger foods such as chicken nuggets are always a hit. I keep a carton or two on hand for a never-fail snack food for kids$or grown-ups. 

Young children often prefer uncomplicated tastes.  While some may go for elaborate sauces, it's safest to cook chicken by quickly sauteing it in your frying pan, and then have any of the grown-up's sauces available for the kids to use as an optional dip.

Avoid highly seasoned foods for kids unless you know they're used to them.

Frequently young children like uniform textures.  Casseroles with hard and soft textures would be riskier than, say, a straightforward boned chicken breast.

Pieces cut from a cooked Cornish hen can be a real treat for a small child.  He or she eats the child-size portion, breast or leg, while the grown-ups eat regular size broiler breast or drumsticks.

My friends in Cooperative Extension tell me that the latest scientific research suggests thinking of a balanced diet in terms of several days rather than just a rigid 24-hour period.  That means that if one of the kids in your care goes on a chicken-eating jag or a peanut butter jag or a not-eating jag, don't worry;  it's ok as long as in the course of several days he or she is getting a balanced diet.  Knowing this can make meal time a lot more relaxed.

Cooking with school age kids can be a lot of fun, as long as it's presented as a treat instead of a chore.  You might, for a start, get them involved in planning the week's menu.  I know some families who allow each child to pick the main dish for one meal a week. Older children actually get to cook their choice. My daughter-in-law, Jan Perdue, suggests getting kids to pick out meals with an ethnic or international theme so that mealtime is a time to explore other cultures as well as a time to eat.

Food Safety when Cooking with Kids

When I'm cooking with kids, my first concern is food safety. I explain to them that in most cases food-borne illnesses don't make you violently sick (although they can); the usual episode is more likely to be simple queasiness or a headache or feeling under the weather and not knowing quite why. To avoid these nuisance illnesses as well as the possibility of more serious ones, the number one rule is:

• Wash your hands and all utensils before and after touching any raw meat.
• efore starting to cook, read the recipe carefully and gather all ingredients and equipment.
• Don't wear loose, floppy clothing or sleeves that are too long.  Tie back hair if it gets in the way.
• When using a sharp knife, cut on a cutting board and point the knife away from your body.
• If you're walking around with a knife, hold it so the blade is pointed toward the floor and away from your body.
• Make sure you know how to light your stove.  If a gas burner or oven doesn't light, turn the knob to "off" and ask an adult for help.  Electric burners remain hot even after they're turned off, so don't touch!
• When removing lids from cooking pots, point them away from you to prevent steam burns.
• Don't let pot handles extend over the edge of the stove or counter$a little brother or sister could grab the handle and pull it down on his or her head.
• Never stick anything into an electric mixer or blender while it's running.
• Don't let any part of your potholder touch the burner; it could catch  fire.
• Clean up as you go along$and don't forget the cutting board.
• Double check that stove and appliances are turned off before you leave the  kitchen.  Make a habit of turning off the burner before removing your pan, that way you won't forget.
• Never be embarrassed to ask for help. That's how we learn.
• Personally, I love having kids in the kitchen.  I like the bustle and hubbub, and even though I know, as I'm sure you do too, that we parents could probably do things a lot faster without their "help," that's not the point.  The point is being together and doing things together and having fun together.

From the Perdue Chicken Cookbook