If you’ve visited 30days for awhile, then you know that teaching my kids how to cook is at the top of my must do mom list. Last summer I posted about Kids Cooking Camp and touched a little bit on this but today I’m back with more specifics.
Kids learn basic safety and awareness in the kitchen.
This is a big reason for kids to get started in the kitchen. I know lots of parents shy away from having their kids in the kitchen because they are worried about safety. But I really feel like if they are taught from a young age, they will be more aware of their surroundings. It’s important to give them age appropriate tasks to do. I wouldn’t have a 3 year old chopping vegetables with sharp knives. But if they start with simple tasks and build over time, they will be more than ready as they get older.
If they are taught what the stove is, what it is used for, how it works they will have an understanding of how/why it gets hot.
Cooking can be a fun time to bond with your kids.
One of the things that makes me most happy is hearing from my youngest that he loves spending time baking with me. He knows that it’s our time with my undivided attention. The truth is, often I am going in 100 different directions. But if I am in the kitchen with him, he knows that I’m focusing on what we are doing and he loves that.
Cooking and baking can be educational.
It involves obvious educational benefits like measuring and math. But kids will also learn how to stir, how to mix, use their motor skills and more. There are some awesome benefits besides the amazing meals and treats that come out of the oven or off the stove.
Your kids will become more independent and confident.
Have you ever watched one of those kids baking/cooking challenges? I am blown away at not only their skills but their confidence in the kitchen. It makes me so happy to know that my kids are learning things now that they will use every day in their lives when they are older. They learn pretty quickly that being in the kitchen takes practice, but just like anything else- the more time and practice you put in the, the better you get at it. It takes time and often times a lot of hard work but their faces light up when they learn something new or bake something fantastic.
They will appreciate your cooking more.
It’s incredible how much kids appreciate what you do when they have to do it themselves. If they are learning how to cook, they start to understand how much time and energy goes into each dish. They are a little more grateful and a little less whiney about what is presented to them. And bonus – if they don’t like what you make, and can find their way around the kitchen, you can offer to let them cook the next meal!
In the future I’ll get in to how to teach them how to make a list, meal plan and grocery shop. But for now, if you want to get your kids or grandkids cooking, check out these kids cooking posts:
Make a Kids Recipe Book
Strawberry Dump Cake
I have always cooked with my kids! They are excellent at fractions; ratios and proportions! They don’t realize they are doing math until they get into middle school (most of the time). I also let them create things, they would talk with me about ingredients of what they wanted to do and if it didn’t turn out we explored why. Great critical thinking skills! It is such a basic life skill!