Cooking with kids is a beautiful gift! That’s because cooking and baking with your children offers many benefits. Kids will love cooking family meals and spending valuable time together. Cooking and baking with kids is also easy to add to your routine with the right tools and kid-friendly recipes.
Benefits of Cooking and Baking with Kids
Below, learn 7 benefits of cooking and baking with kids:
1. When Kids Cook, They Eat More Vegetables
Toddlers are notorious for their picky eating, often refusing vegetables. Did you know that kids who help with food preparation are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables? That’s a great benefit of cooking with kids!
If your child refuses to try vegetables, try having them help out in the kitchen. However, do remember to be patient! Kids may need to try a new food 8 to fifteen times (or more!) before accepting it.
2. Cooking with Kids Helps Them Become More Responsible Adults
Another benefit of cooking and baking with kids is that they’ll grow up into more responsible and successful adults. Experts say that doing chores, including meal preparation, from a young age can boost self-esteem and a sense of responsibility.
3. Cooking and Baking with Kids Build Fine Motor Skills
When cooking and baking, children learn how to stir, chop, and pour. These actions use hand muscles that young children will later use when they write, color, and perform other academic tasks.
Kids cooking helps build children's fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and hand strength. For example, when learning to cut with a wooden knife, children must grip the knife and make precise movements.
4. Cooking and Baking with Kids Increases Independence
Independence is something children gain slowly, over time. Yet, it's important to start from a young age with basic chores like cooking. Age-appropriate independence builds autonomy and can also boost your child's mental health and problem-solving skills.
When children know how to prepare basic snacks like crackers and cheese, a fruit salad, or similar items, children build independence. Not only will it save you time (parenting win!), but independence is an important goal of childhood. Children need to gain life skills, including cooking, to grow into capable adults.
5. Baking and Cooking with Kids Builds Self Confidence
Children who contribute to the family boost their self-esteem. When kids are cooking, they also build confidence in the kitchen.
You can also help boost your child's self-esteem by encouraging them. For example, your child might slice a cucumber and arrange it on a plate for everyone.
You can say, "Thanks for preparing this cucumber for us!” Your child will naturally feel proud of their contribution to the family meal.
6. Kids Learn Math and Science While Cooking and Baking
When cooking, you can measure and count ingredients as you go. This works especially well with baking recipes. For example, count out the biscuits as you place them on the tray. Or, count the cups of flour as you add them to the dough.
Encourage older kids to read cookbooks and help convert recipes to 1/2 recipes or double recipes. There are many simple recipes for kids that make it easier to double or triple recipes.
Science also plays a big role in cooking and baking. When you bake a cake, you perform a chemical reaction.
7. Kids Cooking Helps Build Concentration
For very young children, one of the important benefits of cooking with kids is that it builds concentration. Young children need to work on building their concentration muscles to succeed at school! Cooking is one area where children can work on this muscle, learning to focus for longer and longer periods.
Whether your child is shaping dough, following entire kid-friendly recipes, or cutting up ingredients, they’ll have to concentrate for ten minutes or more. You can slowly build your child’s concentration muscles by offering them more and more difficult or lengthy child-friendly kitchen activities.
There are so many benefits of cooking and baking with kids! So, how can you make sure your child gains these benefits?
Tips for Cooking with Kids from a Montessori Teacher and Mom of 3
When my children were very young, I knew I wanted to invite them into the kitchen. Although my Montessori training helped, there's nothing like real-life experience. As a mom of three, here's my two cents on how to cook with kids.
- Use a Kitchen Helper Tower. Use a kitchen helper tower so your child can easily (and safely!) reach the countertops.
- Offer the Right Tools. Offer child-friendly cutlery and cooking tools. A safe knife can reduce risks while also giving your child the chance to develop skills. Try our Mini Cutter, Cutting Board, and Apron & Hat set.
- Be Consistent. Involve your child in the kitchen as much as possible so that they grow more confident in their cooking skills. Start with easier skills like stirring and chopping soft foods and gradually work your way up to more complex skills. You can also build your child's skills by introducing new tools. For example, after your child learns to use a wooden cutter, you might invite them to use a wavy knife or a butter knife.
- Embrace the Mess. Try not to make a big deal of spills and accidents, they’re all part of the learning process.
- Teach Clean-up. Show your child how to use a kitchen cloth, dustpan, and broom so they can help clean as they work. Also, make sure these items are easy for your child to reach on a low shelf.
- Make Your Kitchen Kid-Friendly. Provide some dishes and utensils that your child can use in a low cabinet or drawer. That way, it will be easier for them to access these items while cooking.
Cooking and Baking with Kids Is Worth the Effort
It takes some effort to get your kids used to working in the kitchen. Yet, it's well worth the investment in time. Over time, your child will build important skills and confidence that will serve them their whole lives.
So, get out your aprons, kitchen helper tower, child-friendly knife, and start cooking with your child! You won’t regret it.
Sources:
1. Nutrients
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