The 5 Surprising Benefits of Cooking with Kids

Did you read that right? Cooking with kids? How can that even be beneficial? Isn’t getting dinner on the table enough of a chore, without throwing the kids into the mix?

In fact, there are many advantages to cooking with your offspring. The top five benefits are listed right here:

Cooking with kids makes healthy kids: Home cooked meals are far healthier than take-out or store-bought meals. They’re also healthier than anything you would find in your average restaurant. When cooking at home, you can control how much salt and fat goes into the meal your kids will eat, meaning you have a clear picture of the nutritional value of what goes into your kids’ tummies. It also encourages families to sit down and eat a meal together, around a table, which encourages chatter and leads to greater emotional intelligence.

Cooking with kids can put an end to fussy eaters: Getting your kids involved in the process of cooking their own meals, will usually mean they are more likely to eat whatever was cooked. The sense of accomplishment that comes from having helped with the preparation of dinner, will encourage your children to eat what they’ve made. They become more adventurous and are more likely to taste new foods. Kids are often wary of trying new foods, but if they’ve participated in the preparation, they will probably be keen to taste their creations.

Cooking is educational: Think of a recipe. It calls for measuring and weighing ingredients. Counting eggs. Counting time. It can make counting fun. You can also use the numbers on the range hood recommended from verellenhc and teach them counting and numbers, temperature, and speed (fan speed). Each ingredient that goes into the recipe can be counted, for example, 1 teaspoon of salt; 3 cups of flour, 2 eggs. You can also calculate how many seconds it takes to bake a cupcake if it takes 12 minutes.

Cooking gives confidence to kids: Our greatest achievement as parents is to raise kids who are confident and self-sufficient. We want our kids to be able to cope with failures as well as successes because life is unpredictable. Giving kids the skill of being able to cook a meal for themselves and others, will give them a sense of being capable and independent. Teaching them to cook basic dishes at an early age, will equip them with skills that others may not have. It comes with a sense of achievement and success. This builds confidence and character.

Cooking with your kids brings you closer: This must be one of the most important benefits… We live in such a fast-paced world. We all tend to spend far too much time staring at screens – cell phones, Laptops, Television. What could be more fun than getting together, putting on aprons and creating something together, as a family? You will laugh at one another’s mistakes. You will taste your creations together. You will come together as a family unit and have fun while learning and accomplishing something.

Sure, you’re likely to have a big clean-up afterward. But what is more important? Spilled milk, flour rings, the odd sticky surface? Or a close-knit family unit, where lots of laughter is shared and a lifetime of memories are made? Think back on your own childhood… Chances are, your fondest memories involved some sort of mess that Mom or Dad had to clean. But it was worth it. Right?