Fostering your child’s well-being is a big responsibility. As a caretaker, you’re tasked with nurturing your little one’s physical, mental and social health and, eventually, preparing them for life in the real world. One simple way to help your child thrive? Get them involved in the kitchen from an early age.
Along with modeling health and nutrition, cooking together can teach your child important skills they’ll use and benefit from for a lifetime. Below, learn more about how involving your kids in the kitchen can help them grow.
Encourage Healthy Eating
Most parents have experienced mealtime battles or kids who resist trying new foods. Occasional pickiness or hesitation to try new things can be normal. But over time, these behaviors can stand in the way of a nutritious diet. One way to encourage more well-rounded eating is to include your child in the food preparation process.
Try bringing them along to the grocery store or inviting them to safely help prep ingredients. Feeling part of the process can help your child get excited about what’s on their plate — even if it’s different from what they’re used to. Getting involved in the kitchen also helps slowly expose kids to different foods they may be nervous about. As they smell or touch a new fruit or vegetable in the kitchen, they may feel more comfortable with tasting them at the table.
Teach Life Skills
Preparing food involves many important skills, from nutrition and safety to following directions and problem-solving. As you prepare food together, teach your child about the different food groups, and how each one can help keep the body healthy and strong. All children can benefit from learning kitchen safety practices, such as washing hands before and after handling food. As your child gets older, you can teach them how to safely handle sharp or hot objects.
Cooking with your child can also teach them subjects like reading and math. Invite your younger child to count veggies to put on their plate. Or ask your older kid to help you read your dinner recipe or measure sugar or flour when you bake.
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Promote Healthy Development
Motor skills are your child’s ability to use their body in a coordinated way, which can help them move and perform activities more efficiently. Playtime and sports are helpful ways to encourage the development of fine and gross motor skills. If you want to give your child more practice, include them in the kitchen. Opening and closing containers, pouring, mixing and stirring can help develop important motor skills and encourage hand-eye coordination.
Teach About Other Cultures
Cooking with your kids can teach them about other cultures and their traditions, along with trying new foods and flavors together. Consider planning an occasional themed dinner with your family to introduce common meals from other countries, and work in a few conversations about cultural similarities and differences.
Foster Independence
Involving kids in activities around the home is a great way to encourage independence. Yes, bringing your little one into the kitchen may be more time-consuming now, But you’re ultimately preparing them with skills to help them do more on their own as they get older.
Try teaching your child age-appropriate tasks. Kids can pour a drink in a glass, put food on a plate, safely chop vegetables or boil pasta on the stove. Learning a skill can help kids feel accomplished, which can inspire them to try new things in other areas of their lives. Cooking can also inspire creativity, so encourage your little one to use their imagination in the process.
Spend Time Together
Investing in your relationship is an important part of encouraging social and emotional health in your child. But it can be difficult to find time to spend together with a busy family schedule. Including your child in activities you’re already doing, like meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking and baking, is a great way to spend quality time together while creating new traditions. Plus, in the process, you’ll create some great memories — even if things get a little messy from time to time.
