Being in the kitchen and cooking with your children gives you the perfect opportunity to share life experiences, talk about any issues that may be bothering you child, and can provide a safe place for them to share their fears. I have often found it is easier to learn what is going on my daughter’s world when we are standing at the kitchen counter with a mixing bowl between us. There’s just something natural and freeing about preparing a meal together; conversation naturally flows over subjects important to your children without the interruptions of the day to interfere. The emotional benefits that come from the one-on-one time spent with your child will last a lifetime.
Cooking with your children can also serve as an opportunity to introduce your children to many life skills. It is an excellent opportunity to introduce or reinforce the use of fractions and the concept of matter. Cooking reinforces counting skills, as well as reading skills, in preschool and early elementary students. And your children don’t even realize they are learning!
Cooking also teaches hand-eye coordination and balance (not lessons one would usually think of in the kitchen, I know). It requires a lot of coordination and balance to pour large amounts of anything into another container without spilling some of it–think of the self-control you must have to crack an egg without smashing it all over counter.
Meal preparation is the perfect time to discuss the nutritional benefits of the meal you are preparing together. Children are naturally interested in learning about how the different vitamins affect their bodies. Cooking together is also a prime time to teach children about portion control and how to create a balanced meal. While these lessons many seem trivial in the moment, you are instilling lasting values and passing down important life lessons that will not soon be forgotten.
These are just a few of the important life lessons your child learns each and every time you invite them to cook along side you. As a parent there are many teachable moments in day-to-day life. It is important not to overlook the immense effect the small things can have on our children.
Do you cook with your kids?
image credit: http://students.umf.maine.edu/jasmyn.wagg/public.www/images/sue_mcdonald_and_kids_cooking_large.jpg
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Amanda Henson is Parentella’s Community Manager and owner of High Impact Mom, a socially aware mom-blog.
