Cooking with your children might sound messy and troublesome, especially if they’re young, but it’s an activity worth considering. It engages their senses and mobility, furthering their development. It also helps them understand responsibility, cooperation, friendship, etc. It might be challenging to get your kids excited about it, but here are several reasons why you should cook with them and tips on how to do it.
1. Change a Picky Eater
One of the worst headaches for any parent is having a picky eater because it’s hard to feed them nutritious things. However, they might want to taste everything if you make cooking fun. Sometimes, their pickiness comes from needing to know what’s in a meal or not liking the texture.
Therefore, you can plan a make-your-own pizza day, for example, and have all the ingredients ready. Show them how to flatten the dough, like when playing with clay, and guide them through everything else. Let them taste the toppings like corn, peppers, etc. Let them discover precisely what they want to eat.
This ‘playtime’ will benefit their development in ways you won’t even imagine. Young kids start understanding the world thanks to realistic pretend play, and they can be as young as three years old. Therefore, letting them make their food is like experiencing a new game, which will improve their relationship with food.
However, don’t get mad if they just want a Margherita pizza. The traditional version of that dish has three things: tomato, sauce, basil, and cheese. It’s still a nutritious meal if you use fresh and organic ingredients.
2. Improve Their Vocabulary
During the cooking process, you’ll tell them new words and explain what they mean, improving their literacy. You can read the recipe aloud to your kids and have them repeat the instructions as they perform them. It’ll also help them understand different processes and how to follow the rules. Cooking is a science that can benefit any child.
You can even buy them their own cooking toys or child-safe utensils. Your phone will probably show you notifications for these products. Targeted audiences spend 76 times more on advertised items and services online than other consumers. If your kids have these items, they’ll be even more encouraged and excited to cook with you.
3. Prepare Them for Life
Feeding your children is one of the primary responsibilities of any parent, but some people forget that kids will be adults someday. Some moms cook for their sons until they’re well into adulthood because they didn’t take the time to teach them earlier. Cooking prepares people for life and being on their own.
Takeout or microwave dinners are fine occasionally, but anyone should be able to make simple things, such as rice, pasta, etc. Your kids should start learning the basics early, even if they don’t want to. The truth is that they’ll be grateful to you for pushing them to use the instant cooker.
4. Embrace Their Culture
The way you cook is a big part of your culture. Showing your kids how to make certain meals helps them embrace and carry their heritage with pride. Many kids typically want to have what everyone else is eating, and they forget their roots. However, if you take the time to cook together, they will love different spices and a variety of ingredients.
They’ll be open to new experiences in the future, like trying out special restaurants and meeting people from other cultures. They might buy cookbooks and experiment at home. Food is an intricate part of life that some people have reduced to a chore. That habit will only change when you start cooking with them from a young age.
Now that you understand the importance of cooking with your children, you can plan your next dinner-making experience. You just have to be safe and give them tasks that won’t lead to injuries. Start with the suggested pizza party and see how it goes!