The Benefits Of Cooking With Your Children

Children love to do what we adults do. In fact, it is very common for children to play mother-father-child and imitate the tasks that mothers and fathers do, such as cooking. But what if this was not just a simple game? What would happen if you actually cooked with your children? It is actually very beneficial for them.

If you as a parent take it upon yourself to teach your children to cook simple and useful recipes, you will not only spend valuable time with them, but you will also benefit your children’s optimal development.

The benefits of cooking with your children

Replacing children’s toy kitchens with a real kitchen is a fantastic decision. This is something that all parents should consider. Cooking with your children helps them acquire, improve and develop useful skills for everyday life in a fun and playful way.

Communication and language skills

To cook according to a recipe together, it is important to communicate effectively. You must be clear about the steps to be followed, the tools you use and the ingredients you need. This will help your children acquire a wide and varied vocabulary. It also improves their communication skills and they learn to listen actively and reason.

In addition, parents who are fluent in a foreign language may take the opportunity to teach their children to pronounce certain words in that language.

Healthy eating habits, one of the benefits of cooking with your children

By involving them in the cooking in the kitchen, we encourage our children to taste and get acquainted with a variety of foods. They also develop positive experiences with them. Therefore, it is more likely that they will be willing to follow a varied and balanced diet. They get used to eating and handling fruit, vegetables and dairy products, among other foods.

Reading comprehension and mathematical skills

To be able to follow the instructions in a recipe, it is important to know how to read and understand what you have just read. In this way, cooking helps children to develop their reading comprehension. It is also important to have a basic knowledge of certain mathematical concepts in order to be able to count and measure ingredients.

Sensory and perceptual abilities

Cooking new recipes helps children discover and learn about new foods. They can experiment with flavors, colors and textures. This is a great way to stimulate their senses.

In addition, they learn to distinguish between different foods, textures and different flavors they encounter, among other things.

Psychomotor skills

Learning to cook also has physical benefits because it involves learning to handle many different foods and knowing how to use specific kitchen utensils. This positively affects the development of fine motor skills, gross motor skills and island ga – hand – coordination .

Socio-emotional skills

By working together as a family to follow a recipe, children learn many important things. Among other things, that you often have to collaborate with others to achieve a common goal.

In addition, by feeling proud and happy with the result, children begin to believe in their own abilities. They gain confidence in themselves, but also in others. This allows them to grow both emotionally and socially.

Independence, another benefit of cooking with your children

Even if you cook together as a family, it is important for you to ensure that each family member is responsible for an individual task. In this way, your children begin to take on tasks under supervision and with help so that they gradually become familiar with the kitchen. Over time, they can begin to perform these tasks on their own.

So what are you waiting for? There are so many good reasons to start cooking with your kids. We encourage you to cook simple recipes together as a family!