You’re busy, everyone’s hungry, you need to rush out the door…you just need to get supper done. But if you include the kids when you’re cooking, wonderful things happen. Here’s 5 important reasons to get your kids cooking!
1) They’re more likely to eat food they helped cook.
There’s a certain amount of pride in saying “I made that.” Why not give your kids that little boost when you sit down to dinner? They might even eat vegetables if they get to cook them! (Check out the first bolded point here…or start listening around the 38-minute mark in this podcast – it’s for real!)
2) They’ll be learning life skills.
Between school, soccer practice and choir rehearsal, remember: everybody has to eat…every day. Why not give them the daily life skills they need to eventually cook for themselves? And if you start them out early, there’s more chance they’ll help lighten your load along the way, too! (Yep, that means cook with the boys, too…check out point #4 here)
3) They’ll be helping you.
There’s something “magic” about being old enough to help Mom or Dad. Always be on the look out for simple tasks little ones can do or scale down tasks to fit their abilities. You’ll all have fun AND the work may get done quicker! (A future post will include tasks for different age kids – keep watching! In the meantime, check out point #6 here…)
4) They’ll learn more about the foods they eat.
Chances are there will be lots of questions based on the activity they are doing. Why do we do this? How do we do that? Why do we even eat this?
Use these moments to explain cooking basics, health safety issues, and nutritional basics. You’ll be surprised when you hear them sharing their newfound knowledge with friends! (Point #6 here points to discussing healthy ingredients)
5) They’ll be building a habit of sharing tasks and relationship.
As kids get older, it’s harder to engage them in conversation. They don’t always want to be with or talk to their parents. But if you build this in as a part of your normal daytime routine, you may find you’re keeping a door open to keep them talking during those angst ridden teen years! (Point #1 here says it all!)
Time for some honesty…I did this better with my son than with my daughter. By his mid teens, he could follow a recipe and get the main dish started, if not done, if I was late getting home from work.
My daughter didn’t share his same love of cooking at the time. That being said, she has her favorite tasks in the kitchen and great memories attached to them.
It might take some patience and a little more time at first, but the reasons to get your kids cooking are so important, no doubt you’ll be glad you did. “Come ‘ere, kids…we’re making supper together tonight!”
Share your fun stories of cooking together in the comments below!
