Cooking with kids! 9 benefits of letting your child help in the kitchen

Do you remember cooking with your grandparents when you were a young child during summer break? Or helping your mom bake cookies? Fun times, weren’t they? A family that cooks together has fun together, and everyone learns a few things together! 

It’s never too late or too early to involve kids in the kitchen. You would, of course, require a lot of patience and time and do some extra clean-up after, but it would all be worth it.

9 benefits of cooking with kids

A life skill 

Cooking is an essential life skill, and that is the first and most obvious benefit, one that children can adapt to well as they grow up. It is a basic survival skill every person should learn. They learn to feed themselves and their loved ones when it is their turn. 

Enhances language skills

Children from toddler to elementary school often learn things by touching, feeling, tasting, smelling, listening, reading, and observing. For this same reason, the kitchen becomes a perfect environment for teaching and learning for your young ones.

Their language and vocabulary development as they read and hear new words. Talking and describing recipes and ingredients exposes young children to new words and terms. Ask your little one to read out the recipe and describe what they’re doing and what they taste; this reinforces comprehension and makes them understand the connection between written material and the physical act of cooking.

Develops math skills

One of the most significant advantages of cooking with your kids is that it provides many opportunities to practice counting, adding, subtracting, dividing, and developing their understanding of numbers—especially for preschoolers.

They can count how many bowls they would need and understand the concept of fractions as well. You can ask questions like how many teaspoons it will make if we add ½ teaspoon of sugar twice and how many cups of flour are needed when the recipe says “2.5 cups of flour” and such.

Introduces kids to scientific concepts

Cooking involves a great deal of science. Children will learn what happens when certain ingredients are mixed; they can watch how color, texture, and form change while cooking.

Ask them what might happen if we add too much of an ingredient like salt or set the wrong temperature in the oven. Not only are these questions designed to pique curiosity, they also help build reasoning skills, and that is the basis for most scientific inquiry. 

Develops hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills

Mixing ingredients, rolling dough, or even using cookie cutters are great ways to hone your child’s strength and control. Pouring an ingredient with one hand while mixing with the other develops hand-eye coordination in children, for example. You can also help improve these skills by letting your child complete simple tasks like whisking ingredients together, flipping pancakes, or pouring batter into molds. 

Boosts self-confidence

Children feel a great sense of accomplishment, pride, confidence, and self-esteem when they can follow a recipe that turns out well. Cooking also boosts creativity by letting children have fun with the presentation or adding or replacing ingredients in the dish.

Encourages an adventurous eater

A significant benefit of cooking with kids is that it helps children become adventurous eaters and widens their palettes. You don’t have to bribe or coax your child into eating something because cooking taps their curiosity, making them want to know what different foods taste like and generally become more open to tasting or eating new foods.

The earlier you start, the better because young kids are more likely to be open to trying and tasting different ingredients and want hands-on experience with varying food textures.

Builds relationships

Cooking together is an excellent opportunity for family bonding. Take some time out on the weekends and cook a meal together. Fun memories, delicious food, and spending quality time with you and their siblings will help build the relationship between you and your children. 

Promotes healthy kitchen habits

Cooking from an early age educates children about healthy food hygiene and safety in the kitchen. It would educate them about proper cooking tools, the right temperatures, the importance of maintaining a clean kitchen, washing fruits and vegetables, and so on. 

As they grow up, children become more aware of food safety and become conscious that some ingredients have expired or spoiled, which honestly, even we as adults might sometimes not be aware of.

No matter when you decide to cook with your child, whether they’re three or 13 years old, they’ll appreciate the quality time spent together. Cooking not only becomes a fun pastime for children but also teaches them several life skills and builds a healthy, strong bond with family. 

At byjuslearning.com, we provide curriculum-aligned, grade-level learning experiences for kids between ages 4 to 8, helping them build on skills they learn in school.