Top 10 Reasons for Cooking with Kids

Spending time with your kids in the kitchen is important.   Read our top ten reasons why you should make cooking with your kids a priority in your busy life.

1. You will teach them life skills – how to feed themselves.

2. You will have quality / bonding time together.  Kitchen chats while you are preparing food are a great way to catch up with hectic lives.

3. You can teach your kids kitchen safety under your supervision - to avoid accidents later.

4. You can teach your kids about health/science – how stuff grows, what organic is, what is local & imported, etc.

5. Teach your kids how to choose fresh produce and meats – what to look for, what different cuts mean, what to do with older produce (soups, quiche, stews, etc.)

6. You can teach your kids about nutrition – why it is important to get many different vitamins; the basics of fats, carbs, and protein; portion control, etc.

7. Teach your kids how to read recipes & plan menus.  They can learn to write shopping lists based on the menus.  Planning a dinner involves timing- a way to teach about time management.

8. Kids will learn math lessons – measuring, fractions, costs per items/servings & how to save money preparing their own food.

9. You can spark kids’ imagination and creativity.  Let them make platters or dishes with nice garnishes or fancy presentations.  Have them make beautiful appetizers or desserts they can serve at parties to boost self esteem.  Let them have fun mixing cookie dough with their bare hands and experimenting with color and texture.

10.  You will benefit from having a helper in the kitchen to help you cook, set the table and clean. Now which busy parent doesn’t need that?