There is no doubting the fact that children learn better when they are getting involved in the day-to-day running of the home. There really isn’t much point in telling them what to do, and expecting them to know what that is without showing them. You have plenty of opportunities to share cooking with your children before they even need to do it in class. Yes having children in the kitchen whilst you’re trying just to get the work done, isn’t going to be the most productive of things, however you will be adding to the children’s quality of life further down the road, when they know how to prepare and cook a meal for themselves and their family. You can even pass down some of your own family recipes if you have them, and make sure that your older relatives legacy lives on, through cooking. So what are some of how we can encourage children to cook and teach them without them even realizing it?
Start young:
When your toddler is banging around the kitchen with the spoons and causing all sorts of chaos, one of the best things to do is give them a focused activity in the kitchen. This may sound a little extreme since a toddler might not be able to focus too long, but if you give them some dough to mix, and some pans to play with, not only will they feel comfortable in the kitchen but they will also be learning. A toddler using their hands and brain in the kitchen is also a great developmental tool. Improving strength and fine motor skills the whole way through. Some people quite often babywear while cooking, so even tiny babies are involved in preparing from the beginning.
Let them help:
Yes, it’s much quicker to do it yourself, and idea, however just letting the child watch you cook isn’t always enough for them to learn. Choose activities and meals that you can give a small child some tasks to do, that are going to be useful for you and also help them learn about how things work in the kitchen. It does take a lot of patience letting a small child help in the kitchen, but so long as it is safe and you have cleaning materials to hand Then you will be sure to add some great experiences to a child’s life.
Make it fun:
Depending on the age of your child, you can make cooking fun by making it a challenge, or competition? Buy some cookie decorating stencils. If you have more than one child, maybe consider a mini bake-off with them? As with anything to do with learning children always learn quicker when they are having fun so add a little bit of entertainment into your cooking, and you’ll have a mini chef on your hands in no time.
Don’t stress!
The main thing to do when teaching your children to cook, or even just letting them help, is to make sure you don’t stress about the situation. As with the previous point, children need to have fun to learn, and if you’re getting stressed over a little bit of a mess, it’s going to ruin the opportunity.
Above all enjoy the quality time with your child in the kitchen, the mess can be cleaned, and the benefits to your child’s brain far outweigh any of the possible issues you come across in the kitchen.
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