01 Sep COOKING WITH YOUR KIDS
So, it’s your night of the week to cook. Why not train your kid to be the next Wolfgang Puck at the same time? Maybe leave the sharp knives out of the equation.
Getting your children involved in the kitchen in one of the best things a parent can do. It’s fun, opens up communication between you and your children, and teaches kids valuable lessons. Also, it really helps to have another set of hands in the kitchen to do the little things you don’t want to do.
1. Encourages healthy eating habits
When you’re cooking delicious at-home meals, you’re not eating fast food, take-out, or other unhealthy processed foods. Kids are more likely to eat healthier foods when they have a hand in making it. These early habits will carry them into their adult lives.
2. Increases social structure
Another fantastic benefit of working with your children in the kitchen is psychological. Preparing meals means more structured dinner times. This is a great time to start teaching them how to behave in social settings as well as basic table manners.
3. Boosts self-esteem
You have plenty of teaching opportunities and the earlier you start the better. If you have a younger kid, give them the simple stuff like snapping peas or sorting the ingredients. As they get older, let them have more complicated tasks like measuring and slicing/peeling, which can improve their math skills and hand-eye coordination. And considering how they aren’t sitting in front of a screen learning hand-eye skills, you’ve just become an awesome parent.