Encouraging children cooking is great for creating a healthy eating habit while improving self confidence and self esteem.

Cooking with children encourages creativity, an understanding of bad eating habits, responsibilty and involvement.

It requires hands on use of maths concepts, planning, thinking, and time management.

Cooking with children provides opportunities for parenting and sibling bonding and mastery of new skills, as well as lots of fun!

Yes, there can be downsides as well. For many parents there are fears around safety, wasting ingredients, too much mess, and squabbles around cleaning up!

My sister sent her children to my house to learn to cook as she didn't like all the mess they created!

Experience has taught me that effort by parents when their children are young around children cooking certainly reaps multitudes of benefits all round.

My four children are all excellent cooks - they way surpass me in their expertise! I now reap the benefits so I'm always glad I took the time to encourage them in the kitchen!

The Benefits of Children Cooking:

The most obvious benefit of children cooking is that they actually learn HOW to cook!

Cooking with children can involve some, most, or all of the following which is basic to everyday life.

planning menus

,

shopping for ingredients,

correctly storing food items

,

time management,

cooking skills,

presentation,

nutrition,

responsibilty

,

hygiene,

and just plain enjoyment of eating.

Other benefits for children cooking also include:

Opportunities for mastery of new skills,

increased self esteem,

self respect

,

self confidence

,

the art of giving for other's enjoyment,

a sense of service

,

increased creativity and imagination,

better self image which comes with accomplishment.

Many practical skills are learned, all of which are necessary for daily living.

Planning,

thinking ahead,

awareness,

budgeting,

supermarket shopping,

seasonal awareness,

weight and measurement,

reading for comprehension,

gardening,

knowledge of where our food comes from

,

healthy eating habits,

alertness,

safety procedures,

and much more.

Cooking with Children:

If cooking with children isn't part of your daily routine, then I encourage you to ponder on these wonderful benefits and begin to include your children in your meal preparation practices.

They can cook with you or alongside you. Some children really take to cooking, especially baking, and become really involved in their family's daily meal preparation from an early age.

There are wonderful recipe books for children which encourage plenty of creative thinking.

Opportunities for educating your children about poverty, obesity, fast foods and bad eating habits abound - where better but the kitchen to discuss these important matters?