Tuesday, April 7th, 2009...7:23 pm
4 Great Reasons to Cook with Your Kids
I was proud to be named the “Cooking with Kids expert” for a new audio program, soon to be released on A Million Cooks. Each of my “food-casts” will be one minute long and will be related to family meals and cooking with kids. After 6 years of teaching cooking classes for children, I have loads of ideas to share. But I thought I’d start at the beginning – my first food-cast will give my readers an overview of why they should get their kids into the kitchen in the first place.
Take a deep breath – I know you imagine ingredients all over the floor and maybe even on the walls. But with a little bit of attention, the quality time you will spend with your child will be fun and productive, not disastrous. Here are four great reasons to invite your children into the kitchen:
- Cooking with your children helps them have a good attitude about food (even if they choose not to eat it). You are setting a great example for tasting new foods, and eventually they will catch on.
- When you ask for kids to participate in the creation of food that will be shared with the whole family, their self esteem and confidence will soar! It shows you respect them and their abilities!
- In addition, cooking together builds social skills through sharing and cooperation.
- It is also a great way for them to express their creativity, as they play with their food.
If you have ideas for Cooking with Kids topics that I should include in future “food-casts”, please let me know by leaving a comment. The link to this one will be posted soon. Thanks!
8 Comments
April 7th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
I can’t say enough about the importance of cooking with kids. I truly believe that it’s the #1 way to introduce them to new foods, which will likely evolve to a love for good food…foodies in training!
We also use cooking & baking with our kids as lessons in math, reading, science, history, and agriculture.
Thanks for doing this!
April 7th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
[...] Original post: What’s Cooking Blog » Blog Archive » 4 Great Reasons to Cook with … [...]
April 9th, 2009 at 2:56 am
Congratulations on your upcoming food-casts!
Teaching kids to grow, taste and cook their food is so important and unfortunately seems to be happening less and less as we rely more on takeaway food and eating out.
Perhaps the financial crisis will encourage more people to cook at home to save money – this will have so many flow on benefits to health and family too!
You mention kids choosing not to eat certain foods (and I think that is a great attitude to pass on – that you should try different foods and sometimes won’t like them) – but as a non-parent who loves her friends’ kids – at what age do they start to really know whether they like something or not (as opposed to not wanting to eat for a multitude of other tanty-inducing reasons)?
The other thing I think is important is to set a good example. I’ve seen parents pile up plates with vegetables for their kids – and don’t eat the veg themselves!
Personally, my favourite memories of my childhood were of time spent in my grandparents’ garden and kitchen. The things I learned there will stay with me forever. I wrote about that a little while ago at http://beyondbeeton.com/weight/the-gift-of-joy-in-food
I was thinking about printing it out and giving it to them but I’m not sure as yet!
Thanks again for a great post – I really think that this is a game-changing issue.
April 9th, 2009 at 4:35 am
[...] What’s Cooking Blog gives Four Great Reasons to Cook with Your Kids [...]
April 9th, 2009 at 7:26 am
Hi Rachel,
I don’t think there is a certain age for knowing if a person likes food or not – it seems to be more of an evolution. Some days kids like something and them suddenly they decide they don’t. Nutritionists say that sometimes it takes 15-20 exposures of a new food before it can be liked or even tolerated… so parents need to be patient and keep on trying! Part of it is how their peers or dining companions react to the same food… I completely agree with you that parents have to put on a happy face when they try new foods. Mealtime is not the ideal place for parents to be hypocrites! But nutrition worries parents and they often react in ways they wouldn’t normally. Thanks for the comment!
April 12th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Hi Michelle – congratulations to you! What a great title “Cooking with kids expert”
I love your reasons for cooking with kids. When my daughter was at school (she is home schooled now) she had a cooking class and the teacher took me to one side and told me that it was clear she was the only child in the class who had ever been allowed in the kitchen.
She was the only one who could name the fresh fruit and veg and the only one who knew what a sieve was.
I found that so terribly sad.
I love your third reason. My daughter feels so good and looks all grown up when she has been making food! She loves offering it to her Dad with a flourish of her hand!
Which are your most popular dishes for cooking with children? I’d like some inspiration
April 13th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
You should be proud that your daughter is developing so beautifully that her former teacher noticed. It means you are doing something really well
Hmmm – our most popular dishes to cook with kids? Great question. They love doing recipes where they can really use their hands. One of our favorites is to make Asian spring rolls with rice paper wrappers. They love to see the transformation of the wrapper as they soak it and it becomes pliable! Thanks for visiting and for the comments
April 24th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
[...] If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy: 4 Great Reasons to Cook With Your Kids [...]
Leave a Reply