5 Reasons Why You Should Cook With Your Children
by Alex Freeman
Image Credit:Canva
Your children may get to do some cooking at school, but the lesson time may be limited, and they probably won't have time to develop a big repertoire of cooking skills.
Here are five good reasons why you should cook with your kids at home.
- It's A Vital Life Skill
- It's A Perfect INSET Day Activity
- Your Child Will Be Learning Maths
- It Will Help Their Practical Skills
- It Teaches Them About Hygiene
At some point your child will need to fend for themself, maybe in a student hall of residence or a shared house. A repertoire of at least a few dinners will make them very popular and give them confidence in the kitchen.
Sadly the sun doesn't always shine when we want it to, so we need to find other activities to keep the children occupied on rainy days. It's relatively cheap and can be adapted to the age, ability and concentration span of any child.
From decorating biscuits to cooking a full dinner for the family, it's something that any child can enjoy.
Without even realising it, your children will learn maths while they are cooking.
From counting, to an understanding of weights and measures, reading from a dial, timing things, the opportunities for learning maths are endless.
I spent many years working in secondary schools, and have been in hundreds of science lessons.
There are always a few children who seem really confident in practical lessons - and they are always the ones who do cooking at home. I know because I have asked them!
Following instructions, doing things in the right order and attention to detail, as well as their fine motor skills definitely improve when they cook.
An understanding of food hygiene is an essential of keeping healthy, and when a child cooks they learn about hand washing, storing food correctly and keeping things clean - all vital for staying healthy.
About the Author: Alex Freeman is a freelance writer specialising in parenting and family topics and can be contacted via eParenting.