What’s cooking, Ask the Kids! Cooking with Kids and 5 Reasons why you should do it

There are a lot of options when it comes to keeping your kids engaged with fun activities at home. But what if we tell you that one particular option will make your kids eat better? That sounds great, right? Cooking with your kids is, of course, a fun activity to do. But it will also help you to deal with their fussy nature when it comes to eating healthy. Imagine how lovely it would be if they helped you to put a meal together and then ate nicely at the same time. That is like a dream come true for all the moms out there. But sometimes, engaging the little ones in Cooking with your kids can be a bit tough, and you need to take a few precautions as well in order to avoid any mishaps. Here are some tips that might help you enjoy the activity to its fullest with the least worries possible.

Engage them in the Prepping Process

If you want to hook up their interest and attention in the cooking process, keep them involved in every step. They will feel more connected, and the enthusiasm will be to die for! For example, if you wish to make a nice dinner for Saturday or Sunday, tag them along for the grocery shopping. Encourage them to pick up new ingredients, colorful veggies, and fruits. Keep them along from when you do all the chopping and other preparation right till the taste test. Keep the knives and other sharp tools at a safe distance from your kids, though.

Give them a Choice

If you’re looking for new recipes to try, why not take some suggestions from the little ones? Whether you’re flipping through a cookbook or scrolling through some recipes on the internet, ask them what they would like to eat and help prepare. They are more likely to be excited about it if you pick the recipe of their choice. This will keep them involved as well as solve the problem of the fussy eaters. You can also take this opportunity to give them credit for their help by naming the entire meal after your kids. Likewise, urge all other family members to appreciate them for their efforts. This gives the little ones a huge sense of accomplishment.

Cooking time equals Storytime

When waiting for something to be cooked or when chopping, you can tell them some fascinating stories. You can even tell them some stories linked to the recipe you are cooking, stories from your childhood, and memories connected to the recipe. This will keep the atmosphere light, fun, and full of emotions at the same time. It will help you connect with them on a different level and help them connect to food and certain recipes.

Assign specific tasks to them To show the kids that they are equally in charge, give them specific tasks that they can easily do independently. The tasks have to be according to the age of the children and shouldn’t involve the use of knives, stoves, or any electronics with blades. First, you can ask them to mix batters, pick out leaves from a bunch of greens, measure some ingredients using measuring cups or bowls, take out peas from pods, etc. You can give them small rewards like a bite of cookie dough or licking the mixing spoons and see their eyes glimmer. You can also use this time to help your kids in brushing up on their maths. You can teach them simple operations like counting, addition, subtraction while cooking.

Feed to their Curiosity

Growing kids often ask a lot of questions about everything. While cooking, answer their questions and encourage them to learn the name of the most common ingredients. Ask them to fetch them for you and correct them softly if they are wrong. Along with this, you can use the cooking time to help them explore their senses and teach them to identify certain sounds. Treat the cooking process similar to a small science project where they can explore things with their tiny sweet hands. Encourage them to observe phenomena like the boiling of soup or water, rising of the dough,banana bonda, baking of the bread or cake. Acquaint them with the changes that are happening continuously. Give them some important lessons like adapting to changes, being observant, being helpful, etc.

Conclusion

Cooking with your kids, is a super fun activity. Especially when the time for Christmas and holidays are around, you can use their help while teaching them some valuable things in the process. It will definitely be a few hours full of laughter, emotions, lessons, and unconditional love. So, don’t hesitate while calling in your little chefs to lend a helping hand.

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