Top 5 reasons to spend time in the kitchen with kids

Baking – you either love it or hate it.

Some find the precise measurements, variety of mixing techniques (folding, blending, mixing, creaming) and baking time calculations invigorating, while others find them frustrating.

Although my husband and I love to cook together, we don’t do what you would call traditional “baking” very often. However, we do make a lot of treats and foods with our kids.

Whether you are actually slaving away over a hot oven all day or throwing a few ingredients in a bowl, mixing them up and popping them in fridge for your favorite no-bake treat, time in the kitchen with your kids is almost always well spent.

Here are my top five reasons for creating culinary creations with your children:

1. Patience

So many things in our kids’ lives are instant. This teaches them that everything should happen “right now” and it frustrates them if it doesn’t. Making food takes time. It is a process that has a beginning, middle and end and most recipes need to be followed precisely to get the result you are looking for. Buying your ingredients, setting them out in the order you will need them, reading the recipe, mixing them together, baking/cooking them… it all takes time. Seeing something through from beginning to end is rewarding and teaches kids that the good things in life are sometimes worth waiting for.

2. Back to the basics

I know I can’t be the only parent out there that has been blown away at some point by how little my kids know about where food comes from. Shopping for and making food together is a perfect opportunity to teach them how that food got from a farm to your house. Better yet, bring your kids with you to the grocery store or market and have them pick out the ingredients for their dish.

Children who make the food they eat are more likely to try new things. Something about seeing how it was created makes them more willing to take that first bite.

They also tend to eat healthier as they are more informed about what they are putting into their bodies. Homemade treats can also include less preservatives, no packaging and include ingredients that are responsibly sourced.

3. Self confidence

Teaching your children how to follow a recipe and then letting them do it themselves sets them up for success in so many parts of their lives. After all, what are directions for taking a test, instructions for building a bookshelf and blueprints for a building? They are recipes for things other than food!

Providing a meal that their siblings or parents really enjoy is a great way to boost self-esteem.

Cooking and baking are tools your kids will use for life. They will fall back on these skills when they are home alone in their teens, when they move out and are in their 20s, when they are trying to impress their dates and when they are feeding their families.

4. New skills

Shopping for and following a recipe teaches children countless lessons. Math, language skills, problem solving, cooperation (if you have more than one child), fine motor coordination… the list goes on and on.

If individual apples are $0.75 or you can get a bag of 12 for $8, which is the better deal? What does flambé mean? How many millilitres are in a cup? What is a method that we can use to take equal turns adding ingredients into the bowl? Let’s use our pincher fingers to sprinkle spices or decorations onto a dish!

Making food together teaches kids about the five senses, chemistry, organization, cleanliness and attention to detail.

The kitchen also affords children so many chances to be creative. Let them substitute mini M&Ms for chocolate chips, add pecans, dye the treats with food coloring or try the recipe they have done a few times by themselves.

5. Togetherness

Perhaps the most important thing your child will learn in the kitchen is that you enjoy spending time with them.

We are all busy, sometimes so busy, we barely have time to look at each other while we are running from school to work to lessons to birthday parties, let alone truly connect with each other.

Setting aside time to bake or cook together brings us closer. You might be surprised about the details of their lives that even the “hardest-to-crack” kid will share with you as you stand around the oven waiting for your creation to cook.

Remember that everyone makes mistakes when cooking and baking and that the loaf of bread you were trying to bake that turned into slime is a great learning opportunity.

So, roll up your sleeves, pull out that stained cookbook, strap on your apron and get ready to create, connect and learn with your kids!