Cooking With your Children a Great way to Spend Quality Time
One of the first places that families can look for engagement and quality time with their children is in the kitchen. Studies have shown that children who spend time with their parents in the kitchen eat healthier foods, are more confident and learn valuable life and academic skills when they cook with their families. Some kitchen time with your kids is a great way to spend quality time and help their development even with a busy schedule.
When engaging your children in the kitchen it is always important to remember that they are children. A tray may get dropped here and there, but consistency and patience is the key. Choose recipes that are easy to make and within their age limit. Give them directions, but let them exercise freedom while cooking so that the full experience is realized. Children at age 2 can scrub and clean food, at 3 they can decorate cookies or put toppings on pizza, and 5-year-olds can measure ingredients, knead dough, or stir with a spoon. Also make your children part of the decision making process in what to prepare. Give them something to engage in while the food is cooking as well, so that they don’t associate the experience with any form of boredom.
Experts on the subject advise setting a day aside to prepare food with your children, and recommend preparing multiple dishes that can be used as leftovers for the rest of the week. It is also possible to use utensils at hand to enhance their cooking experience instead of spending money on cooking sets. Smaller utensils that are more suited to their needs means that they will have their own set of tools. Children can also help with cleanup. Get in the habit of buying them their own cleanup device and setting aside a separate bowl to toss vegetable peels and other scraps to help eliminate messes.
During busy times it is often difficult to spend time with your children in a meaningful manner. Cooking with your children can teach them valuable lessons and aid them in their development.
Tags: education, kids, spending time
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