Last week my toddler helped me baking a mug-cake. Okay, confession, it was the other way round. Our sous-chef self promoted to a chef and is directing our work in the kitchen now. When I shared that on my social media pages. Many friends buzzed me if my child, Penguin was actually baking or just posing. That led me to think of how people around us are unaware of a powerful learning tool. Cooking! I can swear that Kitchen is the best classroom ever to learn for children.
We all are aware that cooking is a life skill. If we want to have a clean eating habit in life, then home-cooked meals are the best. But while cooking we, even children, unconsciously learn. There are many benefits that should outweigh your fears if any.
Skills to learn in the kitchen
Most important of all cooking is fun for children.
1 Sensory experience
Children especially toddlers love visiting the kitchen just like playing outdoors. They would jump on an open invitation to help you in the kitchen. Make it an experience to learn in the kitchen.
While making a curry, children can bring down vegetables, wash them, peel them, watch you as you toss veggies in a pan, hear the sizzling noise, smell the aroma of spices and taste the freshly cooked food.
The entire experience engages the five senses of your child.
2. Sense of accomplishment
When we offer help to strangers or friends, we do except a kind appreciation of our efforts. It gives us a sense of accomplishment and self-worth. The same principle works for children too. As we appreciate our kitchen helpers, they feel a boost in confidence in their work.
A pat on back always has a charm in family bonding.
3. Healthy food habit
Planning the meal gives us parents and children an opportunity to choose a healthy food option. Children can categorize types of vegetables, meats, and fruits. Understand raw food like salads, cooked food like upma or khichdi and fruit intake in fresh or juice form. Bonus, we can talk about junk food and its side effects.
4. Try new food
Eating the same food daily does feel boring. While we are cooking at home try new dishes. Explore a new platter. It would help the children to try out new food. It also gives an opportunity to talk about food culture and world cuisine. The scope is huge.
5. Hygiene
Please say you were also thinking about this. The kitchen is supposed to be the second cleanest place at the home. First goes to the spiritual corner.
Cooking with children especially toddlers can be a messy scene. Convert this mess as the opportunity to talk and teach about cleanliness. As for how to clean themselves, why to wash hands before cooking and meals, why clip long nails, go on.
Also, seek their help to put back spices in counter, clean countertops and wipe them.
6. Safety rules
Be won’t be with children all the time. When we expose them to fun in the kitchen, they might drop by when we are not around. And that is a dangerous situation.
While cooking explains kids about safety rules. As toddlers, pre-schoolers can’t operate the gas stove, knives are to use under adult supervision only, avoid going close to a flame, etc. Keep them through about the basic safety rules at home.
7. Appreciate the food
Until you cook a meal, you can never praise the sweat put behind. The gratitude for receiving a warm home-cooked meal can be learned here. With older kids, we can talk about the effort put by farmers and polishing off a meal heartily without any gadget in hand.
8. Follow instructions
Cooking is a gradual process. One has to follow steps and instructions while cooking. Get your enthusiastic kid to follow a recipe.
Either read it along with children or make a toddler-friendly instruction sheet. Even verbalizing steps of the method works fine with many kids.
Learn in the kitchen by following instructions and proceed accordingly. Oh, there is another bonus here, early reading skills. A pre-schooler can read with you and point or ask for the right ingredient.
9. Communication
Alert! When you have an excited learner beside you, you are bound to keep explaining whats-going-on. Ask them to bring needful items, follow instructions, state their observations. Let the discussion go on.
This is another prospect to introduce to new words and revise. Rework on names of veggies, fruits, the color of food, taste them and describe, ask them to flip-whip-whisk…
10. Sharing
Sharing in the kitchen would be particularly tearless. Take turns with the child to mix the dough for chapatis, crack eggs and mix. If you have multiple children widen the scope to share responsibility and take turns.
11. Fine motor skills practice
Scooping, washing, peeling, pouring, mixing, cutting and all kitchen jobs promote hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. The children are mastering their pincer grip, wrist movement and small movements of hands. You can actually skip many toys and learn in the kitchen as the classroom.
12. Early maths
In the kitchen we measure, mix, add, reduce, multiply, use proportions, etc to make a bowl of food or plate of rice. All of these are fundamentals to mathematical concepts.
Ask your child to add a cup of water to the dough, bring three onions. Kids are practicing their maths in a most engaging fashion.
13. Science in cooking
Children would watch water boil and evaporate as steam. They would be fascinated by how the water binds powered wheat as a solid manipulative dough. It is always interesting to watch ghee melt on top of parathas. Ask children how grains turn soft when putting for long in hot water.
There are ample ways to ask why, what, which, when, where and how.
What are your thoughts about involving children in cooking? Do you agree that the kitchen is the best classroom? What do you plan to cook with your children?
*Disclaimer – Photo by Daria Obymaha from Pexels
You can also find this article on Momspresso.
I am participating in HOW TO BE A PROFITABLE BLOGGER blog train. I am growing my blog with Neha of Bloggingmadeeasier Sharingourexperiences and Surbhi of Prettymummasays.
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oh yes, it’s indeed a great learning place. Not for kids but for all of us where experiments makes us happy
True Vidhya.
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Though I am not a fan of cooking but I see my daughter loving it and learning a lot. I agree with all your points. Kitchen undoubtedly is a best place to learn but many of us keep our kids away. Your post is really well written and a must read for all moms.
Thanks for your kind words Arushi.
It is indeed a great teacher in itself. My daughter too loves playing around with me with combinations and permutations.
That’s so lovely of you duo, Fareha. Amazing. Keep visiting us. 🙂
Indeed Kitchen is the best classroom. I remember my elder always hanging around in the kitchen when she started walking around for the first time. The onions intrigued her as she loved holding them and peeling their dry skin. The various shapes of potatoes, some big some small… she used to touch them all. Not only this she loved the sounds in the kitchen as I cooked or took out any utensil. Her favourite toy was a glass and a spoon. As she grew, her interaction with the kitchen became stronger. From making a glass of milk for herself by her own, today she, now 12, is independent enough to bake muffins and biscuits by her own.
My younger one, on the other hand, was more into wheat flour… She loved that powdery touch. In just 18months of age, she used to manage opening the lid of container and put her hands in the wheat flour. It was such fun to watch her making a fist to hold the wheat flour in her tiny hands. She loved having a small piece of dough in her hand and used to mould it into various shapes.
In all, I mean to say that the experience in the kitchen from an early age can help the child in developing their personality.
Loved your post!!
Trust me am so glad to read your experience and your kids’s love in the kitchen. Children need few toys and more interaction. And kitchen of the house teaches them a lot. Thank you for sharing your story Preeti.
True, my son loves his time in the kitchen. rolling rotis to mixing batter to sometimes chopping stuff
Glad to hear that, Rashmi.
Wow I have never liked doing any kind of work in the kitchen. No wonder I’m not as sharp as I could have been. My kids love helping me in the kitchen. I just took it as a blessing but its good to know these things too. Saved your post on my pinterest board. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Cindy.
I could not agree more. You have rightly mentioned all the points. I don’t invite my twinnies, in fact, shoo them away but that’s their favourite play zone. Our entire flat remains empty all buzz only in kitchen right from cycling, storytelling, toy mess….any thing and everything that comes to your mind.😅
I do get that feeling, Debi. Thanks for reading.
O wow….my son used to learn too.. unknowingly he learnt making small things.From your post I do remembered my old growing up my toddler days..nice one.
Thanks for reading and sharing your memories Pallavi!
You just said what my mom used to tell us from the days of childhood, she says, kitchen is the place which keep active your all sensory organs in one shot, also helps you in making a smooth bridge of patience, habit of giving before taking, hospitality in behavior, best way if presentation, cleanliness etc.Awesome post by you Pragnya, you made me realized that time has come to relive all the lessons with my kid through kitchen.
Thanks for your kind words, Archana.
Kitchen is indeed a great learning space.. u have highlighted such important aspects which we fail to notice in our everyday life. And even adressed the issue of mess with kids. loved reading ur post.
Thank you for your appreciation, Suprirti.
My both girls love cooking with me and we three often make easy recipes during holidays. I completely agree with all the points you had shared in the post. personally, I always focus on eating and making healthy dishes and while cooking with them, I try to explain them importance of including healthy ingredients in our diet.
One part of the home that keeps the family together. So many benefits for kids
I have always been saying that a kitchen is a great place to learn. My son always sat on the counter with me when I cooked and now he is a super chef. Your blog is a good eye-opener for parents who avoid letting kids into the kitchen.
I do agree that there is plenty to learn in the kitchen for kids. They also feel a sense of accomplishment and develop confidence when they start making things. Love this post!
The kitchen is indeed a fantastic teacher and entertainer too. My son also loves observing, supervising and creating dishes in the kitchen. I find it most amazing since I hate cooking myself!
Absolutely agree with you. My son also loved to come in the kitchen and help me with work. You have rightfully mentioned , kids learn a lot of skills which are very important for their development