Food is such a family affair – from eating it to making it. Traditions usually involve food. So if you’re looking to get the family together, then make it a food affair. Remember the family that cooks together stays together. Okay, maybe not, but you are more likely to have your children eat something new if they help prepare it. So the next time you are going to make a meal or bake something, get the whole family involved. Here are the benefits of cooking and baking together as a family.
* It will help get children to try healthy fruits and vegetables. Kids can be picky about what they put in their mouths. One day the color green is out, the next it’s orange. But if they are the ones preparing the meal they might be more likely to give peppers a try as you’re cutting them up to go into the sauce.
* Cooking together as a family will mean fewer meals eaten out. If you plan to make a meal with the kids, they aren’t going to let you out of that. And let’s face it – more help in the kitchen is always a good thing. And it actually makes cooking more enjoyable when you have someone in the kitchen with you.
* Family meal times are more structured. If you stop to get everyone cooking, then it automatically leads to everyone sitting around the table eating what they have made. This is a great way to get everyone to slow down and come together as a family.
* You’re getting the kids involved in meal planning, shopping, and food preparation. These are all skills we want our children to learn so when they go out on their own they are self-sufficient. They’ll learn about budgeting and portion sizes too when helping with the meal planning and shopping. All excellent tools to have when they go out on their own.
* There are so many educational tools in cooking. Math is used to learn about fractions and proportions, reading for reading a recipe, and even science to show how things mix together or don’t mix together. There are so many great educational lessons to teach children when you’re cooking in the kitchen together.
* Kids, especially little ones, want to feel like they are contributing to the family. Giving them any little task to do, even if it’s just stirring the ingredients together, will make them feel so accomplished and a part of things.
* Parents are spending quality time with their kids. Food is a great ice breaker in any situation, and you have to eat anyways. So while you’re cooking, instead of kicking the kids out of the kitchen because they are underfoot, put them to work and then start asking them about their day. You and your kids will really cherish this time together.
* This is a great way to reduce screen time. What happens when you’re cooking dinner and the kids are bugging you? You tell them to leave and they probably go off to watch TV or play video games. Give them a potato to peel instead, and they will spend less time in front of a screen.
* It’s a self-confidence builder. A child who feels they have accomplished something that the whole family can sit down and enjoy together is naturally going to feel better about himself. It gives a child purpose where before he might not have seen his purpose.
* It can keep kids from using drugs. Now this isn’t the only thing you want to do as a parent to keep your child from experimenting with drugs. Of course you need to teach them to say no and have an open line of communication, but cooking together helps forge that open line of communication. Being caring and supportive is helpful, too. You get a lot of opportunities to offer compliments and support when you’re in the kitchen cooking with your child. And if your child is cooking and eating with you, then he can’t be smoking dope.
So if you aren’t cooking and baking as a family, you might want to start now. There’s so much to be gained from this experience with your family.
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