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Why Kids Should Learn to Cook

There are so many reasons to get your kids in the kitchen and to teach them to cook. There is no way I could list them all here. Here are some of the reasons why kids need to learn to cook and how you can get your kids interested in cooking.

Kids in the Kitchen - Why Kids Need to Learn to Cook

Why Kids Should Learn to Cook

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The biggest reason I can think of for getting kids in the kitchen and wanting to learn to cook is that I’m not a fan of cooking every single day. I’m not going to cook for my kids all the time once they are grown and living on their own, this is a skill they need.

My oldest loves to make supper now that we have done some cooking and baking together. Her cooking and baking on her with me supervising, and she is no confident enough in her skills to take over. She will come to ask a question if she isn’t sure about something, which is exactly what I want her to be able to do.

Kids Should Learn to Cook to Promote Healthy Eating

Cooking your own meals is a great start to eating healthier meals. Sure you can make some really unhealthy foods, hello no bake peanut butter cookies sitting there calling out my name, but you can make amazing, delicious healthy meals too, like stir fry chicken with rice, full of vegetables.

Kids are more likely to eat what they help cook too. Just like growing their own food in their gardens, the more invested they are the more likely they are to want to eat it.

Cooking Meals is Cheaper than Fast Food

Once your kids are out on their own, budgeting their meals, they are going to see how much it cost per meal to go to a fast-food restaurant compared to making a meal at home. Plus, much more healthy.

Give them the skills now so they are prepared for the future.

Why Kids Need to Learn to Cook

Learning to Cook Helps with Confidence

The reading and math skills that your child is learning all come into play when they start to make a dish. They are going to be more confident in those skills once they see what they have accomplished at the end of the cooking/baking time.

It is an amazing feeling to say that you have cooked a meal, no matter your age, but even more so when you are first learning.

Learning an Important Life Skill

No matter what reason you come up with for teaching your child to cook, they are learning an important life skill. As a bonus, those memories made in the kitchen with your kids are going to last a lifetime. For you, and for them.

When you teach your kids to cook, they are going to be more likely to teach their kids to cook.

Learning to Cook Together is Quality Family Time

Cooking time is a bonding time for parent and child. It often allows kids to relax and share what’s going on in their lives, even if they’re otherwise reticent to open up to a parent.

Reading A Recipe is Educational

Cooking teaches kids everything from fractions to temperatures to geometry. Is a 1/2 cup bigger than a 1/4 cup? What’s the difference between the temperature of baking versus broiling? What’s a 9×13 pan versus a 9×9 pan?

Cooking is one of the best ways to show kids that reading offers tangible results. Following step-by-step instructions to get to a finished result is an important reading skill, and using that skill to cook shows a kid that reading has very practical benefits.

The process of cooking food demonstrates chemistry principles. For example, the browning of marshmallows on top of brownies — it’s chemistry at a level that a child can understand.

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