Children in the Kitchen

Children’s trifles in the kitchen are well known by all parents. They make weary faces when seeing vegetables and would rather eat unhealthy edibles like junk food. Don’t worry, there’s a solution to bringing them on the right path: include them in the process of food preparation.

There are many benefits of this measure:

• The basis of a healthy diet is made, diet that they will be following for the rest of their lives. These habits are a future investment because in just a few years these children will be able to cook healthy for themselves, a very important issue because nowadays parents are always busy and running out of time.
• This is how children learn about responsibility and cleaning up. By helping you they will realize that food doesn’t cook itself, that it takes time and some effort, this way they will learn to appreciate you more. At the same time, they can understand that it’s not normal to get everything already made, work being an essential condition of privileges. Let them choose all by themselves menus for the next day. Thus you’ll be sure they’ll eat what is made, simply because they asked for that specific type of food.
• Parents-children relationships are stabilized. Research has demonstrated that when children take part at an activity, they become more communicative than they would when meeting with the precise goal of chatting.

You can use cooking as a manner of preparing them for homework by:

1. asking them to read the recipe out loud, or just go through it together in case the child is too small to read it alone;
2. studying math: counting and measuring ingredients. You can practice multiplication by doubling the recipe or division by halving it. Thus children will stabilize their knowledge without it seeming to be a burden.
3. upgrading their vocabulary by learning many new words;

Transform cooking into a game

* Emphasize the importance of the role your child has in the kitchen by purchasing rising/lowering/rotating chairs, colored tableware and kitchenware etc.

* Encourage his/her creativity by letting him/her season the food as he/she wishes. Allow him/her to choose (between) different vegetable mixes and favorite foods.

* Image is the key to children’s nutrition. Try to differently cut food, according to each season-snowflakes and Santas, Easter bunnies, stars, flowers etc.

* Show a little more enthusiasm regarding food. Don’t hesitate in trying new recipes and be receptive to the suggestions your child has. This way you’ll be sure that culinary routine won’t ever be a problem for your child-which will always benefit from a diverse and balanced nutrition.