Benefits of Cooking Together with Your Kids

There are so many benefits to getting your kids in the kitchen cooking together as a family.  Whether it is a great way to practice math skills, gain self-esteem, or just have fun, getting together as a family to cook a meal is one of the best ways to make lasting memories. After all, kids learn by doing, tasting, and smelling so they really belong in the kitchen. Do NOT worry about the mess – they can clean up too – another great life skill, right?!?!

All the benefits for both kids and adults are listed below. In addition, I shared some cooking ideas and some great kid-friendly recipes. Your kids will love using the mixer to make Strawberry Mousse or learn some science while making homemade pickles in leftover brine.

So get out some tiny aprons, wash some little hands, push a stool up to the counter, and have a great big fun time getting messy. There are so many thing to love about cooking together as a family.

Jump to:

• Benefits to Cooking for the Kids
• Benefits for the Adults & Couples
• Recipe Ideas to Cook with Kids
• Recipes to Cook Together As a Family
• Child Safety Tips in the Kitchen

Benefits to Cooking for the Kids

Here are the top reasons to get your kids in the kitchen. Cooking together has so many benefits & rewards. The life skills start at home and teaching children how to bake, saute, chop, measure, & mix is fun & why it is important.

• Proud of their accomplishments - great for self-esteem
• Gets them interested in trying new foods - when you help make it, you want to eat it
• Learn more about nutrition and portion sizes - helps foster a lifelong practice of eating healthier
• Hygiene and safe food handling - washing hands and keeping raw food from other ingredients is key
• Math skills - measuring ingredients and doubling recipes require math
• Reading skills - reading and understanding step-by-step instructions
• Teamwork skills - mixing while someone pours for example
• Social skills - asking questions, sharing tasks, & taking turns talking & listening. Make it a kid cooking party and invite friends over.
• Timing skills - prep order to time things in the oven or when you want many things done at the same time
• Quality time together & FUN!

Miley with pineapple upside-down cupcakes

Benefits for the Adults & Couples

Benefits of cooking together with just your spouse or as a family are limitless. Cooking together at home has so many advantages & here are just a few. So get ready to sit down to dinner at home with something you made remember why cooking is fun.

• Proud of what you teach/empower your children with - teaching a child is more ideal than simply just doing for a child
• Helping hands - the more involved can help divide and conquer meal prep (ok ok, when kids are really young it may be more work than help but it will pay off someday!)
• Share memories and heritage - teaching your kids about family recipes is a great legacy
• Strong connections, bonding, building the relationships, & more through communication & teamwork.
• Quality time together & FUN!
• Health benefits to control what you cook, the ingredients, & getting exercise while preparing it all.

Recipe Ideas to Cook with Kids

Start off with some recipes that require no cooking with the youngest kids. Cooking with toddlers could involve assembling sandwiches, salads, or chips & dips!

As kids get older they can graduate with more cooking skills like cutting with safety knives. You may still want to keep your kid cooking without fire or heat on a stove.

The oven is usually a safer thing to start with. They can add items to the oven and still be safe making sure they don't touch the sides. Adults can help with removing hot items at first until they graduate to cooking with heat.

• Family favorites you know they already like (family pizza night!)
• Holiday cookies like Oreo Snowmen
• Let them look through cookbooks or magazines to pick a recipe
• Assemble salads and toss with dressings
• Pasta and a variety of sauces

Recipes to Cook Together As a Family

Here are some of our easy family favorite recipes including easy back to school meals. They are child-approved when it comes to how tasty they are. Plus they are great tasting for adults, easy to prepare, easy clean-up, & are simple to prepare.

When learning to cook these easy recipe for breakfast, lunch, dinner, salads, desserts, & appetizers are perfect. Kids and teens can help out safely making these recipes & enjoy the delicious reward at the end.

Child Safety Tips in the Kitchen

• Keep dangerous knives and utensils out of reach for younger kids. Knife safety for kids of all ages is important. Know what skills your kids have or have not already mastered - great kid-safe knives are listed below from Amazon.
• Supervise any stove work or opening/closing the ovens
• Use safe stools when necessary for shorter kids (or moms too!)
• Raw meat is something that needs correct handling, so this may be a task for older kids and not 2-4yr old (keep areas and hands clean!)

PIN FOR SAFEKEEPING & SHARING!

Product Recommendations for this Article:

• Odelia Tessa's Kitchen Kids - Child's Chef Hat Apron Set, Kid's Size, Children's Kitchen Cooking and Baking Wear Kit for Those Chefs in Training (M 6-12 Year, Red)

  

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