Children’s Day 2024: Parents Guiding Children With Cooking

Parents frequently place a high value on extracurricular activities and academic success because they think they will help their kids develop well-roundedly. While a child's development depends on disciplines like maths, science, music, and athletics, cooking is a crucial life skill frequently disregarded. 

Since parents strongly emphasise structured growth skills that directly impact their children's future academic and professional prospects, many parents view cooking as something that their children may learn "later on" or "when they need to." 

However, learning to cook has many advantages beyond just preparing meals. It promotes self-reliance, inventiveness, self-assurance, and health consciousness. Parents can gain a lot from their children's early cooking skills development, which can also be an investment in their long-term well-being.

Understandably, cooking is occasionally viewed as a secondary talent in this day of hectic schedules and convenience. Due to time restrictions, many families now rely on quick eating options or pre-packaged meals, which has diminished the kitchen's significance as a space for family education and bonding. 

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Early cooking instruction also promotes healthier eating habits, which can benefit a child's life for a long time. Children grow more conscious of what they eat as they learn about various ingredients and develop a concept of balanced meals. Their health can improve well into adulthood due to making healthier decisions and relying less on processed foods due to this awareness.

Parents can foster a shared family experience and teach their kids valuable life skills by encouraging them to cook. Cooking together can help parents instil virtues like patience, responsibility, and teamwork while enhancing communication and family ties. Youngsters who actively participate in cooking also grow to appreciate the work that goes into making meals, which might increase their sense of thankfulness.

“Parents can provide their kids with a special and useful skill set like cooking that benefits them personally and practically by encouraging them to cook. The capacity to care for oneself and others is a life skill that promotes resilience, well-being, and long-term health, even though academic performance and extracurricular accomplishments are crucial,” says Priya, working mother of two kids. 

What Advantages Come With Teaching Children To Cook?

It's a good idea for parents to start teaching their children to cook since they will eventually be able to assist in the kitchen, relieving them of the burden of putting supper on the table every night. Cooking abilities, however, can benefit children outside the kitchen and help them become more self-reliant, successful, and confident adults.

Here are a few scientifically supported advantages according to the Journal of Public Health, 2023, of training your children to cook.

• It helps parents give children a task to strive for and achieve, which boosts their confidence in the kitchen. 
• Over time, it fosters the development of healthy eating habits by motivating kids to consume more veggies. 
• It could lessen fussy eating.
• Cooking acts as a fantastic pastime and substitute for screen time.
• Cooking emphasises the value of mastering a skill over time rather than providing quick gratification.

When Can Children Begin Learning To Cook?

Babies can join you in your cooking routine, so there is no perfect age for them to begin spending quality time in the kitchen. Initially, it may involve bringing your child into the kitchen to watch the cooking process (from a safe distance if you're using a knife or the stove). Later, they can use kitchen tools and follow a recipe.

“The greatest time to teach kids to cook is whenever you and they feel comfortable, as long as you allow them to learn at their speed, practice age-appropriate safety, and are open to mistakes and experimenting,” says Rahul, homemaker. 

Tips On Cooking With Children

“If parents learn to accept imperfection, work at their child's pace, and embrace the turmoil, they will love educating their children even more,” says Sana Panagar, Relationship Counsellor.

1. Most children are still learning how to be calm, patient, and coordinated—all abilities essential when cooking. Here are some additional pointers to help reduce the stress of cooking with children:
2. Be prepared to clean up after yourself because children will inevitably spill and spatter when cooking.
3. Don't strive for excellence. Rather, let your child make errors in the kitchen and collaborate with them to improve recipes.
4. Children may be impulsive and easily excited, but you must also practise patience. Children want your constant supervision in the kitchen, so be adaptable and sympathetic as they grow.
5. Allow your child to try a variety of ingredients and flavours instead of attempting to control every stage of the process. Baking and cooking may be imaginative and sensory play, especially for younger children.

“Cooking edible food is the ultimate aim, but as your child learns to use the kitchen, be ready for meals that don't always taste great. Even if the ingredients don't always match, you should be ready to let your child create their recipes. All of that is a component of learning,” says Pallak, mother of Utkarsh, age 9.