Snacks for the Mind

Whether you think of cooking as a pleasure or a chore, you can help your child experience fun and learning in the kitchen. A willingness to experiment is the key – enter the kitchen with the mind-set that there’s no such thing as a failure, whether the end result is edible or not. Your kids will learn the value of planning ahead, sharpen their math and science skills, pick up lessons in nutrition and perhaps even enhance their artistic abilities.


After all the food is ready...
Don't miss our 12 creative ways to make dinnertime a fun time
And experimental cooking may make kids more open to experimental tasting at dinner time: if you’re game to try anything a child prepares (including fried peanut-butter sandwiches), they’ll be more willing to sample new foods you suggest at home and in restaurants. Encouraging your child’s more inventive creations also builds self-esteem.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that your kids are too young to learn anything in a kitchen. Even preschoolers can be involved in food preparation. When they say, "Let me do it!" let them. By the time they’re school age, most kids can handle many kitchen activities, from menu planning to measuring and mixing – even actual cooking. Include cleanup chores as part of the agenda and lend a hand if your child is still young or easily overwhelmed.

 

  • Getting Started
  • Play It Safe
  • Over the Counter Creativity
  • Culinary Learning
  • Beyond the Kitchen

    Getting Started

    When choosing a cookbook for your child, make sure the recipes are totally clear. For example, if a recipe asks you to "sift," is that term explained? Unless you’re a sophisticated cook yourself, it helps to have at least one comprehensive (adult) cookbook on hand that doesn’t take anything for granted.


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