Having meals together is very important as a family and fortunately many families do so already but, if you are not cooking with your family especially your child start now.
Here is why it is so important
It is a Chance to Learn
Whether you have an older aunt, an older child, house help or you tend to cook yourself, let others in on the process, especially your children. This will help them learn the way things work around the kitchen very early on. Also, they will develop a new skill very early on that they will need much later on living away from home.
Besides cooking, other skills they will learn are meal planning, measuring and budgeting. Preparing meals together will also give you and them a chance to talk about different types of foods, where they come from, how much they cost and their health benefits.
As you prepare food together their curiosity will be aroused and their creativity too, which is a good thing. By involving children and letting them do things they necessarily wouldn’t be involved in like washing up, cutting up and stirring the pot will make them more comfortable in the kitchen. It will stop being considered a domain just for adults, be they parents or staff.
It is a Chance to Bond
So much time is spent away from each other while at work, school or in front of some electronic device or the other. Meeting in the kitchen and preparing food together is one way to catch up and find out what is happening in each other’s lives. Also, it is a good moment to bond.
Besides bonding, it is a moment to try new things together or to introduce new foods and styles of cooking so that your child grows into an adult with a diverse palate. As you talk about what you are putting in the dish and what you are preparing, you may well teach them what healthy portions are especially, for things like salt sugar and oil.
It is a Chance to Introduce Discipline
The kitchen has many temptations especially around food. The temptation of snacking and reaching for something to nibble, as one does when in the kitchen and while waiting for food to get ready is always there, but it is a moment to train a child to wait. Not allowing them to reach for some bread, biscuits or a sweet helps them to be disciplined.
Also, being in the kitchen with you will help them stay focused and stick to the assignment and not rush off to do something else as they have to watch the pot or time the cake in the oven.
If they are very young you give them a specific task. Like, washing the things you used to prepare the food or asking them to set the table. Obviously, safety is paramount in the kitchen but with appropriate supervision, children can do far more than we think and can learn even more. Don’t be afraid to let them be involved.
