The kitchen is often the heart of a family home. From baking biscuits to whipping up dinner (and even sneaking a few spoonfuls of cake mix), there’s a lot of fun to be had for both parents and children. But, beyond the excitement, your kitchen can also be a great place to teach your children all sorts of useful life lessons and skills. It’s easier than you think to encourage curiosity, too, and make learning fun while baking up a storm.
Take a closer look at the valuable lessons your kids can learn through cooking in this guide, all while mixing, measuring, and munching.
Developing Language and Maths Skills
Cooking with your kids offers plenty of opportunities to develop their Language and Maths skills
Encourage your child to read the recipe aloud as a great way to build their reading skills while boosting confidence. Then, as they follow the steps, they’ll start connecting the words to real actions, helping them understand what they’ve read in a hands-on way. You can also help develop their writing skills by asking them to make notes on the recipe when you change a step, or by creating new dishes together and adding the instructions to your recipe book.
As you cook, your child will naturally start using maths skills, too. From measuring and counting ingredients to adjusting portion sizes or working out cooking times, these everyday tasks are brilliant for building confidence with numbers. Baking is especially great for practising fractions, weights, and temperature conversions, too.
Sustainability and the Planet
From food sourcing to energy consumption, cooking creates a hive of learning opportunities around sustainability. We recommend starting by monitoring your smart meter display to learn more about electricity use, and following these steps:
1. Keep your smart meter’s in-home display nearby while cooking
2. Ask your child to record the day’s usage before you start and at the end of your cooking
3. Work out the total consumption needed to bake and clean up
4. Discuss how electricity is generated, renewable energy vs fossil fuels, and how the planet is impacted by too much energy consumption
Wondering, ‘Do I have to have a smart meter to talk about sustainability?’. The simple answer is no; you can still discuss energy usage without one, but being able to watch those numbers tick up can help your child engage with the discussion and better understand cause and effect.
Understanding Resilience and Problem-Solving
Everyone messes up while cooking. Maybe the cake doesn’t rise, the dough is too wet, or the pasta sticks together in one gloopy clump; whatever happens, show your children that resilience and problem-solving can help you get back on track.
You’re not just fixing a recipe, you’re helping your child build confidence and adaptability. It’s okay to make mistakes, as long as you’re brave enough to stand back up and try again.
How to Start Teaching Your Kids While Cooking
Cooking with your kids should be fun. While teaching them life skills and lessons is a great idea, the goal isn’t to overwhelm either you or your children. Make sure that your educational moments feel natural and that cooking remains a source of joy with these tips:
● Make it hands-on: Kids learn best by doing, so let them pour, mix, and monitor your smart meter for a more impactful learning experience
● Ask questions: Encourage curiosity by asking questions like ‘Do you know where the electricity that powers our oven comes from?’ and ‘What would be the impact of adding too many eggs?’
● Work together: When your child doesn’t have the answer, give it to them, and if they want to lead the way, let them. Give and take stops cooking from becoming stressful and keeps the fun alive!
Remember, too, that there are no rules and no stupid questions. From ‘do I have to have a smart meter?’ to ‘why do onions make us cry’ or ‘can I make up my own recipe’ … you and your little ones are there to have fun and learn. Just get stuck in and see where your cooking takes you and your kids.
At Kiddy Cook, we’re all about using cooking as a teaching method. For plenty of recipe inspiration and more ways to get your kids involved in the kitchen, check out more on our blog.