Lessons learnt when cooking as - article about Lessons learnt when cooking as

Lessons Learnt When Cooking as a Family

Many mothers hesitate to invite children in the kitchen because they are afraid of it creating an even bigger mess to clean up. However, by involving children, thee are quite a few valuable lessons that you can teach without them even knowing

Healthy Eating Habits

If children are more involved with the cooking and preparation of meals, they have a more up front chance to look and talk about different food groups. You can try a new color vegetable a week or explain the difference between whole grain and white bread or lean cuts of meat and other varieties. You can experiment with cooking lighter versions of their favorite like using skim milk in mac n cheese rather than whole milk and because they helped prepare it, they will never say that it doesn’t taste good.

Cultural Sensitivity

You can also give a social studies lesson in different ethnicities by cooking foods from different parts of the world. If you experiment with cooking Chinese food one day and Mexican specialties the other, you can take it as an opportunity to talk about the geography of that country, and a little about their culture and traditions so that children start looking behind their own comfort zone and begin to accept people even if they look a little different than they do.

Math & Reading

You can sneak in a mini math lesson by letting your children help you measure ingredients. You can test their skills by asking them to half a recipe or double it to make two batches of brownies. Children can practice their reading by reading out recipes aloud and then looking for those ingredients in the pantry or spice drawer.

Safety

You can even teach children about safety when cooking with them as you can explain what kinds of dishes can go in the microwave and what cannot. You can also talk about turning pot handles inwards and always using oven mitts and other safety precautions.

Bonding

Over and above all these lessons, you can use cooking as a family bonding experience and get the children's input at every stage, from menu planning, grocery shopping, sorting things in a pantry, preparing the meal, serving it – and helping clean up afterwards too!

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