When cooking with young children, the entire family may enjoy and learn from the experience. Cooking activities for kids are a fantastic way to aid in the motor skill development of young children. These activities also teach them the fundamentals of kitchen safety. This blog post will provide you with some fun and easy cooking activities for preschoolers and toddlers. These activities are guaranteed to bring a smile to your child’s face while they learn important kitchen skills.
Ideas for Cooking Activities for Preschoolers and Toddlers
As we’ll see, it’s beneficial to have preschoolers and toddlers participate in cooking activities. Here are some suggestions for what preschool cooking activities are best for your child:
Unpack Groceries
While unpacking groceries, children can learn about the ingredients that’ll be used to cook a meal. It’s also an activity simple enough that toddlers and preschoolers can do without causing too much trouble.
Wash Fruits and Vegetables
Washing fruits and vegetables with your toddler or preschooler is a great way to involve them in the process of cooking a meal. Learning to wash the groceries can also help teach children about the importance of hygiene.
Stir Batter
Many toddlers and preschoolers love to stir things, even when there’s nothing in the bowl. Stirring batter is a repetitive job that makes perfect sense to give to your toddler or preschooler. Though you have to make sure they don’t get bored and ruin the meal.
Doing Basic Cooking Mathematics
Few people actually realize how much math is involved in cooking. Granted, it’s basic math but it’s still the perfect opportunity for young kids to learn. When a parent is following a recipe, a toddler or preschooler can learn to count the eggs they need, or calculate how much half a teaspoon is.
Set and Clear Tables
Setting and clearing tables is more appropriate when cooking with preschoolers than with toddlers, especially if you’re using fragile equipment (pro tip: don’t). Setting and clearing the table can help enforce a great habit in your child so they slowly but surely learn to take responsibility for small tasks.
Assemble Simple Meals
Simple meals like sandwiches can be assembled by toddlers or preschoolers. Though this kids’ cooking activity can be a bit messy, it’s great practice for their motor skills.
Benefits of Cooking Activities for Preschoolers and Toddlers
There are a few important benefits to letting toddlers and preschoolers participate in food activities for kids. Here are three important benefits:
Opportunity to Learn Other Skills
Cooking is a great platform for children to improve other skills. Basic math is a great example. Developing fine motor skills is also something to keep in mind as an advantage of having children participate in cooking activities. They can also improve soft skills such as gaining an increased sense of responsibility.
Spending Quality Time with Family
When children spend time cooking with their family members, instead of staring at a screen for hours, it’s definitely a good thing. Too much screen time has to be stopped by finding other fun activities for kids and cooking is definitely one of the best options available.
Appreciating Meals
When they’re part of the process of creating a meal, children learn to appreciate the time and effort their parents put into meals. They can also learn to appreciate food and its value more often. Studies say that by involving children in cooking activities, they can experiment and develop a wider palate range, something that toddlers, the picky eaters of the human world, usually lack.
Safety Tips for Cooking with Preschoolers and Toddlers
When involved in food activities for preschoolers and toddlers, they will inevitably cross this dangerous environment we call the kitchen. So, let’s go over the most important safety tips you should keep in mind:
- Only Let Children Cook When an Adult is Present: If your child is eager to cook in the kitchen, that’s great! But don’t forget to let them know they can only do so if you or another adult is present supervising.
- Wash Your Hands: Toddlers and preschoolers aren’t very fond of hygiene, but parents can guide them toward forming appropriate habits. For example, washing your hands before starting to cook is a great habit for a child to pick up.
- Always Clean after Cooking: Another habit your child should pick up is to always clean after themselves. Though it can be quite a chore, even for parents, it’s best that they clean up after something messy happens. It’s cooking and things get messy, that’s natural. But cleaning right after can make life a lot easier.
Can a Parental Control App Help?
If your preschooler is glued to an electronic device instead of experiencing the wonders of cooking, parental controls can help. Parental controls, such as Windows’ parental controls, offer you options to limit your child’s screen time amongst other things. Parental controls can also help protect against other dangers such as the negative effects of social media on physical health.
With the use of a third-party parental control app like Safes, you have even more tools at your disposal such as setting a smart schedule for when your child can use social media. So, for example, when it’s time for cooking today’s meal, you can limit or block your child’s apps. This way they’ll learn to engage in activities with you, cooking-related or not. Safes is available on iOS and Android, so feel free to download and try it out right now to prevent the consequences of inappropriate internet use.
Conclusion
The cooking activities for preschoolers and toddlers which we mentioned above can be the beginning of the career of a great chef. Cooking with toddlers and preschoolers can also be a fulfilling activity for parents. There are several benefits to this wonderful way of spending time with your child, so why don’t you open up a cookbook for kids and start right now?
