The benefits of cooking and spending time in the kitchen with kids are endless. It is great family time, with an opportunity to meal plan, look for recipes, shop for ingredients and eat nutritionally balanced meals.
Learn a life skill
Whilst it may seem basic and something we take for granted, despite cooking being a required life skill, not all adults can cook! By starting young, kids will be able to take this into their teenage lives, becoming more adventurous and resourceful as they grow.
Develop adventurous eaters
We understand how difficult it can be to encourage kids to try new things. The best way to overcome this is to involve kids in food buying and cooking and by making it fun. Kids are more likely to be adventurous if they experience different foods from an early age.
Health
People who eat home-cooked meals on a regular basis tend to be happier and healthier and consume less sugar and processed foods, which can result in higher energy levels and better mental health. At Compass Cooks we are passionate about this. We ensure that all of our meals are nutritionally balanced, with no refined sugar or added salt.
Physical development
Cooking uses lots of techniques and skills that enable children to develop fine motor and eye-hand coordination skills. Whether it’s stirring the pancake mix, chopping onions, rolling dough or spreading butter, these all enhance their strength at control.
Language, mathematics, science and creativity
Language: Kids are constantly enhancing their vocabulary whilst cooking: labelling ingredients, following directions, learning about new techniques, predicting what will happen next and showing off the results!
Mathematics: Cooking brings a lot of measurement, whether it's millimetres, grams, teaspoons and tablespoons, they will naturally practice fractions, addition and subtraction skills!
Science: You wouldn’t have thought it, but there’s a great deal of science to the kitchen! The magic happens as ingredients and food change throughout the process. They can change colour, texture, solidify, evaporate… Kids can have lots of fun making predictions and seeing what can happen!
Creativity: The kitchen has no rules and kids should be as creative as they can! Whether that’s making a smiley face on a pizza, playing with cooking methods or developing their own menus, the opportunities are endless.
FUN!
Most importantly - cooking should always be fun!! There are never ending opportunities to learn about different ingredients and food types. In fact you can never run out - think about all of the countries you can explore from the comfort of your own home.
Thank you for reading.
Compass Cooks x