Since we are spending so much more time at home, a lot of us are also spending more time in the kitchen. If you haven’t baked or cooked with your kids before, it’s never too young to start! As early as toddler and preschool age, your kids can join you in the kitchen and start learning some really important skills. There are so many benefits to baking with kids, I’m going to share 8 of them.

8 Benefits of Baking with Kids

@drstaceyfreeman

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Teach Life Skills

One of the most important reason to start baking with your kids is to teach them one of the most fundamental and important life skills. Being able to prepare their own meals and food will prepare them for life as an adult. I can distinctly remember not being that well-versed in the kitchen. I loved baking as a child, so could always manage that, but when it came to actual cooking, I was pretty clueless. I’ve learned a lot since leaving my parent’s home, but I definitely want my kids to be more prepared to cook for themselves as adults.

Improve Fine Motor Skills

Especially in younger children, baking and cooking is a great way to practice fine motor skills. Measuring, shredding, mixing, these are all great ways to use fine motor skills. I would wait until your kids are older to allow them near anything sharp. I think ages 8 or 9 is an appropriate age to start teaching knife skills, but always under supervision. We aren’t at that stage since my kids are still quite young, but I definitely plan to introduce knife skills in the next couple of years.

Practice Reading Recipes

If you want to try baking with kids, I’d choose a recipe that aligns with their age and reading level. We recently did a cinnamon roll recipe and my second grader was able to read the vast majority of the recipe. There were several steps, but he was able to follow along and got to practice important reading skills too.

Encourage Family Time

Cooking and baking with kids is a great way to encourage family bonding and special time together. My kids get so very excited when I offer to bake with them. My daughter often watches me in the kitchen as I prepare food too. She loves to see the whole process of cooking and baking. 

Practice Math Concepts

Your kids can learn some basic measurement and math concepts while baking. They will learn about solid vs. fluid measurements, fractions, and also a bit about time. 

Weave in Science Concepts

Baking is actually a lot about science, so you could take the opportunity to talk to your kids about science and what happens when baking – the heating process, the different chemical reactions, why it’s so important to measure correctly, etc. Making science a part of the baking process might require you to do some research, but this also sounds like a research project you could do with your kids to make it even more of a family bonding experience.

Introduce New Foods

One of the best possible outcomes of cooking and baking with kids is to increase their food tastes and preferences. If your kids cook or bake the food they are definitely more likely to try it and be interested in trying it.

Improve Self Confidence

Another one of the benefits of baking with kids is that it can improve their self-confidence and also comfort in the kitchen which will serve them well in the future. 

If you haven’t yet brought your kids into the kitchen, I highly encourage you try! I am sure the benefits of baking with kids will outweigh any of the negatives (like the mess). Plus, you’ll build new fun memories together too! Looking for other parenting stories, click here.