Family cooking together benefits children?s well-being

With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing families to be confined to their homes, Taste Bud Battle saw this as an ideal opportunity for families to hone their cooking skills.

Donna Verrydt, the organiser of this children’s national cooking competition, Taste Bud Battle, said, “Cooking is comforting, and getting your children in the kitchen provides practical experience with many essential life skills. It also brings the family together and creates many bonding experiences.? Donna named more benefits for families, provided they cook and bake together in the kitchen.

She listed the following:

• It increases language development, since children are not only learning and talking about different ingredients, they are following recipe directions which enhances receptive language skills.
• It enhances fine motor skills. Mixing ingredients, rolling dough and using cookie cutters are all great ways to enhance a child?s fine motor strength and control, which are needed to develop academic skills such as writing, cutting and colouring-in.
• It increases maths skills, given that cooking and baking involves a lot of measurement such as cups, teaspoons and tablespoons, as well as fractions, and addition and subtraction proficiency.
• It improves reading skills and comprehension since children have to read the recipes.
• It introduces children to scientific concepts as they learn what happens when certain ingredients are mixed together, as well as what happens when the measurements are incorrect.
• It increases focus and attention, otherwise the final product will not turn out correctly. Children learn quickly that they have to pay attention if they want to eat that delicious brownie they wanted to make.
• It teaches life skills and safety lessons such as how to be an independent adult, use a knife correctly, and not touch a hot stove.
• It boosts self-confidence. When a children are able to successfully prepare a recipe and create a tasty, good-looking dish, they feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, and it enhances their self-esteem.
• Most importantly it keeps your children busy for hours while having some great messy fun!