Discover 7 Amazing Benefits of Cooking with Toddlers

Learn the benefits of cooking with toddlers. Discover how involving your little ones in the kitchen can be a blessing to everyone.

As a homemaker our days are full. From chores around the house, home-school and errands in between there is always plenty to do. This doesn’t even count the time spent in the kitchen preparing three nutritious meals a day.

If you are like me, most of your time is spent in the kitchen. Whether it’s cooking a meal, serving it to your family or cleaning up afterwards. Usually my goal is to be as quick and as efficient as possible. The last thing we want or need is little people or hands slowing the process down.

However, I’ve realized that the benefits of cooking with my toddlers often outweighs the time saved or efficiency in process. I want to share seven benefits of cooking with toddlers and hopefully encourage you to involve your little ones in the kitchen more often.

1. Encourages Healthy Eating Habits

By cooking with your toddlers you are teaching them to appreciate a variety of different foods. When they observe you cook with fresh, nutritious, whole foods they are more likely to be curious about what those specific ingredients taste like.

They are also more likely to try a new or different food if they have been involved in preparing the meal. The more years I have experienced in motherhood the more I have come to realize that these sweet little people aren’t too far removed from us as adults.

When we work in the kitchen and combine the ingredients of a new recipe to feed to our family, we are often excited to try it and proud of our work. The same is true of our toddlers. When they help, pour, chop and mix the ingredients of a recipe they too are excited to try the finished product.

2. Builds Fine Motor Skills

Speaking of pouring, chopping and mixing. Let’s talk about the fine motor skills that are built just by being in the kitchen. As moms, we often don’t think anything of peeling a banana, chopping an onion or kneading dough but to a toddler who hasn’t experienced these motions they are all a challenge.

Cooking with toddlers encourages them to grow in the area of motor skills and coordination. Obviously give your little one age appropriate tasks but also don’t be afraid to offer them a challenge. Things may get slightly messy but take a deep breath mama, nothing can happen that can’t be cleaned up later.

3. Introduces Basic Math & Science

Do you remember that crazy calculus problem from back in high school that you thought you would never use again? Well, you were right. However the basic math and science skills we learn from early on in our education serve us daily in life.

This is something important to remember when cooking with toddlers. When you allow them to help in the kitchen you are introducing them to basic math and science skills that they will use for the rest of their lives.

When they measure ingredients they learn fractions and types of measurement. They understand that eggs come in a dozen or milk by the gallon. They also learn the amazing science of what happens when ingredients are mixed and interact together. This can be observed when dough rises to bake delicious homemade bread. Cooking is so educational and it’s important to exposed our little ones to this life skill.

4. Boosts Language Development

When you think about it, there are so many vocabulary words than can be learned in the kitchen. From the names of kitchen utensils to the endless ingredients that are used in different recipes. Cooking offers an amazing opportunity for your toddlers to develop their language skills.

Cooking also makes children aware of their five senses. They hear, see, smell, touch and taste when they are involved in the cooking process. When our toddlers use language to express their experiences of the senses in the kitchen their communication skills are strengthened.

5. Strengthens Family Bonds & Social Skills

There is something so precious about spending time cooking with your toddlers in the kitchen.

The truth is, our children don’t really care what it is they are doing during the day, they just want to be doing it with us. The kitchen is the perfect place to bond together. There are many times when my little ones will ask me to play but I will have to deny them because I am cooking one of our three meals of the day. However, if I invite them into my world (a.k.a. the kitchen) they are just as excited as if I were to play blocks or trains. Does it take a little more patience and work on my end? Yes, but it is well worth it and develops my character as a mother in the process.

Not only does cooking with toddlers strengthen their bond with you as their parent. It also encourages the development of social skills. When toddlers cook with their siblings they have to learn how to take turns and listen to instructions. These are the foundational elements of teamwork.

6. Independence and Confidence are Learned

If you have ever raised a toddler you know one thing for sure…they want to do things ALL BY THEMSELVES! The kitchen is a great place for them to develop independence and gain confidence in doing simple tasks. No matter how simple the recipe, to see the joy on their faces as they crack an egg for the first time or lick the spoon after mixing up the batter is priceless.

Learning basic cooking skills at a young age is also important so that as our children grow they have basic self sufficiency skills. I don’t know about all of the other mamas out there but I look forward to the day when my little ones can help with meals and one day cook the entire meal for the family themselves. I want my children to enter this world prepared with the necessary life skills and cooking is one of them. It’s never too early to start cooking.

7. Encourages Responsibility and Tidiness

Anyone that cooks for a family understands that cooking is not all fun and games. There is a clean up process that has to follow the creativity of cooking. Cooking with your toddlers means that they can also participate in the clean up as well.

This is an important lesson for toddlers to learn at a young age so that they begin to understand responsibility and keeping things neat. Another task that they can help with in the kitchen is helping to set and clear the table.

What You Need to Get Started

As an Amazon Associate this post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

You honestly don’t need anything special in order to start cooking with your toddler. Okay, maybe a little extra patience will be nice.

There are some fun little toddler kitchen utensils out there for purchase that enable their little hands to preform tasks more effectively. I will put a link below to a set that we were gifted, but again they are totally optional.

Toddler Kitchen Utensils

A Recipe to Get Started With

If you are looking for a simple recipe to start cooking with your toddler I encourage you to try this Raw Chocolate Milk. This recipe is simple, nutritious and delicious. My kids love it and I’m sure yours will too!

Create Beautiful Memories with Your Toddler

I hope you are encouraged to start cooking with your toddlers. This post is written as an encouragement and challenge to myself just as much as for everyone reading it. I want my children to have wonderful memories of cooking with me in the kitchen and savoring all of our delicious creations. Comment below and let me know what you love to cook with your toddler.