Cooking with your kids can be a lot of fun but, did you know that it teaches them many important skills that they need in their daily life? As adults, we may take for granted these abilities that we mastered long ago, but for our kids, cooking offers many chances to build new skills and relish in the accomplishment. Here are a few of the important life skills your children will learn through cooking:

1. Planning Ahead and Making Choices

Making a dish successfully requires planning ahead. When selecting a recipe, parent and child can decide if they need to go to the store for ingredients or to select another recipe for which everything is already on hand. Helping a child understand this concept will have a have a big impact on their ability to make choices on their own.

2. Following Directions

Sometimes, it’s okay to go out of order, but when baking, exact order and measurements are essential. Failure to follow directions can have very disappointing results. On the other hand, when followed correctly, a pleasant outcome awaits. This type of quick reinforcement enables a child to see the value in following instructions.

3. Understanding Nutrition and Preparing Healthy Food

One day, your child will be living on her own and need to make all her own food choices. If you’ve gotten her involved in cooking and learning about nutrition, you can be confident that she will make healthier choices and probably become very popular when she cooks for her friends who have not had the benefit of such good training.

4. Applied Math, Science and Reading

Why does the dough rise? What’s the difference between a cup and a quart? What does sauté mean? Using their basic math, science and reading skills in a practical way motivates children to learn and gives their natural curiosity an outlet. Applying basic skills to real life situations allows kids to see how it will help them now and in the future.

5. Teamwork and Sharing

Whether it’s with a parent or a sibling, working together to get something done takes teamwork. Taking turns using a particular tool or doing a specific task teaches kids how to get along. Sharing in the delicious results reinforces the value of teamwork.

6. Creativity

Cooking is ultimately a creative endeavor. At the beginning, a recipe needs to be followed exactly, but as they get more skilled, your kids will find easy ways to adjust a dish to make it just how they like it. They may decide to skip the mushrooms in a dish or add a different spice just for fun. Also, kids can use a great deal of creativity in the presentation of the food. It may just be a pancake to you, but your kids may see it as the face of their favorite animal and decorate it that way.

7. Making a Contribution

When a child participates in family life by serving others, they learn the value of giving. They gain confidence knowing that they can participate in a meaningful way. As they grow older, they may choose to cook something as a gift or bake cookies for a bake sale. Both of these are personal ways that they use their skills to make their world a better place.

Cooking is one activity that incorporates many skills and abilities. Because we need to eat every day, the repetitive nature of cooking can enable our kids to learn new skills and master them. Cooking with your kids is not only fun, but the perfect opportunity to practice important like skills.

Karen Santhanam is a writer, wife and mother interested in encouraging families to create special times together with their children. For more ideas on gardening and cooking with kids, visit Karen’s blog at www.WonderBerryKids.com/blog.