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Cooking with kids takes a little extra time and patience, but has many benefits. As more families rely on fast food for mealtime and childhood obesity rises, parents can make a lasting difference in their children’s overall health by cooking meals at home and getting the kids involved. Here are some of the great reasons to bring your kids into the kitchen while preparing food for your family.

Math Lessons

Cooking is a practical math lesson for kids. For preschool age kids, they will practice counting as they add two eggs and three teaspoons of this or that. Elementary school kids learn about fractions in a real world setting. If the recipe needs to be doubled or halved, kids can use their multiplication and division skills to calculate the new amounts. Kids, of all ages, will learn to follow directions as they read the recipe carefully and help add ingredients.

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Self-Esteem Building

Kids build their self-confidence as they learn something new and see the end result of all of their hard work. They will also get immediate positive feedback from their family, as they taste the food they have made. Kids will begin to understand the effort involved in cooking and appreciate it more when a parent works hard on a delicious meal. Cooking builds self esteem and teaches good work ethic.

Life Skills

Home cooked meals are less common in our society as people rely more on fast food in our busy world. Children that learn to cook at a young age will be more likely to prepare meals at home when out on their own. Cooking is one of the most practical life skills you can teach your children. It provides them with health benefits and cost savings, as well. Cooking with kids can also teach them healthy economical ways to save their money. 

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