Did you know that parents have the greatest influence on children when it comes to learning about food and cooking? Hands-on cooking activities are a great way to improve mealtime practices and eating habits. Hands-on activities help build the self-confidence and self-efficacy of children through skill development.
Assess your own food skills and learn more about the topic with the Food Skills Questionnaire (PDF).
What are some benefits of cooking as a family?
- Make meal time faster; assign age-appropriate tasks to your children.
- Involving children in the kitchen gives them control over their food, making them more likely to eat it. It can help with picky eating.
- Spend time as a family.
- Pass on family and cultural traditions.
- Build confidence, independence and lifelong healthy lifestyle habits. What your child learns today stays with them in the future.
- Practical life skills. Your kitchen is a classroom where your children can learn about:
- Math: work with fractions, measure and count
- Science: how cooking changes food to make it softer, harder, tastier
- Social skills: work as a team and share tasks to do something concrete
- Language: read a recipe, write a grocery list
- ...and more!
Check out the rest of our Cooking 101 section:
- How to get your Child Cooking - What to teach at each age
- Cooking Activities
- Kitchen and Food Safety
Want to speak with a Registered Dietitian?
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Call Telehealth Ontario and ask to speak with a Registered Dietitian. Available Monday-Friday 9am-5pm at 1-866-797-0000 (TTY: 1-866-797-0007)
Do you have more questions about parenting?
- Speak with a Public Health Nurse. Call the Ottawa Public Health Info Centre at 613-PARENTS [613-727-3687] (TTY: 613-580-9656) or email Ottawa Public Health at ParentinginOttawa@ottawa.ca
- Connect with a Public Health Nurse and other parents on the Parenting in Ottawa Facebook page
- There are a variety of services to make it easier for your child to grow up healthy in Ottawa
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