Then why not try involving your children in food preparation and make it a team effort?
So many developmental benefits!
Health professionals encourage cooking with children. It helps encourage more adventurous eating, improving hand-eye coordination and other fine motor skills. It also advances little ones' interest in maths and language!
Building a great relationship with food
We love the idea of involving your children in food preparation. By encouraging children to take more of a role in choosing, preparing and cooking simple meals , often they actually end up eating a wider variety of foods. It's all part of children understanding what's in their food. And we know that's incredibly important. Knowing what's good, what's not, what's an occasional treat ingredient and what's a healthy option. These all help children build a more positive relationship with food. And it's part of why we believe in doddl mealtime products so much. Because they open up so many opportunities for young children to learn about food and healthy eating, in the very early stages of their lives.
A whole mealtime experience
Letting your children touch the ingredients, and talk about where it has come from is a great way to overcome food anxieties. The more familiar and comfortable they become, the more likely they are to eat it all at the end. It becomes all part of the experience. Counting out the ingredients, talking about the colours, and even discussing which letter they begin with, are other ways to learn through cooking. It can be a very sociable and enjoyable experience (with the right prep and time made available!).
Rewarding in every way
Yes, it can get messy, but when you think about the potential upsides, it's worth it. Especially seeing the sense of pride in a child. What a sense of achievement to know they have been involved in creating something that is then presented as a meal to you, to them and possibly the whole family to enjoy!
Check out our simple recipe ideas. Lots of excellent ideas for getting your children involved in food preparation!
Enjoy!
The doddl toddler's knife is perfect for getting your little one involved! Safe to use and designed for little hands.